Chemical Sciences Apprentice of the Year

Guidelines for nominators

• Nominations open 18 October.
  
• Nominations close 18 January, 17:00 GMT.
• Reference deadline 25 January, 17:00 GMT.
  
• Both RSC members and non-members can nominate for this prize.
• Nominees may NOT nominate themselves.
• We will not consider nominations of deceased individuals.
• Individuals named in any of the following roles during the nomination and judging period are not eligible to nominate or be nominated or provide a reference:
  
  • Industry Prizes Working Group members
  • RSC Subject Community Presidents
  • RSC Prize Committee members
  • Trustees of the Royal Society of Chemistry
  • Royal Society of Chemistry staff

• The prize is open to nominees based in the UK or Ireland only.
• Nominees should either be still completing their apprenticeship, or have finished within the last 12 months at the close of nominations.
• Nominees should have worked as an apprentice in a technical support role, with a strong basis in chemical sciences, for at least one year. This will typically involve, but not exclusively, the planning and preparation of experiments, the preparation and management of chemical reagents/samples/analytes, or the management of chemical resources, such as instrumentation and its maintenance.
• 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.
• Starting from the 2023 cycle, unsuccessful nominations for this prize will automatically rollover to the next prize cycle, unless the nominee’s circumstances have changed so as to make them ineligible, in relation to the eligibility criteria for the prize as outlined above. We encourage nominators to update their nomination between cycles when the nomination window is open. Nominations will be considered for two consecutive prize cycles.

To make a 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.
• An up to date CV for the nominee (no longer than one A4 side, 11pt text) which should include a summary of their education and career.
• 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, 25 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

Our selection committees base their evaluations on the overall quality of relevant contributions and achievements by nominees, in relation to the selection criteria listed below.

The scientific content of any supporting publications, as described in the supporting statement, is much more important than publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which it is published.

The selection committee will consider the following aspects of nominations for this prize:

• Professionalism - including reliability, organisational skills, accuracy, precision, consistency of approach and competency
• Contribution - including role played in team and examples of team working
• Achievement - including outstanding skills and expertise in the role, examples of inspiring colleagues, co-workers, students (at all levels) and similar
• Development - including examples of personal development
• Personal Attributes - including examples of enthusiasm about the subject and their role within it, communication skills, and, where appropriate, leadership skills

Where appropriate, examples of how candidates have provided "inspirational", "innovative" and/or "creative" contributions and similar are encouraged.

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

Industry Prizes Working Group

• Paul Brewer, National Physical Laboratory (Chair)
• Ian Ball, Johnson Matthey
• Oscar Kelly, Altana
• Lydia Meyer Turkson, INARI Agriculture
• Katty O'Brien-Quilty, Thames Water