RSC Apprentice Prizes

Deadlines

• Nominations open 15 October.
• Nominations close 14 January, 17:00 GMT.
• Reference deadline 21 January, 17:00 GMT. 

Eligibility

Individuals named in any of the following roles during the nomination and judging period are not eligible to nominate, be nominated or provide a reference:

• Technical Excellence, Partnerships and Professional Development Selection Panel members
• RSC Subject Community Presidents
• RSC Prize Committee members
• Trustees of the Royal Society of Chemistry
• Royal Society of Chemistry staff 

Nominators:

• Both RSC members and non-members can nominate for this prize.
• Nominees may NOT nominate themselves.

Nominees:

• The prize is open to nominees based in the UK and Ireland.
• Nominees can be completing any level of apprenticeship in the chemical sciences, from school equivalent level through to postgraduate equivalent level.
• We will not consider nominations of deceased individuals.
• Nominees should either be still completing their apprenticeship, or have completed their apprenticeship within the last 12 months at the close of nominations.
• We particularly encourage nominations of disabled people, those who work part-time, or whose career has spanned a break for any reason – for example, a period of parental or adoption leave, caring responsibilities, long-term illness, family commitments, or other circumstances. We understand that these can impact a nominee’s career in different ways, and encourage nominators to use the space provided on the nomination form to explain the nature and impact of the nominees’ individual circumstances (see 'Guidelines for Nominators' for further details).

Guidelines for nominators

General information

• Nominees should only be nominated once for this prize in any given prize cycle. In cases where we receive more than one nomination for the same nominee, only one nomination will go forward to judging.
• Since 2023, we have been trialling a process where all unsuccessful nominations will automatically rollover once, to be considered for the next round of the prize, unless the nominee's circumstances have changed to make them ineligible. This means that:
  • All nominations submitted for the first time for a 2024 prize will be considered for a 2025 prize, unless the nominee's circumstances have changed to make them ineligible. We strongly encourage nominators to update their nomination between cycles when the nomination window is open.
  • The RSC Prize Committee will review the outcomes from the trial in July 2025.

Submitting your nomination

Please use our online nominations system to submit the following information:

• Your name and contact details. The identity of nominators is not made known to our judging panels. The RSC reserves the right to amend nominations if necessary to ensure the anonymity of the nominator.
• Your nominee's name and contact details.
• Any information related to career breaks taken by your nominee - for example, a period of parental or adoption leave, caring responsibilities, long-term illness, family commitments, as well as any other circumstances including long-term conditions or disabilities. We understand that these can impact a nominee's career in different ways, and encourage nominators to use the space provided on the noination form to explain the nature and impact of the nominee's individual circumstances. This information will be shared with the committee, but before doing so RSC staff will always seek consent from the nominee in cases where special category data is mentioned. 
• A short citation describing what the nominee should be awarded for. This must be no longer than 250 characters (including spaces) and no longer than one sentence.
• A supporting statement (up to 750 words) addressing the selection criteria. Our guidance for nominators page has more information on writing this supporting statement.
• A statement (up to 100 words) describing how your nominee has contributed more broadly to the scientific community. A list of possible examples is outlined in the ‘selection criteria’ tab.
• The name and contact details of one referee. The referee might be the nominee's supervisor, line manager, project manager or mentor.
  • The reference should be a maximum of 750 words. Referees will be asked to state their relationship (if any) with the nominee and note any conflicts of interest.
  • All references must be submitted through the online system by the reference deadline, 21 January, 17:00 GMT. Nominations will not go forward to judging without a completed reference. Please ensure you submit your referee's details in plenty of time, to allow them sufficient opportunity to provide their reference.
  • As soon you submit your referee’s details, they will receive an automated e-mail with a link to submit their reference. Please contact awards@rsc.org as soon as possible if you experience any issues with this.
  • It is the nominator’s responsibility to ensure that the referee is aware of the nomination, that they should expect an e-mail invitation to submit their reference, and that they are aware of what is required to ensure that the reference is submitted before the deadline.
  • All referees will receive one e-mail reminder from RSC staff in the week before the reference deadline.
    

The RSC reserves the right to rescind any prize if there are reasonable grounds to do so. All nominators will be asked to confirm that to the best of their knowledge there is no impediment, relating to professional conduct, to their nominee receiving this prize. All prize winners will be asked to sign the RSC’s Code of Conduct Declaration for Recognition.

Selection Criteria and Judging Panel

The selection committee will primarily consider the impact that nominees have had in their workplace. Supporting statements should focus on this.

Nominees may have demonstrated impact in a number of ways, including but not limited to the following. Nominees do not have to demonstrate all of these to be considered for the prize.

• Application of knowledge and understanding – developing their own knowledge of the chemical sciences to inform decisions, support their work and solve problems
• Professionalism – working with autonomy, accountability, integrity, organisation and attention to detail
• Communication skills and teamwork
• Personal and professional development
• Contributing to a sustainable future

In an instance where multiple nominees are judged equally meritorious in relation to the above criteria, judging panels have the flexibility to use information provided by the nominator on the nominee’s broader contribution to the chemistry community as an additional criterion.

Examples of relevant contributions could include, but are not limited to:

• Involvement with Royal Society of Chemistry member groups/networks
• Teaching/demonstrating/mentoring
• Service on committees
• Leadership
• Promotion of diversity and inclusion
• Advocacy for chemistry
• Public engagement and outreach

Technical Excellence, Partnerships and Professional Development Selection Panel

• Paul Brewer, National Physical Laboratory (Chair)
• Berceste Beyribey Price, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
• Joanne Copping, Climax Molybdenum UK Ltd
• Paul Holland, Cranfield University and Loughborough University
• Lucy Kavanagh, National Nuclear Laboratory
• Katty O'Brien-Quilty, AWE
• Chris Workman, Luminate Education Group