ACM India Early Career Researcher Award

Nominations

Call for Nominations: ACM India Early Career Researcher Award

Overview

The ACM India Early Career Researcher (ECR) Award acknowledges individuals in the early phases of their careers who have made groundbreaking, innovative, and influential contributions to the computing field, with a primary focus on work carried out in India. This award aims not only to recognize such contributions but also to raise the international profile of Indian research, inspire emerging researchers to aim higher, and position them for future global accolades.

The award includes a prize of ₹15 lakhs, generously sponsored by the Persistent Foundation.

Deadline
Nominations must be submitted by 15 September 2025, 11 PM IST. This is a strict deadline, and the winner will be announced by 31 December 2025.

Eligibility

  • The award has no age restrictions. However, nominees must be within 6 to 12 years of receiving their terminal degree. For the 2024 award, eligible candidates must have obtained their degree between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2017.
  • For thesis-based degrees, eligibility is based on the date of the thesis defense, while for non-thesis degrees, it is the degree award date.
  • The candidate's contributions must have been made primarily while working in India.
  • The award is open to candidates from any background in the broad computing field, regardless of nationality, ACM membership, or whether their terminal degree is a PhD or in computing.

Nomination Process

  • Self-nominations are not permitted.
  • Nominators should be recognized members of the computing community with direct knowledge of the candidate’s work and its impact.
  • Nominators must obtain the nominee's consent before submitting their nomination and ensure they are not also a nominee for the same award.
  • Nominators must indicate whether they are aware of any actions by the candidate that breach the ACM Code of Ethics or ACM’s Core Values.
  • Nominations remain active for up to three years if eligibility is maintained, and updates to the nomination can be made during that period.

Evaluation Criteria

Candidates will be evaluated on the impact of their research in computing theory and/or practice, particularly focusing on contributions made in the last decade. A distinguished international jury will select the winner.

Award Details

The award includes a plaque and ₹15 lakhs. The recipient will be honored at the ACM India Annual Event in early February, where they will also deliver a talk on their research. Travel and accommodation will be covered by ACM India.

Submission Requirements

Nominations must be submitted using the online ACM India nomination form. Submissions should include the following:

  • Nominator’s contact information (name, address, phone number, email)
  • Candidate’s contact information (name, address, email)
  • A suggested citation (maximum 25 words) summarizing the candidate’s key accomplishment
  • A two-page nomination statement detailing why the candidate deserves the award, highlighting their major contributions
  • The candidate’s CV, including publications, patents, honors, and service contributions
  • Three supporting letters from endorsers, each including the endorser’s contact information, discussing the candidate’s impact. The nominator is responsible for collecting these letters.

For any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. The ACM conflict-of-interest guidelines apply to all nominations.