The UKAIS invites submissions for the Doctoral Thesis Award. Effective communication is a key skill for doctoral candidates in Information Systems. The UKAIS Doctoral Thesis Competition recognises early career researchers who can demonstrate the importance and relevance of their research to a diverse audience with a 5,000 word summary of their doctoral thesis. Applications are invited from scholars who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis on a topic related to Information Systems during the period 1st September 2024 – 31st December 2025.
Prizes
The UKAIS will make two awards:
• Best paper £250 voucher and a certificate
• Runner up £100 voucher and a certificate
What are the criteria for success?
The UKAIS Doctoral Thesis Competition focuses on research related to any topic on Information Systems. Candidates must submit a 5,000 word summary of their doctoral thesis which is evaluated on its ability to present research clearly, rigorously, and concisely to a diverse audience while also answering the following questions:
• What is the contribution of the research to the field of Information Systems?
• How does the research contribute to our understanding of important challenges or opportunities related to Information Systems?
• Is the methodology robust?
Key dates
Submission opens: 12th January 2026
Submission closes: 26th January 2026
Decision: 10th April 2026
Presentation and award ceremony: 2026 UKAIS conference
Eligibility criteria
• While there is no expectation that applicants are a UKAIS member, successful applicants are expected to become a UKAIS member.
• Applicants must have successfully defended their doctoral thesis and completed any revisions during the period 1st September 2024 – 31st December 2025.
• The doctoral thesis must be on a topic related to Information Systems.
• The best paper winner and runner up will be expected to present their doctoral thesis research at the UKAIS conference or in a separate UKAIS webinar event.
• Should no application rise above an acceptable threshold, UKAIS is not obligated to award any doctoral thesis award for that award cycle.
Submission guidelines
• The summary document must be a maximum of 5,000 words, including references and any figures or tables.
• The summary document must conform to the UKAIS template available here. Any application that does not follow the template guidelines will be rejected without review or feedback.
• The summary document must be submitted in either a .doc/.docx/.pdf format.
• This competition follows an anonymised review process, meaning the applicant’s identity is concealed from reviewers and vice versa. To facilitate the review process, you must submit an anonymised summary document. You must also ensure that identifiable information is removed from the document properties of the summary document.
• The title page of the summary document must include the title of your doctoral thesis only. Do not include any identifiable information.
• Email your completed application to contactus@ukais.org with the summary document attached. In the email, please include your full name, UKAIS membership number (if you are a member), contact information, details of the institution where you completed your doctoral thesis (i.e., institution name, department/faculty/school, and postal address), details of your supervisor(s) (i.e., name and title), and the date your thesis was completed (this must be the date any revisions were accepted). Please mark the email subject line as: UKAIS thesis award application 2026.
Review process
Each application will be reviewed by two reviewers. The board will then make a decision based on the reviewers’ recommendations.
For any information or to ask any questions, please contact us at contactus@ukais.org.