1. Objective

The IBERCorr'27 Young Researcher Award aims to encourage the active participation of young researchers in the First Iberian Corrosion Congress, promoting the presentation and discussion of scientific and technological results, exchange between Portugal and Spain, and recognition of emerging excellence in the field of corrosion and materials protection.

The competition seeks to recognise work demonstrating high scientific and technical quality, relevance to the Iberian community, application potential, and a contribution to the congress's core themes, including corrosion fundamentals, mechanisms and modelling; atmospheric, marine and offshore corrosion; microbiologically influenced corrosion; coatings; cathodic protection; monitoring and asset management; heritage and rehabilitation; and corrosion and materials protection in renewable energy, hydrogen transport and storage, energy storage, and the energy transition.

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2. Eligibility

Young researchers who are no more than 35 years old on the first day of the congress, 26 April 2027, may apply for the IBERCorr’27 Young Researcher Award.

Eligible applicants include Master's or PhD students, research fellows, early-career researchers, senior technicians, or young professionals, provided that they carry out scientific or technical work within the thematic areas of IBERCorr'27.

The applicant must be the first author of the submitted work, be registered for IBERCorr'27, and present the work in an oral session at the congress.

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3. Application conditions

Each applicant may submit only one application for the IBERCorr'27 Young Researcher Award.

The submitted work must be original, fall within the congress themes, and comply with the submission, formatting, and presentation rules defined by the Organising Committee.

Incomplete applications, applications submitted after the deadline or in a format other than that specified, or applications that do not meet the eligibility requirements set out in these Regulations will not be considered.

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4. How to apply

To apply for the IBERCorr’27 Young Investigator Award, candidates must submit their work (abstract) in accordance with the instructions provided on the official conference website.

The abstract must be submitted by 30 November 2026.

In addition to the complete abstract, the application must include proof of the applicant's age; a declaration that the applicant is the first author; and a declaration that the applicant will present the work orally at IBERCorr’27.

The documentation required for the application must be sent by 30 November 2026 to ibercorr27@gmail.com

Acceptance of the abstract for presentation at IBERCorr'27 does not automatically entail the award of the prize. The work will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria defined in these Regulations.

Each applicant may submit only one application for the award. If more than one application is submitted by the same applicant, only the first application submitted will be considered.

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5. Jury: composition and responsibilities

The IBERCorr’27 Young Researcher Award is promoted by the Congress Organising Committee, with the support of the Congress Scientific Committee.

The jury will comprise members of the Scientific Committee and/or experts invited by the Organising Committee, seeking, whenever possible, to ensure balanced representation of the scientific and technical communities of Portugal and Spain.

The jury is responsible for verifying the eligibility of applications; evaluating the submitted works in accordance with the criteria defined in these Regulations; attending and evaluating the oral presentations; and selecting the winner or winners of the award.

Jury decisions will be taken by majority vote. In the event of a conflict of interest, the Jury member concerned must declare the conflict and refrain from participating in the evaluation of the application in question.

The jury's decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

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6. Evaluation criteria

The evaluation will take into account the overall quality of the written work and oral presentation, considering the following criteria:

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7. Award

The IBERCorr'27 Young Researcher Award will be presented to the work ranked first.

The award will include a certificate and support for the winner's future scientific participation, preferably in the form of registration for a scientific congress in the field of corrosion and materials protection to be held in 2028/2029, or through another equivalent form of support to be defined by the Organising Committee.

The jury may propose the award of honourable mentions when justified by the quality of the applications.

The jury reserves the right not to award the prize if it considers that none of the applications has sufficient merit.

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8. Announcement of results

The result of the IBERCorr'27 Young Researcher Award will be announced during the congress, at a time to be defined in the official IBERCorr’27 programme.

The winner's name, institutional affiliation and country, as well as the title of the award-winning work, may be published on the congress website, in IBERCorr'27 communication materials, and through other institutional channels associated with the event.

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9. Schedule

Dates relating to application submission, notification of acceptance, and announcement of the award will be published on the official IBERCorr'27 website at https://www.ibercorr2027.org/

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10. Final provisions

Submission of an application implies full acceptance of these Regulations.

Any matters not covered by these Regulations will be considered and decided by the IBERCorr'27 Executive Committee, after consulting the Organising Committee and the Scientific Committee whenever applicable.

For enquiries relating to the IBERCorr’27 Young Researcher Award, please use the following e-mail address: ibercorr27@gmail.com

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For general questions regarding congress registration, please consult the information available on the official IBERCorr'27 website or use the e-mail address: ibercorr2027@leading.pt

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Updated information on dates, prices and registration is available at: https://www.ibercorr2027.org/inscricoes/datas-precos