CODS-YRS Rising Star Award 2026

Call for Applications: CODS-YRS Rising Star Award 2026

The Young Researchers' Symposium (YRS) at CODS 2026 announces the call for applications for the CODS-YRS Rising Star Award. This recognition aims to reward outstanding senior doctoral students and early-career researchers who have demonstrated an exceptional track record of research excellence and measurable impact in the areas of data science, data management, data mining, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.

Five selected awardees will be formally recognized at the conference and honored with this prestigious award. Partial travel grants will be available for selected awardees.

Eligibility and Requirements

  • Current Status: Senior PhD students enrolled in a PhD program before May 2024 or researchers who defended their PhD after June 2025
  • Research Focus: The applicant’s core research must closely align with the technical tracks and topics of interest outlined in the CODS 2026 Call for Papers.
  • Track Record: Candidates should demonstrate an exceptional trajectory of publication, innovative problem-solving, or demonstrable real-world research impact (e.g., open-source contributions, datasets, or deployed solutions).
  • In-person attendance: Award recipients are required to attend CODS 2026 in person to receive the honor, present a brief overview of their research trajectory, and/ or participate in mentorship sessions for students.

Application Requirements

Interested candidates must submit the following materials in this form before July 27, 2026, AOE:
  • Research Statement (Max 2 pages, single column excluding references): A concise summary highlighting your key research contributions, intellectual novelty, broader technical/ societal impact of your work, and future research directions.
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV): CV including detailed academic records (undergraduate and postgraduate grades/ CGPA), publications, software artifacts, awards, and professional activities.
  • Research Highlight Video: A 5-minute video recording of your research and impact
  • Reference Letters: Two letters of recommendation (including one from your primary PhD advisor), endorsing your candidacy and detailing the significance of your research contributions, to be uploaded here before August 3, 2026.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a brief virtual interview during the evaluation phase.

Important Dates

All deadlines are Anywhere on Earth (AoE, UTC-1200)
  • August 24, 2026: Application Submission Deadline
  • August 31, 2026: Reference Letter Submission Deadline
  • September 14-28, 2026: Interviews for Shortlisted Candidates
  • October 12, 2026: Award Notification

YRS Chairs

  • Rajesh Sharma, Plaksha University
  • Sravanti Addepalli, Google DeepMind
  • Subhajit Datta, Heritage Institute of Technology
For more details, please reach out to the chairs at cods@acmindia.org