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.

The next edition is scheduled for 2028. Consequently, this additional grant is not available under the current call.