The 2020 JKU Young Researchers' Award took place on Thursday, July 1, 2021, in the JKU’s grand ceremony room after the original awards ceremony scheduled for December 2020 had to be cancelled. The JKU Young Researchers' Award was created to honor outstanding academic achievements by junior researchers at the JKU.

The JKU honored 33 junior researchers who completed their dissertation or Master's degree thesis at the JKU Faculty of Medicine, or those who have published one or more papers in high-profile publications during the course of their dissertation.  In addition, for the first time, the awards were accompanied with prize money provided by Engel, LCM, Novartis, Raiffeisen and SCWP.

The awards were presented to the award recipients by Dean Mayrhofer (Faculty of Law), Dean Pernsteiner (Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics & Business), Dean Schlacher (Faculty of Engineering & Natural Sciences), and Dean Gruber (JKU Faculty of Medicine). A champagne reception followed, giving sponsors and well-wishers alike an opportunity to celebrate with the award recipients.