Call for Applications: Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence 2026
The University of Vavuniya invites applications for the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence 2026. This annual award recognizes outstanding research contributions from permanent staff members across all disciplines.
Award Categories
The university presents the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence in three categories:
- Category 1 – Most Outstanding Young Researcher Award (applicants below 40 years on the closing date)
- Category 2 – Most Outstanding Senior Researcher Award (applicants 40 years or above on the closing date)
- Category 3 – Most Outstanding Inventor Award
Number of Awards
The university will select one eligible staff member for the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence in each of these fields:
- STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
- HEMS – Humanities, Education, Management, and Social Sciences
If two applicants in the same field tie for the top score, both receive the award, and they split the cash prize equally.
Who Can Apply
All permanent staff members of the University of Vavuniya can apply for this research award.
Which Work Counts
The committee will consider publications, patents, and related achievements that applicants published, obtained, or received approval for between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2025.
How to Apply
To apply for the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence, applicants must submit a duly filled application form (available on the URC website), a self-evaluation report, and supporting evidence from the document checklist below. Applicants must send their submissions through the official channel by 15 August 2026.
Before You Apply
Applicants must keep their Google Scholar and ResearchGate profiles updated and publicly visible. They must list their Google Scholar ID and relevant links in the application. Applicants must also verify their Google Scholar account using a vau.ac.lk email address.
Document Checklist
Applicants must submit:
- Self-Evaluation Report
- Copies of publications (abstracts/full papers/journals/books/book chapters)
- Front pages of journals or conference proceedings
- Evidence of University of Vavuniya affiliation and journal/conference indexing
- Front page of a paper citing the applicant’s work, with reference list
- Evidence of research supervision (PhD and MPhil)
- Evidence of patents obtained
- Letters confirming prior research awards
- Research ID/profile (Thomson Reuters Researcher ID, Scopus ID, Google Scholar, or SSRN ID)
- Librarian’s confirmation of publication in the University R-Repository
- Others (please specify)
Important Note on Affiliation
Applicants qualify for the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence only when their publications clearly list their name with University of Vavuniya affiliation. The committee will not consider publications lacking this affiliation.
The senate-appointed evaluation committee will make the final decision.
Submission Deadline: 15 August 2026
— Vice Chancellor, University of Vavuniya