Last year, as part of the SICSA Conference 2020, we launched the PhD Award for Best Dissertation in Scotland inviting submissions from our vibrant research student community in order to celebrate ground breaking research across Scottish Institutions. We were excited to receive a number of high quality submissions and we were very proud to present the work of the shortlisted candidates at the Lightning Talks session and announce Chris Cummins (University of Edinburgh) as the winner of the Award.
As our commitment to support and showcase the work of PhD students is continuous, we are thrilled to invite again submissions from doctoral researchers from all Scottish Institutions. Shortlisted candidates, will be invited to present their work at the SICSA Conference 2021. The ultimate winner will receive a prize of £2000 proudly sponsored by Amazon Development Scotland; all shortlisted candidates will receive a certificate and amazon vouchers of £50.
Selection Criteria:
The award is intended to recognise and honour outstanding research and exposition in Computer Science. Specifically, to be considered for this award, the dissertation should:
- make an original and noteworthy technical contribution; and
- have a high-quality exposition accessible to a general computer-science audience.
Eligibility:
All doctoral dissertations with a focus on Computer Science and Informatics successfully completed in the period 1st July 2020 to 30th June 2021 are eligible. The date of the viva or final thesis acceptance date can be treated as the completion date.
Nominations should include:
- Copy of dissertation.
- Nominating statement from an advisor (2 pages max) addressing why the nominee’s dissertation should receive this award. This should address the significance of the dissertation, not simply repeat the information in the abstract. Nomination must come from the advisor; self-nomination is not allowed.
- One letter of support (2 pages max). The supporting letter should be from an expert in the field (for example, the external examiner) who can provide additional insights or evidence of the dissertation’s impact. (The nominator/advisor may not write a letter of support.) If a letter writer is supporting more than one nomination, they may be asked to rank those nominations.
- List of publications contributing to thesis.
- Suggested award citation if the candidate is selected. This should be a concise statement of no more than 200 words.
Deadline for submissions:
16 July 2021
Email: admin@sicsa.ac.uk
Review process:
Submissions will be reviewed by a selection committee consisting of senior researchers in Computer Science and Informatics and chaired by the SICSA Graduate Academy Director.
