The ESET Science Award honors outstanding scientists and educators. Laureates are chosen by an international jury led by a Nobel Prize laureate. The event is broadcast live on TV.
The ESET Science Award does not directly award prizes for the popularization of science, but supports it through the ESET Foundation’s grant program focused on popularization activities and research. The foundation’s goal is to increase the space for scientific voices in society and motivate young people. The ESET Science Award itself is given to exceptional scientists, thereby indirectly contributing to the popularization of science by giving prominent figures a platform and building public awareness of science
The theme of the event, The Future of Our Planet, was inspired by the Starmus science and arts festival, which brought world-class scientists to Bratislava in May 2024 and was partnered by ESET. Our goal was to celebrate science, bring it closer to the general public, and at the same time use resources responsibly. We don’t just want to talk about the future of the planet—we want to live it. Just as science is interdisciplinary, we also connect different areas and worlds, because that is where we see meaning and the future. Instead of a one-off stage design, we chose an original and sustainable concept of shared scenography for two projects – the ESET Science Award and the Slovak concert tour of singer Katarína Knechtová’s Worlds. It combines the stage and the philosophy of connecting the outer and inner worlds, because we live in times when it is important to connect our “bubbles” as well.
