Higher Education Commission (HEC) Announces Research Awards 2025: Call for Applications
Islamabad, Pakistan – The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has officially announced a “Call for Applications” for its prestigious HEC Research Awards 2025. The HEC is inviting Pakistani researchers and scholars to submit their applications for this esteemed competition, which aims to recognize and celebrate excellence in research, contribute to intellectual development, and promote the publication of high-impact scholarly work.
This annual awards program is a cornerstone of HEC’s commitment to fostering a robust research culture in Pakistan by acknowledging the outstanding contributions of the nation’s brightest minds.
HEC Research Awards 2025: Award Categories
The HEC Research Awards will be conferred in the following three distinct categories, each designed to honor different aspects of scholarly achievement:
Best Researcher
Best Young Researcher
Best Publication
Comprehensive Eligibility Criteria
To ensure a fair and competitive selection process, the HEC has established a clear set of eligibility criteria for all applicants.
General Eligibility (Applicable to all Categories):
The applicant must have never been blacklisted by the HEC.
The applicant or the publication must not have received the same award in a previous year.
None of the publications submitted for consideration on the applicant’s or authors’ credit should be plagiarized, as per HEC’s plagiarism policy.
Category-Specific Eligibility:
a) Best Researcher:
The applicant must have been a resident of Pakistan for at least three years as of January 1, 2025.
b) Best Young Researcher:
The applicant must be under 40 years of age as of January 1, 2025.
The applicant must have been a resident of Pakistan for at least one year as of January 1, 2025.
c) Best Publication:
The publication must be either a scholarly book or a journal article.
The publication must not be more than three years old as of January 1, 2025.
The publication must be written by no more than three authors.
All authors of the publication must have been residents of Pakistan for at least three years as of January 1, 2025.
A research article must have been published in a HEC-recognized W-category journal.
The research article must have a minimum citation count of 100.
A book submitted for the award must be published by a recognized and renowned academic press.
A publication (including an extended version of a paper) that has previously been submitted for the same award category is not eligible for re-submission.
How to Apply: Online Application and Deadline
The application process for the HEC Research Awards 2025 is entirely online. Incomplete or late applications will not be entertained.
Application Procedure:
All application forms must be submitted through the HEC’s online portal.
To apply, visit the HEC’s official research portal at: https://research.hec.gov.pk
Application Deadline:
The deadline for the submission of applications is Wednesday, September 17, 2025.
For further information and application submission, please visit:
HEC Website: https://www.hec.gov.pk/site/HRA
Email Contact: hra@hec.gov.pk
This is a remarkable opportunity for Pakistani scholars to gain national recognition for their hard work and intellectual contributions. All eligible researchers are encouraged to apply and showcase their impactful work.
