ISPP YOUNG SCIENTIST AWARDS

ELIGIBILITY AND GUIDELINES

An initiative to encourage early career researchers and recognize their research contribution in science for the betterment of society.

ISPP Young Scientist Awards is an initiative of the Indian Society for Plant Physiology to encourage early career researchers and recognize their research contribution in science for the betterment of the society.

Each award carries a gold medal, cash award, and a certificate. The selection of the candidates will be highly competitive and will be based upon their academic background, importance of the research work, and presentation during NCPP 2026.

Candidates interested in participating for young scientist award presentations must register for NCPP 2026 and submit an abstract and their biodata in the prescribed format. Credentials of the applicants will be evaluated by an evaluation panel of eminent researchers with sound academic background in the field. Three highest scoring presentations will be recommended for the award.

Name of the Awards

Prof S.K. Sopory Endowment Award
ISPP-ASPB Award
Prof M. Udayakumar Memorial Award

Eligibility Criteria for the Awards

Maximum Age Limit: 40 years (as on 31.12.2026).
Membership: Candidate must be a Life Member of the Indian Society for Plant Physiology as on the last date of application. Apply for Membership
Travel Reimbursement: Selected participants will be reimbursed their travel expenditure up to Rs. 5,000/- or actuals through AC 3-tier train journey (whichever is lower).
Research Scope: Area of research should be in-line with ISPP’s mandate.
Previous Awardees: Preference will be given to applicants who have not previously received a Young Scientist Award from ISPP.

Score Card for Selection of Young Scientist Awards

S.No.	Attributes	Marks
1	Importance and relevance of research findings (Background, review of literature, hypothesis, significant findings, Novelty)	35%
2	Slide content and visual representation	10%
3	Presentation skills and time management	10%
4	Ability to answer the questions	15%
5	Academic excellence (Recipient of CSIR, UGC, INSPIRE, Rajiv Gandhi or any other important National Fellowship/Gold Medal)	10%
6	Publications (No. of publications with NAAS rating*)	20%

Detailed Guidelines

Applicant must register for NCPP 2026 ( https://isppsociety.in/conference/) and submit the requisite document using the application form below.
Applications will be screened by the evaluation committee and 15 participants will be shortlisted based upon academic excellence, publications, and significance of research findings for the presentation during NCPP 2026.
Unsuccessful applications will be transferred so that candidates can participate under the poster presentation category.
Presentation Format: Each candidate will have 7–8 minutes to present his/her work, followed by a 2–3 minute interaction with evaluators/audience. Candidate must adhere to the time limit as exceeding it will attract negative marking.
The candidate will be evaluated on the basis of various criteria defined in the score card chart.
Academic Excellence Weightage Breakdown:
- > 60% marks at Bachelor level: 1 mark
- > 60% marks at Master's level: 2 marks
- Ph.D. degree awarded: 2 marks
- National Fellowship / University Gold Medal: Maximum 5 marks (CSIR, UGC, INSPIRE, Rajiv Gandhi or any other Important National Fellowship; 2.5 marks each)
- Patents: Granted Patents score 5 marks each; Filed Patents score 3 marks each.
Applications will not be reviewed if incomplete or received after the submission deadline.

Submit Application

Download Template Application Submission Starts Shortly 🚀

Last date for submission: 15^th October, 2026

National Conference on Plant Physiology - 2026