The final day of our annual new member drive is rapidly approaching. Perhaps you've already shared the call throughout your respective networks, but we kindly ask you to do so again, with a reminder about the 15 September deadline.
This month we were pleased to announce the winners of the 2020-21 GYA North-South Interdisciplinary Grant (see below), and if you haven't done so yet, have a look at the latest issue of GYA Connections and the 2019 Yearly Report (download links below).
In August we were also pleased to warmly welcome Franziska Schreiber to the GYA Office team. Franziska is the new Global State of Young Scientists in the Latin American and Caribbean (GloSYS LAC) Research Assistant, and will assist the GloSYS Project Researcher in the conceptualisation and management of the GloSYS LAC study, help analyse indicator data and literature and assist with communication-related activities.
Anindita Bhadra (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, India) and
Michael Saliba (University of Stuttgart, Germany) On behalf of the GYA Executive Committee
Beate Wagner (Managing Director)
On behalf of the GYA Office
GYA News
The GYA is looking for new members to join us!
Applications are sought from young, independent scholars who combine the highest level of research excellence with a demonstrated passion for delivering impact. Deadline is 15 September.
The call is open to all scholars working in any research-based discipline, including the sciences, medicine, engineering, social sciences, the arts and humanities.
Applicants should be in the early to middle years of their independent careers. The majority of GYA members are aged 30-40 and the typical period from completion of a PhD or similar degree is 3-10 years. Applicants falling outside these ranges are still invited to send their applications with a justification for why they should be considered.
More information on how to apply and our online application form can be found here.
Interdisciplinary Grant 2020/21 awarded
The 2020-21 GYA North-South Interdisciplinary Grant has been awarded to Stefan Kohler (Heidelberg University, Germany), Mohamed Elhadidy (Zewail City of Science and Technology, Egypt), Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed (University of Toronto, Canada), Cristina Blanco Sío-López (University of Pittsburgh, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, USA/Italy), Paul Mason (Taronga Conservation Society Australia), Andreea Molnar (Swinburne University of Technology, Australia) and Xuan Bach Tran (Vietnam) for the research project "The COVID-19 pandemic and art (19and.ART)".
GYA welcomes Franziska Schreiber, GloSYS LAC Research Assistant
In August, GYA Office staff warmly welcomed Franziska to our team as the new Research Assistant for the Global State of Young Scientists in the Latin American and Caribbean (GloSYS LAC). Franziska will assist the GloSYS Project Researcher in the conceptualisation and management of the GloSYS LAC study, help analyse indicator data and literature, help with organisational and logistical tasks, and assist with communication-related activities.
Franziska holds a B.A. in Public Management from the University of Applied Sciences in Ludwigsburg, Germany, where she received an award for Best Bachelor's Thesis. She went on to obtain an M.A. in International Cultural and Business Studies at the University of Passau, Germany, where she focused on political science, Latin American studies and development economics. She also spent a semester at the University of Concepción, Chile. For her Master's thesis, Franziska analysed the discursive legitimation of state repression in Chile.
She also completed various internships, including at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Chile, the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin. You can email Franziska here: Franziska.Schreiber@globalyoungacademy.net
GYA online
GYA Connections available for download!
Our 2020 issue explores climate change and how it can be ameliorated. Also: how social media can hold governments and political parties accountable. Most importantly, though: a warm welcome to 40 new GYA members!
Highlights include the GYA being named a full member of the InterAcademy Partnership, being invited to join the World Science Forum Steering Committee and launching the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Young Academies.
This section presents inspiring stories from Young Scientists around the world. This month's story is about Amal Amin, a founding GYA member and alumna who also founded Women in Science without Borders. Amal is featured on page 14 in the latest womeninscience.africa publication, available here.
GYA member and past Co-Chair Tolu Oni (University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, United Kingdom) has been granted a Next Generation Foresight Africa Special Award and Fellowship. More information is available here.
