Call for Nominations: ACM India Doctoral Dissertation Award 2024

Call for Nominations: ACM India Doctoral Dissertation Award 2024

Call for Nominations
ACM India Doctoral Dissertation Award 2024 
(For dissertations defended between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024)
To Be Awarded During the ACM India Annual Event in February/March 2025

Overview

The ACM India Doctoral Dissertation Award was established in 2011 by ACM India Council. This award recognizes the best doctoral dissertation(s) in Computer Science and Engineering from degree-awarding institutions based in India for each academic year. The ACM India Doctoral Dissertation Award is accompanied by a prize of ₹2,00,000. An honourable mention award, if any, is accompanied by a prize of ₹1,00,000, shared equally by recipients (if more than one). The winning dissertation(s) will be published by ACM, including distribution through the ACM Digital Library. Tata Consultancy Services is the founding sponsor for this award.

Eligibility

Each PhD granting institution based in India can normally nominate one student for the award. Institutions that produce more than 10 dissertations in relevant areas per year can nominate two students. Each dissertation nominated for the 2024 award must have been defended successfully between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.

Deadline

Nominations must be received by 11 pm August 31, 2024 Indian Standard Time to qualify for consideration of the 2024 award.

Publication and Copyrights

Winning dissertations will be published in the ACM Digital Library. Each nomination must be accompanied by an assignment to ACM by the author of exclusive publication rights, as per ACM's copyright policies. Copyright will automatically revert to an author if her/his dissertation is not selected.

Nomination Procedure

The following instructions must be strictly adhered to, failing which, a nomination is likely to be desk-rejected.

  1. Candidates with a PhD degree completed from CS/CSE or allied disciplines are eligible to be nominated, subject to the clause of maximum number of nominations coming from any institute.
  2. The nominator must be the primary dissertation advisor of the nominee.
  3. The nominator must indicate whether they are aware of any action committed by the nominee that violates the ACM Code of Ethics and ACM’s Core Values before confirming. Please see the Policy for Honors Conferred by ACM.
  4. Each nomination must include a single zip file named NomineeName.zip, where NomineeName is the nominee’s full name, including first name, middle initial (if any) and last name (if any). For example, if the nominee’s name is Akbar K. Sharma, the zip file should be named AkbarKSharma.zip.

In order to create the zip file, first create a folder/directory named NomineeName (e.g. AkbarKSharma in the above example), then place all of the following files in it , and finally zip the folder/directory to create NomineeName.zip.

i. A PDF file named nomination.pdf containing a nomination letter by the primary dissertation advisor. This letter must include:

  • The name, address, phone number and email address of the primary thesis advisor and co-advisors (if any)
  • The name, mailing address and email address of the candidate
  • A one-page (200-300 words) nomination statement addressing why the nominee deserves to receive the award. This should address the significance of the dissertation, not simply replicate the information in the abstract.
  • Suggested citation if the nominee is selected. This should be a concise statement (maximum of 25 words) describing the key technical or professional accomplishment for which the nominee merits this award. Note that the final wording for awardees will be at the discretion of the Awards Committee.

ii. A PDF file named endorsement.pdf containing an endorsement letter by the department head or a suitable substitute (in case the department head is an advisor/co-advisor of the nominee or has a conflict of interest with the nominee).

iii. At least three, and not more than five, PDF files named supporting_letter_1.pdf, supporting_letter_2.pdf etc., each containing a supporting letter from an expert in the field who can provide additional insights or evidence of the dissertation’s impact.

The following must be strictly adhered to for supporting letters.

  • The primary advisor or co-advisors (if any) of the nominee may not write a supporting letter
  • Dissertation review/evaluation forms or referee reports for dissertations do not qualify as supporting letters
  • A supporting letter must explicitly mention that it is supporting the nomination for ACM India Doctoral Dissertation Award 2024
  • Each letter must include the name, address, email address and telephone number of the supporter

iv. A PDF file named dissertation.pdf containing one copy of the dissertation in electronic format.

v. A PDF file named publications.pdf containing a record of publications in conferences and journals of the work reported in the dissertation, along with their citations, if any.

vi. A PDF file named copyright.pdf containing a copyright licensing form available at (https://www.acm.org/binaries/content/assets/india/acm-publishing-license-agreement.pdf) filled out by the candidate and assigning licensing rights to ACM. Copyright will revert to the author if the nomination is not selected for publication.

Mode of Submission

Nomination material must be submitted electronically by the primary dissertation advisor (not the nominee). Supporting letters must not come directly from the supporters, but must be included in the zip file as indicated above. All necessary material listed in points (i) through (vi) above must be collected and submitted by the primary dissertation advisor, bundled as a zip file. The zip file must be uploaded at: https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/ACMIndiaAwards2024. Please choose “ACM India Doctoral Dissertation Award” track, fill in all required information in the online nomination form, and upload the zip file named NomineeName.zip at the above CMT site.

Selection Procedure

Dissertations will be reviewed for technical depth and significance of the research contribution, potential impact on theory and practice, and quality of presentation. An independent committee of eminent Computer Science researchers from across the world will perform an initial screening to generate a short list, followed by an in-depth evaluation to determine the winning dissertation. The decision of the committee will be final and binding.

For further queries on the ACM India Doctoral Dissertation Award, contact: [email protected].