WWTF ReFrame — Competition Terms and Conditions

The ReFrame Science Image Prize is run by the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF), Schlickgasse 3/12, 1090 Vienna. It is a supplementary instrument (Ergänzendes Instrument) under the WWTF Funding Guidelines (11 August 2021).

Who can apply?
Anyone who conducts or actively supports research at an institution in Vienna or the greater Vienna metropolitan region (including Lower Austria) at the time of submission. This includes researchers at all career stages, master's students, doctoral candidates, postdocs, and staff in research-enabling roles such as data managers, research librarians, lab managers, and science communicators. No formal institutional affiliation is required.

What to submit
Add 3–10 images accompanied by a title and a short caption. Accepted formats: JPEG, PNG, TIFF, HEIC, WebP. Maximum file size: 20 MB per image. Manipulations must not misrepresent scientific content. Composite images must be declared.

Originality and rights
Entrants must hold all rights to submitted images. By entering, entrants grant WWTF the right to publish their submitted image under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) licence. This means the image may be shared freely for non-commercial purposes with full attribution to the creator, but may not be modified or used commercially. Copyright remains with the entrant.

Selection
A jury appointed by WWTF evaluates all eligible submissions. Jury deliberations are confidential. The jury's recommendations are binding on prize allocation.

Evaluation Criteria
The jury assesses each eligible entry against four criteria, weighted equally:

Scientific significance: The image originates from genuine research activity and conveys something meaningful about the underlying science, data, or process.
Visual impact: The image is immediately compelling in composition, colour, or form and holds attention beyond its scientific context.
Clarity of description: The accompanying title and caption explain what is shown, how the image was produced, and why it matters, in language accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Originality: The image offers a perspective, subject, or visual treatment that is distinctive and not derivative of widely circulated scientific imagery.

Prizes
The total prize pool is €5,000, distributed as follows: €3,000 (first prize), €1,000 (second prize), €1,000 (third prize). Prizes are paid directly to the individual winner. Winners are responsible for any applicable tax obligations.

Disqualification
WWTF may disqualify any entry that: was submitted simultaneously to another competition offering a prize, contains fabricated or manipulated scientific content, infringes third-party rights, or was submitted in breach of these terms.

Data protection
Submitted data are processed in accordance with GDPR and Austrian data protection law solely for the purpose of running the competition.