The new scholarship awards EUR 15,000, plus the value of the prize of EUR 10,000.

Applications can be submitted until 8 February.

Lisbon, 20 January 2021. 
The 2021 University of Coimbra Prize, considered one of the most important awards in Portugal, was enhanced this year with the addition of a Santander Research Scholarship. This is worth EUR 15,000, to be used in an area to be chosen by the winner, in addition to the usual annual diploma, which awards EUR 10,000.

Created in 2004 by the University of Coimbra, with the backing of Banco Santander, the Award honours a figure of Portuguese nationality who stood out in the previous year for a particularly significant contribution in the areas of Culture, Economics, Management, Innovation or Science, making a clear contribution to the development of individuals and families, companies and communities and supporting the inclusive and sustainable growth of the society in which we live.

Past winners have included journalist and food critic José Quitério, choreographer and teacher Madalena Victorino, musicologist and cultural historian Rui Vieira Nery, and the co-founder and CEO of Critical Software, Gonçalo Quadros. In the last edition, in 2020, the winner was the trustee of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Carlos Moedas, civil engineer, economist and former European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science.

The prize is awarded by a multidisciplinary jury, chaired by the Rector of the University of Coimbra, Amílcar Falcão, with an individual appointed by Banco Santander as vice chairman. The public announcement of the winner takes place on 25 February, and the award ceremony will take place on 1 March, during the solemn commemorative session of the 731st anniversary of the University of Coimbra.

For more information: https://www.uc.pt/premiouc/Regulamento

Banco Santander and its support of higher education

Banco Santander Portugal, through Santander Universidades, is committed to promoting best practices in responding to the challenges of Portuguese society, and is already a national benchmark in terms of promoting Higher Education, currently collaborating with 50 higher educational institutions. The Bank invests more than 7 million € per year in the area of Social and Corporate Responsibility.

Banco Santander is firmly committed to progress and inclusive, sustainable growth, with a long-standing dedication to higher education that sets it apart from the world's other financial institutions. With more than €1,800 million invested in academic initiatives since 2002 through Santander Universities and over 430,000 university scholarships and grants awarded since 2005.