Entries to the 2nd annual contest are now closed. The winners have been announced!
Update: We’ll be back for another contest in 2025! Jennifer, Brittany, and Ian look forward to your entry next year.
Do you have a personal academic website? Enter to win an award
Thank you for entering to win an award in the Best Personal Academic Websites Contest. The deadline for entries was extended through September 30, 2023.
Entries are now closed. View the award-winning websites.

I’m Jennifer van Alstyne of The Academic Designer LLC. My friends Brittany Trinh and Ian Li of Owlstown and I are teaming up again to bring you this professional development contest for
- Faculty
- Professors
- Scientists
- Postdocs
- Grad students
- Independent researchers
This is the 2nd annual Best Personal Academic Websites Contest. We’re excited to be back in 2023 to celebrate your websites. The entry form is quick to fill out.
Have a personal academic website? Yay! You should be proud of your website. They’re not common. We’re excited your website is in the world.
The winner’s announcement for the 2023 Contest.
This contest is now closed. Entries are free. The form takes just a couple of minutes to complete.
Don’t have a website yet? We have resources to help you build a website below.
It’s never too early or too late to make your website a reality. Watch the replay of our free live event to help you set up your website today.
Why you should enter
We want to recognize the hard work you’ve put into your personal academic or scientist website.
There will be awards in multiple categories. Here’s what you get if you win an award
- A line on your CV
- A digital badge for your LinkedIn profile and website
- Be featured as a top academic website in the winner’s announcement and on social media
- Bragging rights
Entries in the 2023 contest are now closed. The winners have been announced.
Watch the replay of our virtual event to help you set up your personal academic website
This event was recorded live on Zoom on August 1, 2023 at 6pm Pacific Time, hosted by Jennifer van Alstyne @HigherEdPR, Brittany Trinh @BrttnyTrnh, and Dr. Ian Li of Owlstown @Owlstown
Hosts

Brittany Trinh is a website strategist and designer for STEM leaders. She helps grad students, scientists, and academics create impact-driven websites so they can level up in their careers & get paid for their expertise. She’s currently a chemistry PhD student at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“I hope that this contest will motivate more graduate students to get their websites done ASAP. I’m excited to see more academics share their finished websites on Twitter!”
— Brittany Trinh (@BrttnyTrnh)

Ian Li is the creator of Owlstown, the website builder for academics. Owlstown websites are easy to make and maintain, so you can focus on your research. With templates for various research artifacts, Owlstown allows you to present your research in various ways to inspire and inform others.

“I am excited that the contest will encourage people to share their research by creating an academic website. I hope that the experience of creating an academic website will help people to think about how to present their research. I also hope that people may gain inspiration from each other’s websites.”
— Ian Li (@Owlstown)

Jennifer van Alstyne helps professors feel confident when showing up online. The Academic Designer LLC is a minority woman-owned business helping academics share their research, teaching, and leadership on websites and social media since 2018. The Social Academic blog, podcast, and YouTube channel helps professors manage their online presence to build a strong digital footprint.

“This contest inspired so many people last year to make their own websites. I’m delighted we get to bring it back again this year. It’s never too early or too late to make your personal academic website.”
— Jennifer van Alstyne (@HigherEdPR)

Subscribe so you don’t miss the winners announcement!
Winners will be announced at the end of November here on The Social Academic blog.
7 free resources for creating your own personal academic website
Our goal is to help as many people as possible. Here are free resources from Ian Li of Owlstown, Brittany Trinh Creative, and The Academic Designer LLC to help you make your website. Please share with your friends.









Official Rules for the Best Personal Academic Websites Contest
View the award winning websites from the 2022 contest!
This year’s contest is now closed for entries. Entries to the 2023 Best Personal Academic Websites Contest were open through September 30, 2023.
Thank you for helping us share this contest! Winners will be announced here on The Social Academic blog in early December 2023.
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Questions about the Best Personal Academic Websites Contest? Email [email protected]