GRF Young Academics Program

The GRF Young Academics Program is designed for young academics who are currently pursuing a PhD or who have completed their PhD within the last three years.

Global Relations Forum launched the Young Academics Program to engage with academics interested in contributing to national and international policy discussions by drawing on their academic and theoretical expertise. Through this growing network of young academics, GRF seeks to help bridge the gap between academia and policy circles.

While all GRF Community programs share the overarching aim of fostering a culture of intellectual diversity, constructive debate, and analytical rigor, the Young Academics Program has an additional objective: each participant is expected to produce a policy or analysis paper by the end of the program. These papers are subsequently published as part of GRF’s Policy Paper Series or Analysis Paper Series. Both series provide in-depth analysis of topics related to global systemic issues, while Policy Papers also put forward policy recommendations.

The GRF Young Academics Program consists of two meetings.

First Meeting: The first meeting brings together all participants and provides an opportunity for them to clarify and refine their research topics based on feedback from their peers. Participants are expected to give a presentation on their proposed research topic, followed by a discussion.

Second Meeting: The second meeting is organized separately for each participant and draws more directly on the expertise of GRF members. For each participant, GRF convenes a separate commission comprising at least three GRF members with relevant knowledge and expertise in the participant’s research area. Participants present the first drafts of their papers to their respective commissions and receive detailed feedback.

Please click to read papers published under the GRF Young Academics Program Publications.

Please click for past events.

Who Can Join?

GRF welcomes research topics from all disciplines that can contribute to rigorous and constructive discussions on issues of global relevance. Accordingly, the Young Academics Program is open to academics from all fields of study.

As the program is conducted entirely in English, all participants must be proficient in English.

A strong command of one’s research area is essential both to making the most of the Young Academics Program and to producing a paper of the expected standard. For this reason, applicants who are at least halfway through their PhD studies are more likely to be selected.

Applicants who are not selected are encouraged to apply again in the future by submitting a new application.

The dates of the meetings will be determined based on the availability of the program participants.

All participants are required to attend the first meeting in person in Istanbul. Travel and accommodation expenses for this meeting will be covered by GRF. For the second meeting, participants may choose between attending in person in Istanbul and joining online. GRF will cover travel and accommodation expenses for participants who choose to attend the second meeting in Istanbul. Participants who opt to attend the second meeting online will instead receive an honorarium upon successful completion of the program.