The statute for the Eesti Pank research prize

1. The goal of awarding the prizes

1.1. The Eesti Pank research prize in memory of Urmas Sepp is given to young Estonian economists each year in two different categories, one for master’s studies and one for doctoral studies.

1.2. The research prize is intended to promote research in economics, recognise outstanding research work and enhance studies for academic degrees.

 

2. The size of the prize award

2.1. The head of the Economics and Research Department of Eesti Pank makes a proposal each year to the Eesti Pank executive board for what size the prizes awarded the next calendar year should be in the master’s and doctoral categories. The board approves the size of the prize once they have considered the Eesti Pank budget for the following calendar year.

2.2. If two or more works are entered into the competition that are of equal academic value in the eyes of the commission, the prize can be divided between multiple winners. This applies separately for the doctoral prize and the master’s prize.

 

3. A competition for the prize is announced

3.1. Eesti Pank announces a competition for which the prize will be awarded by 15 April each year at the latest. Eesti Pank publishes the announcement of the competition on its website, and sends information about the competition to all the institutions of higher education in Estonia that have a course in economics at master’s or doctoral level that has been approved by the Estonian Ministry of Education.

3.2. The announcement is written by the Economics and Research Department and covers:
a) the size of the prize;
b) the conditions of competition entry;
c) a list of the documents that must be submitted for the competition;
d) the deadline for submitting the documents and where they must be submitted;
e) contact details for where more information can be received.

 

4. Terms and conditions for the competition

4.1. The competition is open to anyone who is under 40 when the competition is announced and who:
a) is studying on a master’s or doctoral course accredited by the Estonian Ministry of Education; or
b) has already gained a master’s or doctoral degree on a course accredited by the Estonian Ministry of Education at the time of the announcement.

4.2. Groups of researchers can enter the competition as long as all the members of the research group meet the conditions in point 4.1.

4.3. Full-time employees of Eesti Pank at the deadline of entry to the competition are not permitted to enter; this does not include interns.

4.4. To enter the competition, applicants should submit the following documents to Eesti Pank on paper or electronically by 15 September:

a) a correctly-formatted work of research or publication in Estonian or English;

b) a written declaration of entry in the competition, giving the author(s) of the work; contact details for the author (name, address, educational institution, and telephone number or email address); when and where the research was done; and which other competitions the work has been entered in.

c) the CV of the author or authors;

d) the diploma for the master’s or doctoral degree conferred on the author or authors, or a confirmation issued by the university department that the author is studying on a master’s or doctoral course;

e) a three-page summary of the research work entered in the competition.

 

5. The award committee for the prize

5.1. The works of research entered into the competition are assessed by 1 October at the latest by a three-member commission comprising the head of the Research Division of the Department of Economics and Research as chair of the commission, and two external experts, one of whom is an academic employee of the University of Tartu and the other of whom is an academic employee of Tallinn University of Technology.

5.2. The executive board of Eesti Pank confirms the proposal of the chair for the composition of the commission.

 

6. Organisation of the competition

6.1. The commission is convened by the chair. The commission is quorate when all the members are present.

6.2. The commission assesses the research works for quality and originality.

6.3. The commission has the right to invite independent experts to help assess the research works.

6.4. If a member of the commission is the supervisor of a work submitted for the competition or is a close relative, spouse or other family member of an entrant, they are replaced by an alternative commission member.

6.5. The commission takes decisions by simple majority.

 

7. Results of the competition

7.1. The commission makes a proposal to the executive board of Eesti Pank by 15 October at the latest on whether to award or not award the prizes, and to whom they should be awarded. The executive board of Eesti Pank approves the proposal. The decision of the executive board is final.

7.2. Eesti Pank announces the results of the competition on its website by 1 November at the latest.

7.3. The prizes are awarded by Eesti Pank to the winners at a prize-giving ceremony.

7.4. If one of the winning research works is written by a group of authors, the prize is divided equally between the authors.

7.5. Eesti Pank only publishes the works and data of candidates who do not win a prize in the cases defined by law.

7.6. By agreement with the author or authors, Eesti Pank may publish the prize-winning research works in part or in full in the Eesti Pank Working Papers series.

7.7. Eesti Pank has the right to issue press releases and articles covering the competition.

 

8. Failure of the competition

8.1. The competition is a failure if no research work is submitted for entry to it, or if the commission finds that no work submitted is of sufficient quality to be awarded the prize.

 

9. The principles for processing the personal data received by Eesti Pank in connection with research works submitted for the research prize competition.

9.1. Eesti Pank processes the personal data that candidates for the research prize have submitted as part of their competition entry. The data are processed to assess whether the candidate meets the criteria for the research prize. To do that Eesti Pank processes the following personal data: essential data such as name, personal ID code and date of birth; contact details such as telephone number, email address and residential address; data on education; and data giving other information that the candidate for the research prize considered it relevant to submit.

9.2. In processing the data of candidates for the research prize, Eesti Pank uses the information that candidates have submitted on themselves.

9.3. The documents submitted by the candidate can only be viewed by the contact person named in the competition announcement and by the members of the commission appointed by the executive board of Eesti Pank. Those documents and personal data may not be released to any third party.
The data on the candidates are restricted access information that third parties, including legal authorities, may only access in cases defined by law. All the data on the candidates are held by Eesti Pank for one year after the research prize competition has ended.