The May Hicks Award Guidelines

1) Introduction

The OR Society funds its annual awards for student projects from a generous bequest from the estate of Mrs May Hicks, wife of Donald Hicks, OBE, a major contributor to operational research and the first treasurer of The OR Society.

2) Eligibility

Entries are invited from any eligible courses. Masters courses in OR or Management Sciences are automatically eligible. Other courses should, before contemplating entry, seek confirmation of their eligibility from the society.

3) Value

The prizes for the competition will be: 1st prize £1000 plus up to two runners up of £250 each.

4) Entry

Entries should be made by the Course Director or a faculty member acting on his/her behalf (and not by students direct). One entry per 15 students on the course, or part thereof, is allowed.

Projects entered should be OR projects carried out for a client organisation (and not, for example, desk research carried out within the university). Joint projects are allowed.

The initial entry should consist of the following:

• a summary of not more than two pages of the project and its effects;
• endorsement of the project's effectiveness by the organisation which hosted the project; and
• an endorsement by an independent academic (eg the external examiner) of the project's quality.

Anonymised (as to the clients) entries will be accepted. In such cases, the endorsement should be submitted as a private communication to the chair of the awards committee.

5) Selection

The judging panel will shortlist the entries. Project reports may be requested for shortlisted entries, so a final decision can be reached on the winners. The panel may, at their discretion, make site visits or invite students to present their work.

6) Current Awards Panel Practice

Winners will be encouraged to present their work at a society conference and to publish the work in one of the society’s publications. The OR Society may also publicise the winning entries through its publications and the website.

Entries for any year should be submitted electronically to Sophie.Rouse@theorsociety.com to arrive no later than 30 April.