Kerala State Young Scientist Award (KSYSA)

What is the Kerala State Young Scientist Award?

Kerala State Young Scientist Award (KSYSA) is an annual recognition instituted by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE), an autonomous council under the Science and Technology Department of the Government of Kerala. According to the KSCSTE awards page, KSYSA recognises outstanding research contributions by young scientists working in academic and research and development institutions within Kerala.

KSYSA sits alongside the council's other recognitions, including the Kerala Sasthra Puraskaram and the Science Literature Awards. Where the Sasthra Puraskaram honours senior scientists for a lifetime of work, KSYSA is deliberately aimed at the early-career stage, the point at which a researcher has finished a doctorate, completed a few years of post-doctoral work, and is trying to establish an independent research line in Kerala.

What does the Kerala State Young Scientist Award give?

KSCSTE lists four components of the award:

The Rs 50,000 cash prize and the certificate are the automatic part of the award. The research grant of up to Rs 50 lakh is not automatic. An awardee must submit a research proposal, and the amount sanctioned depends on expert committee review of that proposal. Travel support is available within three years of receiving the award and is tied to presenting the awarded work at an international conference.

Who is eligible for the Kerala State Young Scientist Award?

A candidate can be nominated if all of the following hold:

• The candidate holds a PhD.
• The candidate has at least three years of post-doctoral experience.
• The candidate has worked in an academic or R&D institution in Kerala for the last three consecutive years.
• The candidate is 37 years of age or younger as on 31 December of the year in which the award is announced.

A candidate is not eligible if:

• The candidate nominates himself or herself. KSCSTE accepts nominations only from designated nominators; self-nominations are not entertained.
• The candidate is older than 37 on 31 December of the award year.
• The candidate has not completed a PhD, or has submitted a thesis that has not yet resulted in the degree.
• The candidate has less than three years of post-doctoral experience.
• The candidate's institution is outside Kerala, or the candidate has worked in Kerala for less than three continuous years.

Who can nominate a candidate for KSYSA?

KSCSTE restricts nomination rights to four categories:

1. Vice chancellors of universities in Kerala.
2. Directors of R&D centres.
3. Heads of institutions and heads of departments.
4. Fellows of science academies.

This matters in practice. A researcher who fits every eligibility condition still cannot enter the award on their own; the first step is to approach a head of department, institution director or academy fellow willing to sign the nomination.

What documents are required for a KSYSA nomination?

How to apply for the Kerala State Young Scientist Award

1. Watch kscste.kerala.gov.in for the annual KSYSA notification. Nominations are invited once a year through a public notification.
2. Confirm the four eligibility conditions — PhD, three years of post-doctoral experience, three continuous years in a Kerala institution, and age 37 or below as on 31 December of the award year.
3. Approach an eligible nominator. A vice chancellor, an R&D centre director, a head of institution or department, or a fellow of a science academy, because a candidate cannot self-nominate.
4. Download the prescribed nomination format from the awards page and fill in the research record, publication list and contributions.
5. Attach the supporting documents: date of birth proof, PhD certificate, post-doctoral experience certificates and the Kerala service certificate.
6. Have the nominator sign the nomination and send the complete set to the Scientist-in-Charge (KSYSA), KSCSTE, Sasthra Bhavan, Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram 695 004 before the closing date in the notification.
7. Await the decision of the expert committee, which reviews all valid nominations and selects the awardees.

How do you check the status of a KSYSA nomination?

KSYSA has no online status tracker. KSCSTE publishes the names of awardees on kscste.kerala.gov.in and informs the nominator and the candidate directly. A nomination that is not selected in the first year is not dead: it stays valid for three years or until the candidate crosses the age limit, whichever comes first, so the same nomination is reconsidered in later cycles without being resubmitted.

For a status query, contact the Scientist-in-Charge (KSYSA) at KSCSTE on +91 471 2548214, quoting the candidate's name and the year of nomination.

Why do KSYSA nominations fail?

• Self-nomination. The single most common disqualification. The form must come from an eligible nominator.
• Age crossed. The 37-year cut-off is measured on 31 December of the award year, not on the date the nomination is sent.
• Kerala service condition not met. Three continuous years in a Kerala institution is a hard requirement, and a recent move into the state does not satisfy it.
• Post-doctoral experience short of three years.
• Incomplete publication record, leaving the expert committee without enough evidence of independent contribution.
• Nomination received after the closing date in the notification.

Where to get help

• Scientist-in-Charge (KSYSA), KSCSTE, Sasthra Bhavan, Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram 695 004
• Phone: +91 471 2548214

There is no fee for a KSYSA nomination. KSCSTE selects awardees purely through expert committee review, and no intermediary can influence the outcome.