Special bench fee L'Oréal – UNESCO For Women in Science

L'Oréal and UNESCO have been working together internationally for more than 20 years with the aim of promoting, recognizing and rewarding the work of female scientific researchers. In this context, a cooperation protocol has been active in Belgium since 2007 between L'Oréal (then Belgilux, currently L’Oréal Benelux), the National Commissions for UNESCO, the FNRS and the FWO.

Since the call for postdoctoral fellowships in 2024, the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science program has been awarding three special bench fees biennially to young promising female researchers from the FWO.

The special bench fee is available exclusively for female researchers holding an FWO postdoctoral fellowship (junior or senior) in the Bio, Med or W&T panels. This special bench fee amounts to 20,000 euros per researcher. The special bench fee is fixed, is allocated at the start of the fellowship, and valid for the entire duration (3 years) of the fellowship, additional to the regular bench fee (4,000 to 10,000 euros per fellowship year). The special bench fee is subject to the regulations for FWO fellowship bench fees.

For the postdoctoral fellowships call 2026, the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science program offers a total amount of 60,000 euros.

Applications for the special bench fee are integrated in the postdoctoral fellowship applications (junior and senior) submitted to all expert panels in the Bio, Med and W&T domains. Only candidates who are selected for a postdoctoral fellowship (junior or senior) are eligible for the special bench fee.

The best ranked female candidates in the Bio, Med and W&T panels will be granted 20,000 euros each. These candidates must indicate in writing at the time of acceptance of this special bench fee what it will be used for.