We are pleased to announce the call for nominations for the 2026 AAIS Awards, recognizing outstanding contributions to Artificial Intelligence on a global scale The AAIS Awards are global professional science and technology awards in the field of artificial intelligence.

The Awards aim to recognize individuals, teams and organizations worldwide that have made outstanding contributions to basic research, technological innovation, industrial application and international cooperation in artificial intelligence, promote the progress and innovation of artificial intelligence science and technology, facilitate exchanges, cooperation and achievement transformation in the global artificial intelligence field, and help the high-quality development of new productivity in the field of artificial intelligence.

The following are the details regarding the selection process for the 2026 AAIS Awards.

I. Award Categories and Selection Criteria

This selection includes five awards. The scope, application requirements and restrictions for each award are as follows: all submitted achievements must be free of intellectual property disputes; for artificial intelligence-related achievements involving personal health and public safety, they must pass the relevant approval procedures stipulated by the country/region in which they are submitted.

(i) Lifetime Achievement Awards

1. Selection criteria: Senior experts and scholars with more than 20 years of experience in the global artificial intelligence field who have made milestone contributions to the development of the industry.

2. Application requirements: Candidates should have pioneering research achievements in the basic theories and core technologies of artificial intelligence, play an important leading role in the development direction and technical path of the global artificial intelligence field, enjoy widespread international industry recognition, and have good professional ethics and international influence.

3. Application restrictions: This is an honorary lifetime award, and each candidate may only apply once.

(ii) Outstanding Contribution Awards

1. Scope of selection: Individuals, teams and organizations that have made significant contributions to the field of artificial intelligence worldwide in terms of basic research, technological breakthroughs and industry leadership.

2. Application requirements: Achieve internationally leading scientific research results or technological breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, promoting a major leap forward in the field of artificial intelligence; or achieve remarkable results in the industrialization of artificial intelligence achievements and the popularization of industry applications, creating significant economic, social or ecological benefits.

(III) Distinguished Contribution Awards (divided into basic research, technological innovation, and industrial application categories)

1. Scope of selection: Individuals, teams and organizations that have made outstanding contributions in a single direction of basic research, technological innovation or industrial application in the global field of artificial intelligence. The three categories of awards are submitted and reviewed independently.

(1) Basic Research Category: Focusing on original achievements in basic research areas such as artificial intelligence theory, algorithms, and models;

(2) Technological Innovation Category: Focusing on innovative breakthroughs in core technologies, key components, and software and hardware systems of artificial intelligence;

(3) Industrial Application Category: Focusing on the application and transformation of artificial intelligence technology in various industries and fields.

2. Application requirements: The submitted achievements should be highly innovative and advanced, reaching the international advanced level in their respective sub-fields; basic research achievements should have significant academic value, technological innovation achievements should have industrialization prospects, and industrial application achievements should have been implemented and generated significant benefits.

(iv) Youth Innovation Awards

1. Selection Scope: Young researchers and entrepreneurs under the age of 45 (inclusive) in the global artificial intelligence field who have outstanding potential in technology research and development and innovative applications.

2. Application requirements: Applicants should have achieved innovative research results or technological breakthroughs in the field of artificial intelligence, possess strong scientific research and innovation capabilities and teamwork skills, and serve as role models among young talents.

(v) International Cooperation Awards

1. Scope of selection: Multinational teams, international organizations, Sino-foreign cooperative institutions and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to international exchange and cooperation, sharing of results and talent cultivation in the global field of artificial intelligence.

2. Application requirements: Leading or participating in major international collaborative projects or academic exchange activities in the field of artificial intelligence, promoting technological integration, achievement transformation or talent exchange in the field of artificial intelligence among different countries/regions, and the collaborative results have a wide international influence.

II. Nomination Methods and Requirements

This award adopts a nomination system and does not accept self-nominations. Nominations are divided into unit nominations and expert nominations. The Youth Innovation Award can be nominated by the candidate's mentor or unit leader. All nominators must make nominations within the field of artificial intelligence that they are familiar with.

(a) Nomination by the unit (including nomination by member units)

1. Nominating entities include: universities, research institutes, national/provincial key laboratories, independent legal entities, technology companies, industry associations, and international science and technology organizations in the field of artificial intelligence worldwide; science and technology management departments and intellectual property management departments of various countries; and member units of the AAIS can participate in the nomination as exclusive nominating entities and enjoy the same nomination rights.

2. Nomination requirements: Adhere to the principle of selecting the best from the best. Each unit must establish a scientific selection mechanism and be responsible for the authenticity and completeness of the application materials.

