From 2007 through 2025, the Ministry of Higher Education and Science awarded five annual EliteForsk prizes and up to 20 EliteForsk travel scholarships. The prizes were given to some of Denmark’s most talented and distinguished researchers and research students in recognition of their scientific work. Each prize was 1.2 million. 200,000 was a personal award and 1,000,000 went to research.
The initiative aimed to raise awareness of excellent researchers and their research. In addition, Elite Research highlighted the researchers as role models to attract more young students for a career in research, in order to fulfil the ambition to make Denmark one of the leading and most competitive knowledge societies in the world.
The complete legal basis of the Elite Research Prize is constituted by: the grant notification letter; the Ministry's guidelines; 'Terms and Conditions for Grants'; and the 'Call for nominations: Elite Research Prize' for the year in which a candidate has been nominated. The grant notification letter will be sent through e-grant.
The complete legal basis of the Elite Research Travel Grant is constituted by: the grant notification letter; the Ministry's guidelines; 'Terms and Conditions for Grants'; and the 'Call for nominations: Elite Research Travel Grants' for the year in which a person has been nominated. The grant notification letter will be sent through e-grant.
The Elite Research Prize is a framework grant. The grant is governed by the terms laid down in 'Terms and Conditions for Grants', and the grant will be disbursed automatically. The grant will automatically be sent to disbursement via e-grant after the receipt of the 'Acceptance of commitment'. The first payment will be made three months after the start of the project and will be 85% of the total grant, that is, DKK 850,000.
15% of the grant will be withheld, and will not be paid out until the final financial statement and the final scientific report have been received and approved.
The Elite Research Travel Grant is a framework grant. The grant is governed by the terms laid down in 'Terms and Conditions for Grants', and the grant will be disbursed automatically. The grant will automatically be sent to disbursement via e-grant after the receipt of the 'Acceptance of commitment'. The first payment will be made three months after the start of the project and will be 85% of the total grant, that is, DKK 170,000.
15% of the grant will be withheld, and will not be paid out until the final financial report and the final academic report have been received and approved.
The personal award amounts to DKK 200,000, and will be paid out shortly after the Elite Research Conference, which will be held in February.
Yes. The recipient has to report the award amount of DKK 200.000 as B-income to the Danish tax authorities.
The final financial statement shall be submitted for both the Elite Research Prize and the Elite Research Travel Grant no later than three months after the general grant period expires.
A final financial statement shall be submitted for all cases published in e-grant, using the report forms required for the particular type of grant. For the final financial statement the official accounting form must be filled out and uploaded along with the report form.
When submitting a financial statement, the most recent version of the accounting form must be used.
Concerning the Elite Research Prize, the final scientific report shall be submitted no later than three months after the general grant period expires.
The final scientific report is a written account of how the grant has been spent, as well as an account of what the receipt of the Elite Research Prize has meant to the recipient. There is no special form or required format for the final academic report.
The final academic report shall be submitted via e-grant.
Concerning the Elite Research Travel Grants, the final scientific report shall be submitted no later than three months after the general grant period expires.
For all cases published in e-grant, a final report must be submitted, using the report forms required for the particular type of grant.
Concerning the Elite Research Prize, the grant is expected to be used within a period of three years. The start date for the grant period is 1 January of the year in which the awards are made public at the Elite Research Conference.
Concerning the Elite Research Travel Grant, the grant is expected to be used within a period of two years. Grant activities must be concluded no later than the end date. If the PhD project is completed before the grant end date, the grant must be used before the recipient's defence of the PhD thesis. The start date for the grant period is 1 January of the year in which the recipient is announced, and the end date is 31 December of the following year. All in all, two years.
Concerning both the Elite Research Prize and the Elite Research Travel Grant, there is a form for requesting changes in the grant period, including requesting a longer or shorter period. This form must also be used when requesting a longer period due to maternity or sick leave. The request shall be submitted via e-grant.
Concerning the Elite Research Prize, the grant holder's place of employment administers the whole grant. All administration and reporting must be done via e-grant.
Concerning the Elite Research Travel Grant, the grant holder's place of employment administers the whole grant. All administration and reporting must be done via e-grant.
The recipient of the Elite Research Travel Grant shall be invited to be a proxy holder in this matter, so that the recipient may at any time involve new contact persons.
The grant holder's place of employment shall moreover ensure that all contact persons responsible for reporting have access to e-grant.
If the PhD thesis is submitted within the grant period, the grant may be used until the defence of the thesis.
A PhD degree course covers the period until and including the defence of the PhD thesis.
Concerning the Elite Research Travel Grant:
When attending a conference, a subsistence allowance may be paid at the official going rates for the country in question.
These rates can be found on:
The Agency for Finance's website (in Danish)
In addition, conference fees, as well as accommodation and travel expenses, may be covered by the grant.
In the case of a lengthy study period abroad, no hourly or daily allowance may be paid. The travel grant may be used as a subsidy when renting accommodation, if extra expenses are actually involved. The relevant conditions will be laid out in the grant letter.
The Elite Research Travel Grant can cover extra expenses for the recipient's rent in connection with a stay abroad. For example, if the recipient's rent in Denmark is €500 and the rent in the country of the residency is €600, the extra €100 is considered additional costs.
The grant should thus support that the difference in rent between Denmark and expensive cities abroad (e.g. New York, London, etc.) does not become the deciding factor of the stay.
Section 5 of the call for nominations for the grant specifies what the grant may be used for.
The grant holder's place of employment administers the whole grant for the holder, and can advise on how the grant may be used.
