Introduction

King Saud University Scientific Excellence Prize was established by KSU to honor distinguished faculty members, researchers, and students within a spirit of scientific competition in order to further promote the standards of scientific research. The Prize is annual, seeking to efficiently pave the way for a distinguished, outstanding, and innovative scientific research environment. The motivations for initiating such a Prize are the following:

1. To serve the first objective of KSU2030 Strategic Plan related to research quality and excellence through raising the academic and scientific standards of research to serve the community, and contribute to the materialization of excellence in various scientific fields. In order for its importance to be highlighted, the objective of excellence has occupied the top of the list of the objectives in KSU2030 Strategic Plan.
2. To serve the various initiatives in the strategic plan programs, especially the faculty members-related initiative, which emphasizes the increase of compensations and the improvement of the support given to them. One of the objectives of this initiative is to provide faculty members with a supportive and stimulating environment conducive to increasing faculty members’ performance and their research output.
3. To embody the values adopted in developing the University such as “quality and excellence” and “creativity and innovation.”
4. To serve the Strategic Plan of the Deanship of Scientific Research, which includes 8 objectives, some of which are:

1. Research excellence in view of materializing international leadership.
2. Development and consolidation of human resources at the University to promote their scientific research outputs.
3. Contribution to building a knowledge-based society, and assistance to the priorities of industry and growth in the Kingdom.
4. Providing researchers and the research process with a stimulating research environment.

The Prize comprises nine branches: 
(i) Life-time Scientific Achievement Award, (ii) Research Quality Award e, (iii) Elite Journals Publishing Award, (iv) Inventions, Innovations, and Technology Licensing Award, (v) Excellence in Obtaining External Funding for Research Award ward, (vi) Best Authored Book Award, (vii) Best Translated Book Award,  (viii)Entrepreneurship Award, and (ix) Student Research Excellence Prize.

The Prize’s Board and Executive Committee supervise the procedures of nomination and submission according to the criteria and controls set up for each of the branches of the prize. The Prize’s Executive Committee forms specialized jury sub-committees to choose the best candidates.

Article One: Prize’s objectives

• To encourage and stimulate researchers and students in view of creating further scientific distinction, excellence, and competition;
• To promote the outputs of scientific research at the University quantitatively and qualitatively;
• To encourage publishing in outstanding scientific journals and periodicals;
• To stimulate the affiliates of the University to materialize the international dissemination of knowledge;
• To contribute to the scientific reputation of the University locally and internationally. 

Article Two: Prize’s branches 

Branch (i): Life-time Scientific Achievement Award
This Prize is awarded to the researcher whose scientific journey is distinguished by quality in research and academia throughout his/her academic career. 

Branch (ii): Research Quality Award 
This Prize is awarded to the best researcher whose work is characterized by quality and excellence. This branch includes six prizes: two prizes for science and engineering specializations, two prizes for health sciences specializations, and two prizes for social sciences and humanities specializations.      

Branch (iii): Elite Journals Publishing Award
This Prize is awarded to three researchers who published in the elite journals or the top journal in his specialist according to the impact factor. 

Branch (iv): Inventions, Innovations, and Technology Licensing Award 
This Prize is awarded to three researchers whose work is mentioned under scientific and health inventions and innovations, patents of invention, and licensed technology on condition that this work has a value-added scientific worth.  

Branch (v): Excellence in Obtaining External Funding for Research Award
This Prize is awarded to three distinguished productions in societal partnership research held between the University and the community with the public, private, or charity sectors. 

Branch (vi): Best Authored Book Award 
This Prize is awarded to the best authored book in science and engineering, health, and social sciences and humanities specializations.         

Branch (vii): Best Translated Book Award 
This Prize is awarded to the best translated book in science and engineering, health, and social sciences and humanities specializations.         

Branch (viii): Student Research Excellence Award

This Prize is awarded to the University undergraduate, postgraduate, and KSU students on scholarship abroad whose research is distinguished.

Article Three: General conditions to apply for the Prize

1.    Applying for the Prize at the scheduled time, satisfying all the conditions, and providing all documents.
2.    Making sure that the work submitted has been done while the applicant is working at the University or while on a scientific mission off campus.
3.    No-one who won the Life-time Scientific Achievement Prize (Type (i)) shall be permitted to apply for the Prize in any of its branches.
4.    No-one who won one of the branches of the Prize shall be permitted to apply again for the same branch before four years have elapsed.  
5.    No-one shall be permitted to apply for more than two branches of the Prize, and the Prize shall be awarded in one branch only.  
6.    All the work proposed to the Prize shall have a mention of the affiliation of the applicant with King Saud University.
7.    The Prize’s Board shall have the right to withdraw the Prize in case a breach in research ethics, or any of the prize conditions,  has been proven, and no-one from whom the Prize has been withdrawn shall apply again for the Prize.
8.    The applicant to the Prize shall not be a member of the Prize’s Board, any of its committees, or someone affiliated to the Deanship of Scientific Research in the very same year of the application.
9.    Applications shall not be accepted for previous work that has been awarded the same level or a higher prize from another institution.  

Click her for complete entry conditions and evaluation criteria:

King Saud University Scientific Excellence Prize Organizational Bylaw

To Apply