Penkowa's EliteForsk Award revoked

– One of the criteria for receiving the EliteForsk Award is to be a role model and to shed a positive light on research. After Milena Penkowa was convicted of document fraud, embezzlement and false accusations, the University of Copenhagen recommended that her award be revoked. I agree with this assessment and have therefore advised Milena Penkowa's lawyer today [May 19th 2011] that the Ministry is revoking the honorary award, says Science Minister Charlotte Sahl-Madsen.

The revoking of the EliteForsk Award means that Milena Penkowa's name will be removed from websites pertaining to the EliteForsk initiative.

Milena Penkowa's EliteForsk Award amounted to DKK 1.1 million – DKK 900,000 for research and DKK 200,000 as a personal honour. The University of Copenhagen has documented that the DKK 900,000 has been used for research. The university will refund DKK 200,000 to the Ministry. The repaid sum will go towards an extra travel scholarship next year.

• You can read the full details of the decision here (in Danish).
• Further details about the Milena Penkowa case – at the University of Copenhagen's website.

Science Minister Charlotte Sahl-Madsen can be contacted via head of communications Anders Frandsen, tel: +45 3048 8450.