External awards and prizes

Shape Involve and Engage Awards

In 2023, the British Academy launched a pilot funding scheme to support ambitious projects to engage the public with the humanities and social sciences.

These awards, up to £8,000, offered an exciting opportunity for humanities and social sciences researchers to push boundaries and seek imaginative new ways to engage with the public. The Academy sought researchers from across the UK to deliver innovative public engagement projects working in partnership with a gallery, archive, library or museum (GLAM organisation). Subsequent Shape Involve and Engage Awards are still to be announced.

Read more and find out whether applications are open again.

Outreach and Engagement Awards
The Awards are intended to reward outreach work carried out by young scientists and established researchers to inform, enthuse and engage the public. The competition is open to all researchers working in any sector of UK biosciences, from universities, institutes or industry. Apply for the Awards.

The Nominations Committee will consider the following criteria:

• A substantial contribution to the public’s engagement with ecology by an individual who is still working in the ecological field.
• Initiatives and activities considered include communication and interaction through a wide range of online and offline media,  and public outreach activities at national and/or international level.

Read more and find out when nominations open.

William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize

This award was instituted by the Council of the Institute of Physics in October 1994 in recognition of the importance of promoting public awareness of the place of physics in the world. In 2016 the award was elevated to the Gold Medals to recognise the importance of outreach within the physics community. The award shall be made for outstanding and sustained contributions to public engagement within physics. The medal will be gold and will be accompanied by a prize of £1000 and a certificate.

Marie Curie-Sklodowska Medal and Prize
In 2016, the Council established the Marie Curie-Sklodowska Medal and Prize for distinguished contributions to physics education and to widening participation within it. The medal will be silver and will be accompanied by a prize of £1,000 and a certificate.

Lise Meitner Medal and Prize
For distinguished contributions to public engagement within physics. The medal will be silver and will be accompanied by a prize of £1,000 and a certificate. Find out more.

Daphne Jackson Medal and Prize
For exceptional early career contributions to physics education and to widening participation within it. The medal will be bronze and will be accompanied by a prize of £1,000 and a certificate.

Mary Somerville Medal and Prize
For exceptional early career contributions to public engagement within physics. The medal will be bronze and will be accompanied by a prize of £1,000 and a certificate.

Christopher Zeeman Medal
The Christopher Zeeman Medal has been created to recognise and acknowledge the contributions of mathematicians involved in promoting mathematics to the public and engaging with the public in mathematics in the UK, and demonstrate that such activities are valued by the societies and the mathematical community at large and are a part of a mathematician’s roles and responsibilities. The Zeeman Medal is awarded every two years, in even-numbered years. Nominations usually open at the end of the year preceding the award - find out more on the website of the London Mathematical Society.

Annie Maunder Medal
The Annie Maunder Medal is awarded by the Royal Astronomical Society Awarded for an outstanding contribution to outreach and public engagement for astronomy or geophysics. This award is normally presented at the next National Astronomy Meeting, or if this is not possible, at one of the Society’s A&G meetings.

The Medal is open to all involved in outreach or public engagement for astronomy and geophysics, as well as those whose main occupation is outreach or public engagement, and open to nominees from anywhere in the world. Shortlisted candidates may be asked to provide additional information. Read more about the award, including how to apply.

NERC Impact Awards

The awards celebrate and reward NERC-funded researchers, as individuals or teams, whose work has had substantial impact on the economy and society either in the UK or abroad in the following three categories:

1. Economic Impact Award - Recognising research that has led to demonstrable economic benefit.
2. Societal Impact Award - Recognising research that has led to demonstrable social, cultural, public policy or service, health, environmental or quality of life benefits.
3. Early Career Impact Award - Recognising an early career researcher who has achieved demonstrable economic and/or societal impact.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) Max Perutz Award is a science communication competition for current MRC PhD students. To enter, students need to tell a non-scientific audience why their area of research matters.

In 2024, the MRC are piloting a new approach and accepting video entries only. If successful, they may consider accepting both video and written entries in future years. This is informed by feedback from MRC PhD students and our ambition for a more diverse and inclusive award. 

Find out more about the Award, how to enter and previous winners.

Communicating science in words that are engaging and understandable is vital at many levels. The BSCB Science Writing Prize was launched in 2009 to encourage and reward high quality writing on topics of key relevance to cell biology. Entrants have either communicated their own research projects or science stories in the literature, in a clear and concise way aimed at a non-specialist audience, or written essays that were not be limited to research per se, but tackled a bioethical or science policy issue.

Science book prizes form an important part of the Society’s public engagement programme. The Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize, founded in 1998, champions popular science writing for a non-specialist audience. In 2013 the award was increased to £25,000 to recognise the important contribution of popular science writing.

The Royal Society Young People's Book Prize awards the best book that communicates science to young people. The prize aims to inspire young people to read about science and promotes the best science writing for the under-14s.

The Josh Award is the UK’s national award in science communication, established to recognise and support up-and-coming talent in science communication. 

The winner receives support to nurture their development, including professional training, project funding and a personal prize cheque of £2000.

Find out more about The Josh Award.