Competition rules for the Rijk Zwaan Plant Sciences Award 2007
Participants
Article 1:
The competition is open to every (former) student of the following courses:
- Plant Sciences at Wageningen University, or
- Biology at a Dutch university.
Article 2:
Participants are deemed to have read and agree with these competition rules.
Article 3:
(Family members and other relatives of the panel of judges and) employees of Rijk Zwaan are excluded from participating.
Task
Article 4:
The thesis or research report should relate to basic, operational or applied research on plants, plant breeding and seeds. This relation should be explained succinctly in writing by the sender of the thesis/research report. The thesis/research report does not have to relate to vegetable crops. The thesis or research report should be made in the Master phase. Both theses or research reports are welcome as long as a literature study is included.
Article 5:
Entries are assessed on the following criteria:
1. Significance for professional breeding practices and the seed quality. That is to say: the interest of the contents of the thesis/research report to a company like Rijk Zwaan or other seed or plant breeding companies.
2. Originality. That is to say: the degree of newness and/or use of creative, original terminology in the sector.
3. Scientific quality.
4. Presentation and legibility.
Rights
Article 6:
Submitting the thesis/research report does not imply the transfer of authors’ rights and/or any authority connected with authors’ rights, with the exception of the stipulations in Article 7.
Article 7:
Rijk Zwaan obtains the right to use the submitted theses or research reports for internal presentations and for journalistic company publications, stating source. Any public presentation or publication has to be authorized by the submitter and his or her thesis supervisor to safeguard confidentiality of novel results. The submitter safeguards Rijk Zwaan against any claims from third parties on account of infringement of authors’ rights.
Article 8:
Submitted theses or research reports will not be returned.
Judging
Article 9:
Only those theses or research reports which
- were assessed as being satisfactory by the university in 2007 or 2008; and
- comply with the execution stipulations in article 13 shall be eligible for judging.
Article 10:
The panel of judges reserves the right not to present the Rijk Zwaan Plant Sciences Award in a certain year if the number of entries that year is deemed to be insufficient.
Article 11:
The judges nominate the best theses or research reports for the Rijk Zwaan Plant Sciences Award. A maximum of three theses or research reports will be nominated. The winning thesis/research report will be taken from the nominated theses or research reports.
Article 12:
The judges make their own choices, independent from Rijk Zwaan. They have the right to seek advice from external experts in judging the theses or research reports.
Execution
Article 13:
Submitted theses or research reports should be:
- in Dutch, English, French, German or Spanish;
- accompanied by a summary and a brief motivation as to how the subject relates to plant breeding, seed production and/or seed quality;
- sent in printed form, in duplicate;
- sent digitally in MSWord on a CD, clearly bearing the author’s name and the title of the thesis/research report;
- accompanied by written proof from tutors that the thesis/research report has been accepted by the tutors, including the date of acceptance;
- accompanied by a separate page with at least the following details:
full first name(s) and last name of the author, postal address, including postcode, contact telephone number, e-mail address, university name and branch of science, as well as the name and contact telephone number of the course assessor;
- in the hands of the panel of judges by 15th December 2007 at the latest. You may send your thesis/research report to Rijk Zwaan Zaadteelt en Zaadhandel B.V., f.a.o. Personnel department, P.O. Box 40, 2678 ZG, De Lier, the Netherlands.
Article 14:
Participants in the thesis/research report competition will be sent confirmation that their entry has been received. The names of the nominees will be published by 31st January 2008 at the latest. They will be informed personally by telephone and subsequently be invited by letter to attend the award ceremony. The other participants will be informed of the results by letter. No further correspondence about the judges’ decision can be entered into.
Award ceremony
Article 15:
The nominees will be invited to the award ceremony, which will take place at Rijk Zwaan’s head office in De Lier, the Netherlands. All nominees will receive an honourable mention.
The winner will receive € 1,500 (one thousand five hundred euro) and an all-expenses-paid working visit to one of the Rijk Zwaan subsidiaries abroad. The choice of subsidiary and the time and duration of the working visit will be decided in consultation with all parties concerned.
Final stipulation
Article 16:
In all cases not covered by these competition rules, the judges’ decision stands.
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