Application - Philippe de Woot Award

Application for the 2026 Award

Submission

Master theses for the 2026 Award must be submitted by October 1, 2025

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Objectives

The inter-university “Philippe de Woot Award” is an initiative of the UCLouvain that aims to promote sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility. The award is granted every two years to one or several Master thesis(es) for their original contribution to the understanding and thinking about Corporate Social Responsibility.

For whom

Award candidates may be any graduate from a University or Business School at Master level over the world whose Master thesis is about corporate social responsibility or sustainable enterprises and sustainable development.
Candidates must have completed their thesis during the academic year 2023-2024 or 2024-2025.

Candidates can only participate once to this Award.

Periodicity

This prize is awarded every two years, during an Award ceremony animated by renowned speakers from different backgrounds in connection with CSR.

Confidentiality

Jury members and all other people involved in the selection processes promise not to disclose any information to ensure strict confidentiality while processing the application files. The student is advised to inform the concerned stakeholders and obtain their agreement before submitting the application.

Jury and evaluation procedures

Applications will be examined in two steps: first by the academic co-ordination group, formed of a panel of academic representatives of universities/schools, and second by a group of stakeholders (representatives of companies, NGOs, trade unions, public authorities and/or associations linked to CSR as well as the media).

The academic co-ordination group will select the best master thesis with a maximum of five theses. The short-listed nomminees will be asked to prepare and present a professional presentation of their thesis during the ceremony.

Criteria for this video presentation:

180 seconds max
content has to be made understandable in Layman’s terms
content has to be presented in an appealing manner

A final deliberation between members of the academic jury and the jury of stakeholders will select the winner(s) of the « Philippe de Woot Award ».

Evaluation criteria

The jury members (academics and stakeholders) will pay special attention to the following items:

Originality of the master thesis (subject and/or approach)
Quality of the project
Quality and rigor of the scientific reasoning
Anchored in practice and relevance to practitioners
Format, structure and fluency of the text

Awarding ceremony

The three to five nominees are invited to attend the ceremony. The winner(s) will be asked to prepare and present a professional presentation of his/her thesis during the ceremony.

Will be invited to the ceremony:

the students of the participating universities/management schools
professors and researchers interested in CSR topics
representatives of the corporate world
public state representatives
the press

Application for the 2026 Award should be sent for the 1st of October 2025 here.
Applications will enter into consideration upon reception of the application file including the following different elements:

Document description	Language	Size
Application form (online)	English
Abstract of the thesis (that will be published on the Award website before the ceremony)	English	Max. 15 lines
Executive summary*	English	Max. 5000 words
A proof that the thesis has been accepted	Any language
Curriculum vitae of the student(s)	English	Max. 2 pages
Master thesis (electronic version)	Original language

* The executive summary should include the following elements: Introduction, Detailed research questions, Summary of literature review, Main characteristics of the methodology, Main results, contributions and implications for research and practice.

Are you interested in the Philippe de Woot Award?

The next edition will be organized in 2026

Any graduate student from a university or business school with a Master’s degree whose dissertation deals with CSR or sustainable development defended during the academic years 2023-2024 & 2024-2025 can apply for this award.

The prize

The award-winner(s) will receive a prize of € 3,000. €1,500 will be directly given to the student and the remaining €1,500 will be offered to an environmental or a social project to be chosen by the student. In addition, communication in the media and international networks will be ensured.