SWSA Early Career Award

Definitions of Early Career Researcher (ERC)

• We define Early Career Researcher (ERC) as a researcher up to 8 years after their PhD

• EDI considerations are applied to the year count

  • Consideration is given to career breaks or non-traditional career paths

Eligibility Criteria

• ERC, as per the definition above

• Award restriction:

  • To be considered, you will need:

    •  at least one ISWC or ESWC publication in your publication record

    • Demonstrated service in ISWC/ESWC (including PC, organizational roles, etc.)

Evaluation Criteria

• WHAT we recognise:

  • High-impact research in the Semantic Web area

  • Clear independence and leadership

  • Originality

  • Technical depth

  • Long-term impact potential
     

• HOW we evaluate it:

  • Top-tier conference/journal publications in the SW field

  • Influence on the research community, measured by (but not restricted to) citations, software uptake, etc.

  • Service + visibility (PCs, keynotes, artifacts, tools)

Prize

• The winner for 2026 will be announced at ISWC 2026

• The award includes a certificate and a 1000 euros payment. A free registration to ISWC 2026 will also be covered.

Application Procedure

• Self Nomination

• Ideally, two letters of support from senior members of the community

  • One has to be at least someone who has not closely worked with you, but can assess and value the quality of your work

• Deadline 30th June 2026 AoE, the winner will be notified at the beginning of August 2026

• Submit your application on EasyChair

• Application Details. We ask each candidate to provide all relevant information helpful to evaluate their case. The application form has three sections to cover the three pillars of the evaluation: (i) Top-tier conference/journal publications; (ii) Influence on the research community, and (iii) Service and visibility. The easychair form will guide the candidate with details and artifacts we are looking for in each of the three sections.