Lund University Agenda 2030 Award - Nominations open for 2026

About the award

The Agenda 2030 Graduate School invites nominations for the Lund University Agenda 2030 Award, which recognises early-career researchers who make innovative contributions to sustainable development. 

The assessment will primarily be based on the following criteria:

• Relevance to sustainable development
• Novelty – new perspectives, methods, or ideas that advance understanding or practice.
• Interdisciplinarity
• Research quality
• Societal outreach or academic impact

The winner receives a scholarship of 25,000 SEK.

The prize promotes creative and forward-thinking approaches to addressing sustainability challenges and draws attention to new ways of asking questions and proposing solutions. The award is presented annually by the Lund University Agenda 2030 Graduate School in cooperation with Duni Group, which funds the scholarship.

Who can be nominated

The award is open to early-career researchers who are studying or have completed their PhD at Lund University, or who are currently employed at Lund University. Doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and researchers who obtained their PhD no more than five years ago can be nominated. Extensions beyond five years may be accepted in individual cases, for example due to parental leave, illness, or other special circumstances affecting the academic career.

The winner receives a scholarship

• Any type of work based on research, including articles, dissertations, essays, performances, or non-textual artefacts, may be nominated for the prize, provided it relates to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The work must have been published or produced within the past five years and should demonstrate high academic quality, broad interest, and significance.
• The winner will be awarded 25,000 SEK, with the ceremony taking place during Lund Sustainability Week (Hållbarhetsveckan) in April 2026. The winner will have the opportunity to deliver a presentation at the ceremony. Additionally, there will be an optional opportunity to visit and give a presentation at Duni Group’s headquarters in Malmö.
• The Steering Board for the Lund University Agenda 2030 Graduate School will select the winner and Duni Group will have one vote in the selection process.

How to nominate

Nominations can be submitted by all employees and students affiliated with Lund University. Nominations must be submitted using the downloadable template below (maximum 2 pages) by 16 January 2026. Please note that it is not possible to nominate yourself. 

Nomination template for the Lund University Agenda 2030 Award (Word document, 23 kb, download)

If you are nominating one or more written works (e.g., a dissertation, article, or essay), please specify the 10 most important pages in the template and include a link to the full work. These selected pages will guide the Steering Board’s review and help ensure a fair and consistent assessment process. If you are nominating something other than a written work, please get in touch with us for further instructions.
Nominations should be sent to sara [dot] hakansson [at] cec [dot] lu [dot] se (sara[dot]hakansson[at]cec[dot]lu[dot]se). Please mention “Agenda 2030 Award” in the subject line of the email.

The award is given annually. For tax purposes, the award is considered a scholarship. 
 

The award is sponsored by Duni Group, a company specialising in sustainable dining and food packaging solutions and recently recognised in TIME’s "World’s Best Companies in Sustainable Growth," ranking as the third highest Swedish company on the list.

Duni Group - duni.com