Funding

AWSAR DST Scheme – Submit your Research Story, Win upto 1,00,000 ₹

July 20, 2022

AWSAR Scheme – Submit your Research Story, Win upto 1,00,000 ₹

SCHEME- AWSAR Scheme

National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC) Division, Department of Science and Technology (DST) invites applications for AWSAR Scheme from eligible and interested candidates.

About- “Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research (AWSAR)” is an initiative to disseminate Indian research stories among the masses in an easy-to-understand and interesting format to a common man. Under this initiative, Ph.D. Scholars and Post-Doctoral Fellows (PDFs) in Science and Technology (S&T) streams would be encouraged to write at least one popular science article during the tenancy of their fellowship and to participate in a national competition. AWSAR Scheme

Table Of Contents

SCHEME- AWSAR Scheme
Eligibility/Qualification–
How to Submit-
Last Date for Apply– 30 August 2022

Eligibility/Qualification–

Indian citizens pursuing a Ph.D. or PDF in any stream of Science and Technology (S&T) within the tenancy period of her/his research can submit the entry. The story must relate to the research being pursued by him/her.

AWSAR program shall have the following guidelines for its implementation:

Any Indian citizen pursuing a Ph.D. or Post Doctoral Fellowship in any Science and Technology (S&T) stream is eligible to apply under AWSAR.
The scholars should have been enrolled in Ph.D. programs from Government approved Institutions for the last two years. Post Doctoral Fellows (PDF) associated with any recognized institute can also apply.
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 self-explanatory infographics, which may be formulated for effective communication.
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.
The applicants are requested not to mention their name, affiliation, and contact details in the submitted article.
Articles submitted should carry a declaration that the article is original and has not been previously published elsewhere.
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) be accepted for further scrutiny.
Applicants found guilty of plagiarism and multi-story submission will be blacklisted and debarred from participation in the future.
All articles should be submitted through an online portal.
A panel of eminent scientists and science communicators constituted by DST will select the best 100 entries from Ph.D. scholars and 20 best from postdoctoral fellows.

The award will cover the following two broad categories.
- The top three entries/write-ups by the Ph.D. scholars would be awarded the cash prizes of 1,00,000, 50,000 and 25,000, respectively. Also, 100 selected entries/write-ups by the Ph.D. scholars would be awarded cash prizes of ₹10,000 each yearly. The award will include a cash prize, a certificate of appreciation and an opportunity for the winning articles to be published.
- One outstanding story by the post-doctoral fellows will be given a cash prize of 1,00,000. Also, 20 selected entries/write-ups submitted by the post-doctoral fellows will be given a cash prize of 10,000 each and a certificate of appreciation.

Evaluation Criteria

A panel of eminent science communicators and scientists, constituted by DST, would evaluate the entries.

Award Categories

Selection of the best 100 entries of popular science stories and prizes.
1. For Ph.D. researchers: An expert panel will screen the initial entry. One hundred entries will be selected, and each will be awarded a cash prize of 10,000/- along with a Certificate of Appreciation.
2. 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.
Selection of top stories
1. For Ph.D. 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.
2. 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. All the awardees will be allowed to attend Science Film Training Workshop organized by Vigyan Prasar.

How to Submit-

AWSAR program shall have the following guidelines for its implementation:

Any Indian citizen pursuing a Ph.D. or PDF in any S&T stream is eligible to apply under AWSAR.
The scholars should be enrolled in the Ph.D. programs from Government approved Institutions for the last two years. PDF associated with any recognized institute can also apply.
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 self-explanatory infographics which may be formulated for effective communication.
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.
The applicants are requested not to mention their name, affiliation, and contact details in the submitted article.
Articles submitted should carry a declaration that the article is original and has not been previously published elsewhere.
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.
Applicants found guilty of plagiarism and multiple submissions by same author will be blacklisted and debarred from participation in the future.
All articles should be submitted through an online portal.
A panel of eminent scientists and science communicators constituted by DST will select the best 100 entries received from Ph.D. scholars and 20 best entries received from postdoctoral fellows.