Through the Young Scientist Fund, ESWI gives scholarships to young scientists to attend the European Influenza Conferences based on an open competition. The ESWI Young Scientist Fund is named after Claude Hannoun, the first ESWI chair and promoter of young scientists for many years. There were 20 available at the first two conferences and 50 for the third, fourth, fifth and sixth editions.

In 2020, ESWI will again provide some 50 grants to young scientists. In addition, young scientists will act as co-chairs during the conference sessions, implying that they will assist their session chair (a renowned influenza expert by default) when moderating the scientific debates. Importantly, Wednesday 16 September 2020 will open with a plenary session entirely devoted to the work of promising scientists. In past editions, these plenaries were highly appreciated in the influenza community, mainly due to their innovative and refreshing nature.