The Korean Scientists and Engineers Association in the UK (KSEAUK) is pleased to announce that nominations are sought for the KSEAUK Outstanding Early Career Researcher (ECR) and Postgraduate Award. These awards recognise the outstanding contribution of ECRs and postgraduates who have contributed to the advancement of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

The 2023 KSEAUK Outstanding ECR and Postgraduate award offers two recipients per scheme a certificate, a cash prize of £600 for ECRs and £400 for postgraduates, and an invitation to present their research at the KSEAUK annual conference on 28 October 2023.

Applications for the awards are due by 31 August 2023. To apply, please visit the KSEAUK website and download the application form.

Who can apply

Nominees are limited to ethnic Korean scientists or engineers at research universities/institutions or industrial/government laboratories in the UK. Nominees must be KSEAUK members.

The ECR award is open to researchers with a requirement of holding a PhD (or equivalent qualification) up to 10 years of research experience since their PhD by the closing date of the round. Career breaks are taken into account so exceptions may be made if their careers were disrupted due to extended medical leave, maternity leave, child-rearing, etc. Note that this ECR scheme is only for those who hold a non-permanent position, such as a postdoc.

The Postgraduate award is open to PhD students and those in equivalent positions.

How to apply

Nominations must include the following materials to be considered for the award. In addition, all materials submitted for the evaluation must be in English.

KSEAUK Outstanding ECR Award

• Nomination form. Please write your letter accessible for those unfamiliar with your research field. Nomination form in MS Word can be downloaded from the dedicated KSEAUK webpage.
• CV must include a list of scientific publications and a separate list of up to two selected publications with a brief description including your contribution of each publication (max. 100 words each).
• One reference letter supporting the nomination.

KSEAUK Outstanding Postgraduate Award

• Nomination form. Please write your letter accessible for those unfamiliar with your research field. Nomination form in MS Word can be downloaded from the dedicated KSEAUK webpage.
• CV must include a list of scientific publications and a lay summary about their PhD research project (max. 100 words).

Combine the completed nomination form, CV and any other supporting documents, and email one pdf file (up to 10 pages) to secretary@kseauk.org with the subject, “KSEAUK ECR or Postgraduate Award Application_Name of the applicant”. 11pt Times New Roman or Arial is preferred. For the ECR award applications, one reference letter emailed directly to secretary@kseauk.org with the subject, “KSEAUK ECR Award Reference” by 7 September 2023.

Application Deadline: 6 pm UK time on 31 August 2023.

How to select

Two awardees per each scheme will be selected by the KSEAUK Award Evaluation Committee. Award recipients will be selected based on their scientific excellence in STEM and potential to become a developing leader in their research area. The selection criteria include the quality of rationale in the nomination letter and demonstrated the impact of the early career scholarship. The recipients will be announced on the KSEAUK web page https://www.kseauk.org/ and via email by 13 Oct. 2023.

Award ceremony

The 2023 KSEAUK Outstanding ECR and Postgraduate Awards will be presented at the KSEAUK annual conference on 23 October 2023. The recipients are required to give an invited presentation at a relevant special interest group session at the conference. Details of the 2023 KSEAUK annual conference will be announced in due course. 

For any questions, please contact Dr Youngchan Kim, youngchan.kim@kseauk.org