1.1 By entering the competition you hereby accept these terms and conditions.
1.2 There is no charge for entering the competition.
1.3 The competition is open to individuals and groups.
1.4 Entries must be submitted by 30 April 2026, 23:59 (CEST). In the case of a submission by post, the date of the postmark will apply.
1.5 By entering the prize competition you agree and acknowledge that the OeAW (Austrian Academy of Sciences) is permitted to receive and use your personal data. All participants are required to provide their name, date of birth, email address, telephone number and − if applicable − institutional affiliation upon submitting their entry. Your address and telephone number will not be passed on to third parties without your explicit permission and will be used exclusively for the purpose of the prize competition. The OeAW may subsequently publish the names of the winners in any form and in all media. Photos of the winner(s) which are taken in connection with the prize ceremony or sent to the OeAW may also be published.
2.1 Entries must be submitted by 30 April 2026, 23:59 (CEST), including the completed entry form to preisfrage(at)oeaw.ac.at or by post to the Actuarial Office of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Dr. Ignaz-Seipel-Platz 2, 1010 Vienna.
2.2 Entries must be submitted in writing in the form of an essay and include an abstract and references. Entries are subject to a limit of 10,000–15,000 characters including spaces.
2.3 Entries can be submitted in German or English. Entries in other languages will not be considered.
3.1 Entries will be judged after the submission deadline by an interdisciplinary prize commission.
3.2 The winner(s) will be notified by the end of October 2026 at the latest.
3.3 The decision of the prize commission is final.
3.4. The following requirements in connection with the submission must be met; if they are not met, the OeAW reserves the right to remove contributions from the competition:
a) You are the sole owner(s), right holder(s) and author(s) of the contribution submitted.
b) You have the right to make your entry available to the competition.
c) Your contribution has not been submitted to any other competition and has not already won awards in any other contexts.
d) You agree to participate in related publicity and to the use of your name and the contribution submitted for the purposes of publicity without compensation.
e) Your contribution does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, contract rights or any other intellectual and industrial property rights of any third person (natural or legal persons), or violate any person’s data protection or publication rights.
f) You have not already been awarded a prize in connection with an OeAW Prize Question.
g) You have not already published your submission elsewhere.
3.5 The OeAW is entitled to revoke the prize question at any time without giving reasons, to split prizes or to decline to award them either wholly or in part. Should it not be possible or reasonable to rank the entries based on the evaluation, the OeAW is therefore also entitled to rank the prize winners ex aequo and to determine the prize money accordingly. Legal recourse in connection with a review of the worthiness of the prize and the prize committee’s decision is excluded.
The OeAW acknowledges that you, the author of the contribution you submitted, retain full ownership of the copyright.
By participating in this competition, you give your consent for your contribution, or parts thereof, being used and published by the OeAW for promotional purposes in non-commercial contexts and for scientific purposes. You hereby grant the OeAW a non-exclusive, irrevocable licence throughout the world and in all media for any use connected to the promotion of the prize question and for scientific purposes, including, but not limited to:
a) judging the competition;
b) inclusion in any website, brochure, magazine, etc.;
c) inclusion in any materials promoting the competition and/or any exhibition prepared by the OeAW;
d) sublicensing the submission to the press for reproduction and for making it available to the public in connection with the competition and any exhibition;
e) science and scientific communication.
The OeAW assumes no responsibility for any incorrect, inaccurate or incomplete information, whether caused by website users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilised in the competition, and assumes no responsibility for technical, hardware or software failure of any kind, for lost network connections, garbled computer transmissions, other problems or technical malfunctions in connection with the competition. The OeAW assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, corruption, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorised access to or alteration of submitted contributions. If for any reason, including infection by computer viruses, bugs, tampering, unauthorised intervention, fraud or technical failures, your entry cannot be viewed, the OeAW assumes no responsibility.
Under no circumstances whatsoever will the OeAW be responsible or liable for any damages or losses of any kind, including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages arising out of any user’s access to and use of the website.