Announcement of the “Athanasios Sotiroudas” Awards for Postgraduate Studies First and Second Cycle for 2025

One (1) award of 1.000,00 € (one thousand euros) will be granted for research in one of the following fields of study:

• Insects of Stored Products
• Fumigation/Mycide

In the event that proposals are not submitted in the above subjects, proposals will also be evaluated in the subject ‘Insects of Sanitary Importance‘.

Interested parties are invited to submit their application and the necessary supporting documents (in Word and pdf format) to the email of the Hellenic Entomological Society of Greece([email protected]), with simultaneous notification to the email addresses of the President and the Secretary General of the Hellenic Entomological Society([email protected] and [email protected], respectively). The deadline for applications is 10 April 2025.

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Have Greek or Cypriot nationality and attend universities based in Greece
• Hold a degree from a higher education institution in the field of Agricultural Science or a related discipline
• Have written acceptance by the University Institution in the postgraduate programme of study for which the award is sought.
• have a good command of the English language

Selection criteria

Applications will be evaluated by a three-member committee appointed by the Board of Directors of the Entomological Society of Greece. Two members of the Board of Directors and one faculty member or researcher of the Hellenic Entomological Society will participate in the committee.

It is a prerequisite that the members of the Committee do not have a proven scientific collaboration with the candidates.

The following criteria will be taken into account inthe evaluation of the applications , with their respective weighting:

• Brief description of the original research proposal to be implemented in the context of the call (title, purpose, methodology, deliverables, implementation schedule) [up to 1000 words in total (excluding bibliography), duration of up to 10 months] (50%

• Bachelor’s degree (if the degree is from a university of a Member State of the European Union, it must be accompanied by a certificate of equivalence and a certificate of equivalence) (15 %)
• Scientific activity of the candidate: a)Scientific publications in international or Greek scientific journals (1 credit) and/or conference presentations (0,5 credit) related to the subjects of the call for proposals, with a maximum of 3 and 6 credits for the first and second cycle of studies respectively (15%), b) Participation in research projects related to the subjects of the call for proposals (0,5 credits per month of full-time employment with a maximum of 6 and 12 credits for the first and second cycle of studies respectively) (10%)
• Fellowships – awards received by the candidate in previous years (1 point per fellowship – award, with a maximum of 2 points) (5 %)
• Two (2) Letters of Recommendation, [one (1) necessarily from the Supervisor of the research], (5%)

For second cycle candidates, who are members of the Entomological Society of Greece until the submission of the application, an increase of five percent (5%) of their total score is provided.

In the event of a tie, the candidate with the highest basic degree will be given priority in the order of merit. In addition, those who have been awarded a prize will not be eligible for a second prize in the same category (first or second cycle) but will be awarded a ‘commendation’ rather than the prize money.

Each candidate accepts to have his/her name announced on the ERC website.

The prize money (EUR 1000) will be paid to the awardees in two equal instalments, the first immediately after the announcement of the results and the second upon completion of the work and submission of the deliverables.

Each awardee undertakes to submit a copy (in electronic form) of his/her study to the e-mail address of the Entomological Society of Greece, immediately after its completion and before the payment of the second instalment of the prize. He/she also undertakes to submit a research or synthesis paper or a short communication to the journal of the Entomological Society of Greece ‘Entomologia Hellenica’ until the completion of the above study. In the study and in any publications that may result, it must be stated that ‘This work has been awarded and financially supported by the Hellenic Entomological Society within the framework of the “Athanasiou Sotirouda” Award‘ and/or ‘This work has been awarded andpartially financially supported by the Hellenic Entomological Society within the framework ofthe “Athanasiou Sotirouda” Award‘. Otherwise, the Hellenic Entomological Society reserves the right to cancel the award and to demand a refund of the amount already paid after notification. Finally, the recipient undertakes to communicate any publications or announcements in conferences, which may arise from this study, to the e-mail address of the Entomological Society of Greece.

The announcement of the prize is made in the name of Athanasios Sotiroudas of Vassiliou, Agricultural Engineer, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH). Athanasios Sotiroudas completed his studies at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1954 and subsequently became a member of the first series of graduates of the Benaki Institute of Plant Pathology (1961) with training in Plant Pathology. He was subsequently trained in the USA and in the United Kingdom and served the science as an Agronomist of the Directorate of Agriculture in villages of Serres, Thessaloniki and Edessa. He was the first Greek to be trained in defoliation using phosphine and methyl bromide. His relevant instructions and texts were used for many years by the Ministry of Agriculture and various directorates around the country. Athanasios Sotiroudas was honoured in 2008 by the international PestManagement community at a major ceremony in Bremen, Germany. Today, Athanasios Sotiroudas continues to monitor the field of de-infestation through his private company AgroSpeCom which he founded in 1980.

For further information, interested parties can address their questions to: [email protected]