KNCV Golden Flame

5.

The Selection Committee is appointed by the KNCV board. Members are appointed on the basis of nominations of potential candidates by the sections of the KNCV or a related organization, coordinated by the KNCV board member responsible for awards.

6.

The Selection Committee consists of a chairperson and at least four members who are actively working in the various fields covered by the KNCV sections.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

The Selection Committee shall maintain confidentiality in its work with regard to the names of the candidates. The Selection Committee shall also maintain the required confidentiality with regard to the content of the final internship report at the request of the company or institution concerned. In case of doubt, the Selection Committee shall take the initiative to consult with the company or institution concerned.

12.

Persons who have obtained an MBO diploma in the period from September 1 to June 30 of the year in question after following a full-time, part-time, or dual program at a Dutch MBO institution in the field of laboratory training or process technology are eligible for the award. The final internship report (or comparable final assignment) must be written in the field of chemistry, life sciences, process technology, or (bio)molecular sciences.

13.

Board members and employees of the KNCV are not eligible for the Golden Flame Award.

14.

The KNCV office invites all KNCV members, and in particular directors and teachers at vocational colleges that award the eligible vocational diplomas, to submit what they consider to be the best final internship reports (or comparable final assignments). Only reports of experimental work are eligible for the Golden Flame award. Reports of literature research are explicitly excluded. The candidate is nominated by the vocational education institution. A vocational education institution may submit a maximum of three nominations. The nomination must be accompanied by:

• a CV of the candidate;
• the digital version of the report.

15.

For a proper assessment, the recommendation must explain why the candidate in question is so exceptional that he/she is eligible for the award.

16.

Criteria that may be taken into consideration are:

The final assignment:

• Problem insight: the extent to which the candidate has demonstrated a good understanding of the problems of the subject he/she has dealt with.
• Originality and quality: the innovativeness of the work with regard to the research question, the methods used, and the approach.
• Reporting: the way in which the work is described in the report, namely logical structure, clear problem definition, unambiguous description of the methods, clear conclusions and discussion, overall clarity and completeness of the report.
• Clear presentation of the final internship.

The candidate:

• Skills and knowledge: technical skills (broad, deep) and quality of the experimental work.
• Independence: the candidate's independence with regard to the implementation of the project and the experiments; own contribution to the final internship and the reporting.

17.

The Selection Committee reaches a decision through a transparent and balanced process.

18.

Each report is read by two members of the Selection Committee. All members of the Selection Committee read the summary, content, and conclusions of all reports and rank the candidates. After discussing the candidates, the committee selects a top five. The first three candidates from this top five are invited to give a presentation about their final internship to the selection committee. Based on the report and presentation, the Selection Committee nominates the winner of the Gouden Vlam and also the runners-up.

19.

The Selection Committee may be assisted in its work by a number of experts working in the Netherlands. These experts shall submit their advice in writing.

20.

The Selection Committee shall submit its advice in writing to the KNCV Board. The advice shall be accompanied by the material on which it is based. A brief assessment shall be given of the three best candidates and, based on the above criteria, the reasons why the nominated candidate is preferred over the other candidates shall be indicated for the winner.

21.

The Selection Committee shall issue its recommendation based on a majority vote.

22.

The KNCV Board shall adopt the Committee's recommendation unless there are compelling reasons not to do so. In that case, the KNCV Board shall clearly indicate why it is deviating from the recommendation. In the event of rejection, the award shall not be presented.

23.

The Selection Committee will draw up a statement of reasons, which will be approved by the KNCV board at least one month before the presentation of the Golden Flame.

24.

The prize will be presented in person. Only in very exceptional circumstances may the prize be accepted by someone else.

25.

The winner will be announced and the considerations published in C2W and on the KNCV website. Those who nominated candidates will be notified of the result in writing.

26.

In all cases not covered by these regulations, the KNCV board will decide.