Winner of the Young Academy’s Research Environment Prize 2026.
This year’s winner is The Division of Technology and Business Studies at The Technical University of Denmark.
The Division of Technology and Business Studies is a young division of social scientists spanning Science and Technology Studies and Organization Science and Technology. They work collectively, across different approaches, to understand how technologies shape our society.
Over the past two years, this environment has grown rapidly and, at the same time, they have built a strong academic and social environment. This environment takes new ideas, and the people who propose them, seriously. How do they foster new ideas? Most often, their best ideas spark during social activities, over board games, in conversations in the corridor, and on their Digital Methods Talk Walks into nature. When they return to the lab again, they have muddy shoes and fresh ideas, they “roll up their sleeves” and everyone is welcome to join in and work on the new ideas. People chip in with different technical skills, and they start building and developing together. Most recently, this turned into a data map that monitored tech issues during the national election.
The Division of Technology and Business Studies also stood out to the prize committee because of its strong focus on mentoring early-career scientists. At their PhD forum, they discuss what it takes to be an academic in practice. They share tips and tools on everything from media training and networking to conference skills. They demystify the hidden expectations of academic life.
Moreover, their PhD reading group and “shut up and Write” sessions turn the often daunting and lonely tasks of staying on top of the literature and writing into a collective, shared experience. And a place where they turn their ideas into practice.
PhD students Emilie Mørch Groth and Amelie Lange shared in their nomination, »What defines our community is that it feels both possible and worthwhile to take initiative, because our ideas are met with engagement. This engagement translates into community and community into belonging – building a solid foundation for us as emerging scholars on our path into academia.«
This is the new academia we should all be inspired by and strive for, so that we can support and develop the research talents who will help pose- and answer the most important and challenging questions.
The group won the prize among an impressive field of research environments. The Young Academy would like to acknowledge two runners-up that deserve special recoqnition:
- The Digital Media Lab (RUC), nominated by Assistant Professor Mark Friis Hau and Postdoc Frederik Weber Hansen, and
- The Geoscience PhD students (AU), nominated by Sophie Vidal and Cecilia Elisabeth Busk Nielsen
