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Regulation (PDF)

Deadlines and dates

Submission: 31 May 2018
Award ceremony: late summer 2018 (19th Zurich Gerontology Day) Vontobel Foundation


Once a year, the Center for Gerontology of the University of Zurich awards the Vontobel Award for Research on Age(ing) endowed by the Vontobel Foundation. The award can be given to one ore more persons for completed, publishable or published work of excellent quality in the format of a journal article.


The principal goal of the award is to support gerontological research in Switzerland originating from any field of science referring to age(ing). One purpose is to encourage knowledge transfer between research and practice – specifically, to acquire information from basic research for practical issues and, vice versa, to gain practical experience in order to serve research. We also support the scientific evaluation of gerontological practice. Another important scope is to make this knowledge public and to improve the understanding of aging throughout society in order to demonstrate possibilities for solidarity among different generations, age groups and professionals within the field of gerontology.


Manuscripts submitted to the Award Committee must correspond to the aims mentioned above. We accept manuscripts ready to be published as well as papers published no more than two years ago. Formally, they are expected to conform to the guidelines of an acknowledged scientific journal (e.g., «Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie» or «Journal of Gerontology») including usual word-limits for journal articles or book chapters in collections. Manuscripts may be written in German, French or English, by one or more authors.


The contest is open to junior researchers of any age who meet at least one of the following criteria:

The term junior researcher applies to all graduates of universities and colleges unless they acquired their habilitation in the relevant field more than five years ago. Lower degrees are not subject to time limits. A repeated awarding to the same person is excluded.

Co-authorship by persons who do not fulfill the above criteria is allowed, provided there is proof that the author(s) conforming to the above criteria made the main contribution to the work.

In case of more than one author, it is assumed that the first author has made the main contribution to the submitted manuscript. If this is not the case and/or if the first author is not one of the applicants, a confirmation by the first author is required, stating that the main contribution was made by the entitled author(s).

Applications must include a copy of the manuscript, an English abstract (with the title of the paper, but without the name(s) of the Author(s)), a short letter listing all applicants as well as short CV’s of all applicants in paper form. If necessary, the confirmation mentioned above must be included as well. Additionally, an electronic version of the application must  be included – either by e-mail or on a CD-ROM.

Applicants accept the requirements of participation specified above. Winners accept that their manuscripts or short versions thereof may be published in a suitable form.

Review and Awarding

A jury consisting of the Leading Committee of the Center for Gerontology of the University of Zurich and a representative of the Vontobel Foundation conduct the reviewing as well as the awarding processes. The nominated manuscripts are also reviewed by independent external experts. The main review criteria are relevance, originality, methodology, completeness and intelligibility.

The prize sum awarded amounts to CHF 30‘000. This sum is usually divided between at least two applications. The award is given to the applicant(s) listed in the application letter in corpore; it is up to the winner(s) to decide on how to share the sum. The jury’s decision on the awarding or non-awarding of the prize is final if it does not later learn of the disallowed origin of a manuscript. Recourse to legal action is not possible.

Award Ceremony

The award ceremony as a rule takes place on the occasion of the yearly Zurich Gerontology Day.

Deadlines and Dates

Last date for submissions:  31 May 2018
Award ceremony:  late summer 2018 (19th Zurich Gerontology Day)

Address for Submission and Further Information

University of Zurich, Center for Gerontology
Pestalozzistrasse 24, CH-8032 Zurich
Tel. (+41) 044 635 34 20
E-Mail: email@example.com - Web: www.zfg.uzh.ch (In case of doubt, refer to the German version of this document.)