GYA alumnus and past Co-Chair Koen Vermeir edited a special issue of Centaurus (free access here), on historical perspectives on COVID-19, giving insights into how epidemics develop as well as societal reactions to them, and reflecting on how history can contribute to a better understanding of our current predicament.
Five GYA members/alumni have been been appointed to the InterAcademy Partnership COVID-19 Advisory Group. GYA Members include Michal Biron (University of Haifa, Israel), Junpeng Li (Central China Normal University), Daniel Limonta (University of Alberta, Canada), and Gergely Toldi (Birmingham Women's Hospital, United Kingdom), along with alumnus Rees Kassen (University of Ottawa, Canada). More information is available here.
Please use this form to send us your stories and accomplishments - we'll include them in social media and in the newsletter!
GYA Activities
Working Group and Strategic Project highlights
Book publication by members of the Bio2Bio group
Several members from the Biodiversity working group contributed to a publication on “Biodiversity and Biomedicine: Our Future” (published by Elsevier; behind a paywall). GYA alumni and former group co-leads Dilfuza Egamberdieva (National University of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan) and Milica Pesic (University of Belgrade, Serbia) co-edited the book with Munir Ozturk from Turkey. The book examines the diverse connections between conserving Earth’s biodiversity and human healthcare, and provides a new outlook on Earth’s animal, plant, and fungi species as vital sources for human health treatments. While there are over 10 million various species on the planet, only 2 million have been discovered and named. This book identifies modern ways to incorporate Earth’s species into biomedical practices and emphasises the need for biodiversity conservation.
Register for the 4Bio International Forum, 11 September
In connection with the World Young Scientist Summit, the GYA is sponsoring the International Forum of Biodiversity, Biomedicing, Biotechnology, Biosecurity (4Bio) on 11 September 2020. GYA alumnus and former Biodiversity working group co-lead Alexander Kagansky (Far Eastern Federal University of Vladivostok, Russia) is helping organise the forum. The objective is to bring together global leaders in life sciences to understand new ways to overcome the barriers and threats to biological harmony on our planet that benefits all of humanity.
More information, including how to register, is available here.
Executive Committee and Nominations Updates
Nominations
GYA member Monika Kedra (Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland) was nominated by the GYA and has now been selected by the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) to participate in an international working group on the Protection of Marine Environments.
GYA member Pradeep Kumar (Wits University, South Africa) was nominated by the GYA Global Health WG and selected by the IAP to an IAP working group tasked with developing a statement on Regenerative Medicine.
National Young Academies
GYA and NYA connections explored at Phi's Science Institute Research and Innovation Summit 2020
First-ever online meeting of Young Academies from around the world
Young Academies from around the world will meet online for the first time on 22 September 2020 to exchange best practices and discuss current challenges. The meeting will be organised and facilitated by the GYA, and all Young Academies have been invited to contribute to the meeting agenda. Should your academy not have received an invitation (via email, on 14 August), or should you have any questions, please contact Yoko, Lahcen and Anna-Maria at the GYA.
Romanian Young Academy established
A young academy was established in Romania in February 2020. The members of the Romanian Young Academy (RYA) are early-career researchers within seven years of their PhD defense who are committed not only to their independent academic careers but also to joint civic engagement. Applications were received until the end of May 2020 and the first cohort of 17 members was selected in July 2020 by an international selection committee through double peer review.
For its first three years (2020-2022), the RYA is funded by Stiftung Mercator and hosted by the University of Bucharest. The RYA is also supported – both financially and logistically – by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
The RYA launch event will be held at Humboldt Kolleg, an international interdisciplinary conference on the RYA general theme and its 3 sub-themes for 2020-2022: "Global Challenges of the 21st Century", which include 1) Technological development and human health/ quality of life; 2) Climate change and environmental sustainability; 3) Democracy and social cohesion.
The launch event was postponed from March to November 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency measures.
