Awards

The Oesterreichische Nationalbank grants the Franz Weninger Award for outstanding master’s and doctoral theses in the field of monetary theory and monetary policy. Three one-time prizes of EUR 3,000 each may be conferred for such theses every year.

1. The submitted paper shall be a master’s or doctoral thesis in the field of monetary theory or monetary policy and shall be approved by an Austrian university. Approval shall be from the academic year (October 1, 2011 – September 30, 2012) immediately preceding the submission date. The author shall be under 35 years of age at the date of submission.
   
   
2. The copy of the master’s or doctoral thesis submitted shall be typewritten in either German or English. The master’s or doctoral thesis submitted shall be postmarked September 17, 2012, at the latest, must bear the reference "Franz-Weninger-Stipendium/Franz Weninger Award" and sent to Oesterreichischen Nationalbank, Otto-Wagner-Platz 3, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
   
   Along with the thesis, the applicant shall include a brief curriculum vitae and proof of university approval.
   
   If the work submitted has already won an award or if it has been submitted for other prizes or grants, this circumstance shall be mentioned in the application. Moreover, the author shall state whether the master’s or doctoral thesis or parts thereof have already been published. Former and current employees of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank shall be ineligible to apply.
   
   Applications for the award shall be treated confidentially.
   
   
3. The submitted theses shall be assessed by a panel of four qualified OeNB reviewers. The award winners shall be selected by the Governing Board of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank based on the panel’s proposal.
   
   
4. If the panel should come to the conclusion that no thesis, or only one thesis, qualifies for the award, it may propose that the Governing Board of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank confer no awards or only one award.
   
   
5. The panel shall determine the award winners by simple majority. The chairperson shall have the casting vote. The decision of the Governing Board of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank based on the panel’s proposal shall be final and, like the panel’s decision, shall not be subject to appeal. The applicants shall not have any legal recourse
   
   
6. The Oesterreichische Nationalbank is entitled, but by no means obligated, to publish the award-winning theses in full or in part without obligation to make any additional payments. Moreover, the OeNB may invite award winners to hold presentations on their theses; they shall agree to give such presentation without remuneration. The Oesterreichische Nationalbank shall have the right to issue, or to have someone issue, press releases or other notifications (e.g. on the OeNB’s website) in connection with the presentation of the award in the calendar year following the award.
   
   
7. By submitting their theses, applicants shall consent to the above terms and conditions. The granting of awards shall not entail any further obligations for the OeNB.
   
   
8. Theses which do not receive an award are returned to the submitters after conclusion of the selection process.

Vienna, January 2012