Nomination for APRS Early Career Researcher Award 2026
Award Guideline
Australian Pattern Recognition Society (APRS), founded in 1990, is
the Australian national member of the International Association for
Pattern Recognition (IAPR). The purpose of the APRS Early Career
Researcher (ECR) Award, established in 2020, is to recognise
Australian ECRs who have made significant contributions in pattern
recognition and broader areas of artificial intelligence.
The following general guidelines apply to an APRS ECR award
nomination and selection:
- A nominee must have been awarded their PhD within five years preceding the nomination deadline, that is, on or after 30 September 2021, and must be employed by an Australian university or recognised research institution at the nomination deadline. Significant career interruptions may be considered where appropriate.
- A nominee must have made a national or international impact in pattern recognition and artificial intelligence research.
- The nominee must be nominated by an academic staff member or equivalent from an Australian university or a research institution and agree to the nomination. Self-nominations are not accepted.
- Membership in APRS is not a prerequisite for a nominee.
- The award winner will be selected by the APRS Award Committee.
-
The award will be presented at the APRS premier conference,
International Conference on Digital Image Computing: Techniques
and Applications (DICTA), in the same year of nomination. The
award recipient will receive:
- An APRS ECR Award certificate,
- An opportunity to deliver a short presentation, and
- A free full non-author registration.
Award Timeline
Nomination Deadline:
30 September 2026
Nomination Confirmation: Each nomination submission will be
acknowledged within 5 working days after the nomination deadline.
Nomination Outcome: All nominees will be notified of the award
selection outcome in late October or early November.
Award presentation: DICTA 2026, Sydney, NSW, December 2-4, 2026.
Nomination Submission
A nomination for this award must be submitted to the APRS President, Dr Anwaar Ulhaq (a.anwaarulhaq@cqu.edu.au) by the nomination deadline. The nomination must be submitted as one PDF file containing the following, in order:
- Nomination letter – maximum 500 words, addressing eligibility and the nominee's major research achievements and impact.
- Curriculum vitae – maximum 2 pages, including current position, PhD award date, major achievements, grants, awards and leadership.
- Selected publication list – maximum 10 publications, highlighting the nominee's most significant contributions.
- Referee report – maximum 2 pages, addressing the nominee's achievements, impact and research standing, and stating the referee's position, institution and relationship to the nominee.
Email subject:
APRS ECR Award 2026 Nomination – (Nominee Name)
Incomplete or late nominations may not be considered.