Announcement - This Prize will be awarded in 2025. Memoirs can be submitted to the Secretariat of the Academy before February 1st, 2025.
Text laid down by the Administrative Commission during its session of 18 March 1992 and modified during its sessions of 23 March, 28 September 1994, 30 March 2001, 17 March 2005, 25 September 2013, 25 March 2015 and 28 September 2016.
1. On the occasion of the accession of Fernand Suykens, former President of the Academy, to the title of General Manager emeritus, the Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences has established a Fund for Port Studies in order to promote studies on seaports and maritime transport in overseas countries.
2. The Fund has been constituted by an initial capital resulting from donations to the Academy for this purpose. It will be increased by the interest which the capital will yield, and by further donations and legacies made to the Academy in order to enlarge the Fund.
3. The Fund is managed by the Administrative Commission of the Academy under a specific accounts entry.
4. The Fund has been established in order to award a prize named "General Manager Fernand Suykens Prize for Port Studies" to the author of a memoir of high scientific value, which is unpublished or has been published for less than three years, written in English, French or Dutch, on a subject related to port economy, management, techniques or maritime transport in general, and applicable to overseas countries in particular.
5. The prize amounts to 2,500 EUR. It will be awarded every three years and for the first time in 1995. The Administrative Commission can modify the amount and the frequency of the prize.
6. Memoirs submitted should be sent to the Academy’s secretariat before 1 February of the year in which the Prize is awarded: five paper copies and one electronic version. For overseas candidates (developing and emerging countries) three paper copies and one electronic document will do. Candidates will append to their application a summary of 1,200 words maximum, a curriculum vitae and a covering letter.
7. The prize is awarded by the Section of Technical Sciences, on the proposal of an ad hoc Committee.
This Committee consists of:
a. The Permanent Secretary, who is in charge of the secretarial work;
b. Two members appointed by the Section of Technical Sciences, among the fellows, honorary fellows, associates and honorary associates of the Academy, during its session held in the month of February following the submission of memoirs.
c. The General Manager of the Port of Antwerp;
d. The professor or lecturer in charge of the course "Zeehavens" at the University of Antwerp.
8. The report of the ad hoc committee is transmitted to the Section of Technical Sciences before 1 May following the nomination of the above committee.
9. No correspondence will be exchanged concerning the committee’s deliberation.
10. The Section of Technical Sciences will nominate the winner during its June session. This nomination will result from a vote by a show of hands by the fellows, honorary fellows, associates and honorary associates present. To be appointed, the candidate should obtain an absolute majority. If no candidate obtains such a majority after three rounds, the prize will not be awarded ant the amount intended for this award will remain part of the Fund.
11. The author(s) of the prizewinning memoir will be conferred the title of "Winner of the General Manager Fernand Suykens Prize for Port Studies" of the Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences.
12. The Academy may consider publishing the prizewinning memoir if it has not been published.
13. In case the Fund’s assets were no longer sufficient to award a substantial prize, the Administrative Commission might decide either to integrate the balance of the Fund into the Academy’s general assets, or to merge the prize with another prize awarded by the Section of Technical Sciences.