(II) Expert Nomination

3. Nomination criteria include: AAIS Fellows, Fellows of national academies of sciences/engineering in the field of artificial intelligence, senior professors/chief scientists of renowned universities and research institutions in the field of artificial intelligence, editors-in-chief of top international journals/conferences in the field of artificial intelligence, and recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award and Outstanding Contribution Award of this award.

4. Nomination Requirements: Nominators must nominate within their familiar field of artificial intelligence, provide objective and truthful nomination opinions, and be responsible for the authenticity and completeness of the nomination materials.

(III) Special Nomination for the Youth Innovation Awards

In addition to nominations from institutions and experts, the Youth Innovation Award can be nominated by the candidate's doctoral/master's supervisor, the head of the institution, or a young and middle-aged academic leader in the field of artificial intelligence. Nominators must objectively fulfill their nomination responsibilities and be responsible for the authenticity of the nomination materials.

III. Nomination Procedure

1. Application: The nominating organization/nominator should send the "2026 AAIS Awards Application Form" (send an email) to the corresponding award application email address, which will be reviewed by the Awards Committee of the AAIS.

2. Materials Completion and Confirmation: The nominating unit/nominator must fill in the nomination opinions objectively, truthfully, accurately and completely. Unit nominations must be stamped with the unit's official seal, and expert nominations/special project nominations must be signed by the nominator.

IV. Requirements for Submission of Nomination Materials

No hard copies of materials are required for this award application. All materials will be received through the official email address of the AAIS. Specific requirements are as follows:

1. Candidates/applicant organizations need to fill out the ‘2026 AAIS Awards’ Form for the corresponding award, and provide relevant supporting materials as required (including proof of achievements, proof of benefits, proof of qualifications, approval documents, etc.). After completing the form, submit it.

2. After signing and stamping, scan the document to generate a PDF file and send it to the official email address, along with supporting attachments and relevant materials.

3. For unit nominations (including nominations from member units), a nomination letter must be sent, which includes the name of the nominee/project, the nominating unit (member units must indicate their membership status), the publicity status and results, and the nomination opinion, etc.

4. For expert nominations, relevant supporting documents for the nominating experts must be provided, and the nomination must be signed or stamped with the official seal of the candidate/application unit.

5. For AI-related achievements involving personal health and public safety (such as smart healthcare and smart security), approval documents issued by the relevant authorities in the country/region where the achievement is located must be sent as attachments. No classified materials may be provided.

V. Information on Award Applications

1. Schedule Nominations for all awards will be accepted from April to October, 2026. Late submissions will not be accepted, and no supplementary or revised submissions will be accepted.

(II) Contact Information

1. All nomination materials should be sent to the above email address: AAIS-Award2026@aaia-ai.org

VI. Review and Awarding

1. Review Process: A review committee composed of renowned experts in the global artificial intelligence field conducts preliminary reviews in specialized groups, and determines the final candidate list through methods such as written review and online review; the review committee holds a final review meeting in person and online, and generates a recommended list of winners by voting; the recommended list of winners is notified through the official email address of the AAIS, and the final list of winners is determined after no objections are raised.

2. Award Ceremony: The 2026 AAIS Award ceremony will be held in November or December 2026, where certificates will be presented to the winners/winning organizations on site.

3. Subsequent incentives: The AAIS will give priority to selecting and recommending this year’s winners to participate in major global AI collaborative projects and international academic exchange activities; outstanding award-winning achievements will be included in the AAIS achievement database for global promotion and technology transfer; and award-winning talents will be given priority consideration for inclusion in the AAIS talent pool as an important reference for international talent introduction and academic cooperation.

VII. Other Matters

1. This selection process strictly follows the principles of ‘fairness, impartiality, and openness,’ and is free from any illegal interference by any organization or individual.

2. If any participant, nominating unit/nominator engages in fraudulent activities, falsifies materials, or infringes on the intellectual property rights of others during the nomination and review process, their eligibility for participation/nomination will be revoked upon verification, any issued certificates will be recovered, and the violating entity will be included in the award’s blacklist, permanently disqualifying them from participation and nomination. If the violation is suspected of being illegal, the case will be transferred to the relevant departments for handling.

3. Review experts and award committee staff must strictly abide by review discipline and confidentiality obligations. Those who violate review discipline will have their review/work qualifications revoked and will be held accountable accordingly.

4. Any matters not covered in this notice shall be interpreted by the Awards Committee of the AAIS.

Please send an email to AAIS-Award2026@aaia-ai.org for 2026 AAIS Awards Application Froms!

International Academy of Artificial Intelligence Sciences

April 2026