CALL FOR DST – AWSAR AWARD 2022

• Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research (AWSAR) AWARD 2022 scheme was initiated under DST in 2018 for young researchers to be involved in science popularisation and realize the constitutional mandate of inculcation and nurturing scientific temperament.
• In AWSAR, PhD and Post-Doctoral scholars of the Science and Technology stream are encouraged to write about their research in the popular story format.
• The last date for submission of the story is 30 August 2022.

Guidelines for AWSAR AWARD 2022

1. Any Indian citizen pursuing PhD or Post-Doctoral Fellowship in any Science and Technology stream is eligible to apply under AWSAR.
2. The scholars should be enrolled in PhD programs from Government approved Institutions for the last two years. Post-Doctoral Fellows (PDF) associated with any recognized institute can also apply.
3. The article should indicate a complete research story in simple language to be understood by the general public. No complex figures, graphs, equations, or formulae should be included except for self-explanatory infographics for effective communication.
4. Only original articles sent exclusively for nomination for the AWSAR award will be accepted.  Articles previously published elsewhere, or simultaneously sent for publication elsewhere, are not acceptable.
5. The applicants are requested not to mention their name, affiliation, and contact details in the submitted article.
6. Articles submitted should carry a declaration that the article is original and has not been previously published elsewhere.
7. Article of 1000-1500 words (A4-size with 2.5 cm margin on all sides, single column, Times New Roman font for English & Unicode font for Hindi, font size 12, 1.5 line spacing written in MS Word) will be accepted for further scrutiny.
8. Applicants found guilty of plagiarism and multi-story submission will be blacklisted and debarred from participation in the future.
9. All articles should be submitted through an online portal.
10. A panel of eminent scientists and science communicators constituted by DST will select the best 100 entries received from PhD scholars and 20 best entries received from postdoctoral fellows.

Research story criteria

The story should focus on answering the following queries.

• Why does my research matter?
• Why is it important?
• Why does it, interest researchers?
• Why should it interest the reader?

The article must be based on the research undertaken by the individual researcher. The article could be on complete or part of the research conducted, but it should not be a general review.

Selection criteria

• The entries will be judged on the basis of accuracy, clarity, insightfulness, fairness, and resourcefulness.
• The entries should convincingly fulfill the above said research story criteria.
• An Expert Panel of science communicators, media persons, subject experts, and practitioners, constituted by DST, will evaluate the submitted science stories.

Award categories

1. Selection of best popular science stories

a. For PhD researchers: The initial screening of the entry will be done by an expert panel. 100 entries will be selected and each will be awarded cash prize of   10,000/- along with a Certificate of Appreciation.

b. For Postdoc fellows: Twenty entries would be selected from articles submitted by PDFs relating to their line of research. Each will be awarded a cash prize of 10,000/- along with a Certificate of Appreciation.

2. Selection of top stories

a. For PhD researchers: The top three articles/stories will be selected from the leading stories. Further, they will be awarded the cash prize of   1,00,000/-, 50,000/- and 25,000/- respectively.

b. For Postdoc fellows: One outstanding article/story will be selected from the leading stories. Further the same will be awarded the cash prize of   1,00,000/-.

These awards will be bestowed on 28 February at the National Science Day event every year. All the awardees will be given an opportunity to attend Science Film Training Workshop organized by Vigyan Prasar.

For more information, visit http://awsar-dst.in/