We are excited to announce the second edition of the Maintenance PhD Thesis Award, a collaboration between the Nederlands Vereniging voor Doelmatig Onderhoud (NVDO) and the World Class Maintenance foundation (WCM). This prestigious award recognizes and celebrates the most innovative research contributing to the enhancement of the Dutch maintenance sector.
Last year, the PhD award was presented to Mingxin Li for his outstanding research titled “Towards Closed-loop Maintenance Logistics for Offshore Wind Farms: Approaches for Strategic and Tactical Decision-making.” Who will follow in his footsteps this year?
Award Ceremony Details:
- Date: November 5th
- Venue: Gasunie in Groningen
- Event: Maintaining the future
We invite you to play a crucial role in this initiative by nominating students who have conducted groundbreaking research in the field of maintenance. These awards are open to individuals or groups affiliated with educational and research institutions such as universities.
Submission Deadline: September 1st
The winners of the Maintenance PhD (PTA) and Master Thesis Award (MTA) will not only receive a prestigious accolade but also a cash prize. Moreover, they will have the opportunity to be automatically nominated for the European Federation of National Maintenance Societies (EFNMS) Euromaintenance PhD and Master award, adding an international dimension to their achievements.
EFNMS PhD Thesis Award Highlights:
- Promotion of Theoretical and Applied Research in Maintenance Engineering and Management.
- Evaluation criteria:
- Scientific Value and Academic Relevance
- Industrial Relevance
- Creativity (innovation)
- Presentation
- Contribution to sustainability
- Presentation opportunity during the biannual EUROMAINTENANCE conference; March 2026, 11-12 Gothenburg, Sweden
Submission Guidelines:
- Nominee’s thesis, report, or research summary should not exceed 5 pages of A4 size.
- Evaluation criteria include applicability, academic and industrial relevance, innovation, safety promotion, sustainability, energy efficiency, contribution to smarter production, and increased asset reliability.
General Information:
- Nominations, along with justifications (find here the application form), must be submitted by September 1st, 2025, to info@worldclassmaintenance.com
- An independent and expert jury will assess the submissions. The jury consists of:
- Results will be announced at the Maintaining the Future conference on November 5th, 2025. Nominees are expected to attend the conference in person.
- Winners will receive a cash prize of €1000 and professional publication of their work.
- NVDO and WCM retain publication rights.
- Winners are expected to cooperate in PR activities.
Join us in recognizing and promoting outstanding research in maintenance. Let’s contribute to the advancement of our industry together.
Best regards,
Prof. dr Henk Akkermans ; Director WCM and professor at Tilburg University
ir. Scholte P.J. Strikwerda; Manager HSE inspection at Gasunie and boardmember of the NVDOBovenkant formulier