Diana Stanciu, the intiator of the RYA, received a Humboldt Alumni Award for 2020. This funding will be used for RYA international networking for the period 2020-2022. For more details, please, contact: diana.stanciu@rya.unibuc.ro
Meeting of Young Academies from India, Bangladesh and Thailand
The Indian National Young Academy of Sciences hosted a joint meeting with the National Young Academy of Bangladesh and the Thai Young Scientists Academy in August. The aim of the inter-NYA meeting was to explore the possibility of networking and joint outreach activities among young scientists to address global challenges. The minutes of that meeting are available here.
YAE survey on STEM research and gender perspective
The Young Academy of Europe (YAE) is running a survey on “Linking STEM research & innovation with a gender perspective” as part of the CALIPER project. The survey aims to explore if and how gender is taken into consideration as a dimension in scientific research, and if and how different stakeholders are involved. Finally, it aims at investigating the innovation potential of the scientific discoveries and their transfer to market.
GYA's COVID-19 page highlights work of Young Academies
The GYA has established a page on its website (https://globalyoungacademy.net/covid19/) to act as a repository for young academies to link their work on COVID-19. This includes any statements or information dissemination activities, initiatives to support scientists to coordinate and facilitate institutions or governments. Please contact info@globalyoungacademy.net or tweet with the hashtag #covid19ya if you want to share what your academy is doing, or want to contact other young academies for joint activities, or an exchange of experience and best practices.
SAYAS webinar on COVID-19 research impact in Africa
A South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS) Webinar titled "What Science will look like after COVID-19? COVID-19 and its Impact on Knowledge Production and Research in Africa", held on 23 July 2020, sought to interrogate how and if the current pandemic can create opportunities for better integration of the knowledge enterprise and science-policy nexus. Panelists agreed that there were both opportunities and challenges that abound. Access the podcast link here.
Vietnam Young Academy special bulletin on COVID-19
Take the Young Academy of Europe survey on the impact of COVID-19 on researchers
The Young Academy of Europe would like to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the research and careers of young researchers. The information provided in the survey will also help them evaluate any potential differences between the impact of the pandemic on researchers at various career stages. You can take the survey here.
COVID-19 has been an unprecedented test to the role and functionality of science advice and science diplomacy mechanisms around the world. The role of scientists, science advisors and diplomats has never before been placed under such intense scrutiny. It is vital to ensure the lessons of the pandemic are learned so that more resilient, flexible and informed systems can emerge in its wake. The International Network for Governmental Science Advice (INGSA) will host a Global Week of Dialog titled "Science Advice and COVID-19: What are we learning?" from 14 to 18 September 2020. In addition to Regional Live Panels and Special Events, the High Level Panel will present a global panel of experts (including GYA member Tolu Oni) working at the science, society and policy interfaces for a high-level panel that will frame the discussion for the Global Week of Dialogue. Registration and access to all sessions is FREE. More information is available here.
InterAcademy Partnership launches COVID-19 Expert Group
The InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) COVID-19 Expert Group is charged with responding to enquiries related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic across a broad range of health, social, environmental and other direct and indirect consequences of the pandemic.
The group will be led by three co-chairs - from India, Israel and South Africa - with an additional 23 members from around the world that make up a core Advisory Panel. Biographies of these individuals are available here. An additional 54 Expert Group members can be called on for additional technical and geographically-specific support.
Queries must come through IAP member academies but may originate from other stakeholders (e.g., individual academy members, governments, ministries, etc.). If you have a query for this group, please contact the GYA Office here.
International Science Council report on High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
Highlights are now available here from the 2020 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which took place under the theme "Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development ".
European Commission Joint Research Centre publications available
The Science for Policy Handbook provides advice on how to bring science to the attention of policy makers.The handbook is dedicated to researchers and research organisations aiming to achieve policy impact. The top 10 tips for researchers and research organisations are available here. The JRC's Annual Report 2019 gives an account of the activities, accomplishments and resources related to the JRC’s work carried out in 2019: download it here.
