Since 2022, SASNET annualy grants a Lund University student the Best South Asia Thesis Award for an excellent Bachelor or Master thesis in the humanities or social sciences. The thesis must have been submitted and defended by a student at Lund University during the ongoing academic year and received the highest marks. The topic of the thesis needs to be connected to the region of South Asia and at least one of the following countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan or Sri Lanka.
The prize consists of a diploma and 5 000 SEK.
On 16 December 2025, Fatima Ali Shah will also hold a public seminar about her thesis. You are welcome to attend the seminar both in-person and online:
The Award Committe's assessment:
"Fatima Ali Shah receives the Best South Asia Thesis Award for her excellent and impressive thesis From Ashes to Access: A Dual-Framework Formative Evaluation of the Super Seeder Subsidy in Faisalabad, Pakistan.
The thesis addresses a highly topical and important subject matter, and it holds great relevance for scholarly debates as well as ongoing and future policy initiatives. It undoubtedly attends to issues that are of crucial significance to South Asia as a region and to Pakistan specifically. The thesis is based on ambitious empirical work and sound methodological decisions, and it combines theories in an original manner. It, in sum, demonstrates the author’s ability to expand on and add new insights to relevant fields of scholarship as well as her willingness to contribute to policy change and improvement."
Link to the thesis: