There are around 70 young academies worldwide, united by the goal of supporting researchers, particularly those at the early stages of their careers, and promoting the role of science in society. In this article, Riikka Hiltunen, who is responsible for the activities of the Finnish Young Academy, sheds light on the diversity of this network in the aftermath of the European meeting of young academies held in Warsaw.
International gatherings of young academies often revolve around broad overarching themes, around which keynote talks, breakout sessions, and panels are organized. At the most recent European meeting of young academies in Warsaw in May, the themes were academic freedom and trust in science. Alongside these important thematic discussions, however, there is always another line of conversation focusing on the similarities and differences between young academies. How do you select your members? How long is your membership term? What, you don’t have an age limit for members?
After taking part in these discussions over the years at seven international young academy meetings, I assumed one thing for certain: young academies are communities of PhD holders. That assumption changed when I joined a project led by the Global Young Academy aimed at developing international recommendations for member selection in young academies. The discussions revealed that in developing countries there may not be enough PhD holders for a doctoral degree to be a strict prerequisite for membership. The project is now nearing completion, and it appears that the jointly developed selection criteria will remain very flexible to ensure maximum inclusivity. A doctoral degree cannot be considered a universal criterion for membership worldwide.
There are around 70 young academies globally. The first of these, Outstanding Young Scientists, Inc. (OYSI) – Philippine Academy of Young Scientists, was founded in the Philippines in 1997. The oldest young academy in Europe is Germany’s Die Junge Akademie, established in 2000. Among the newest are the young academies of Ireland (2023), Pakistan (2024), and Mexico (2024). The Finnish Young Academy was founded in the same year (2017) as, for example, those of Albania, Estonia, and Korea. France remains a blank spot on the map in terms of young academies.
Some young academies operate under a national academy of science—the “parent academy” or “senior academy”—while others function independently. The network also includes some associations that are not formally academies, such as the Latvian Association of Young Researchers. Some have several full-time staff members, while others have none. Some are funded by the state, others by private sources. Membership terms may last four years in some academies and ten in others. Membership sizes range from as few as 11 members to as many as 400.
The Finnish Young Academy in relation to others
The degree of independence among young academies varies greatly, and this is reflected, for example, in how members are selected. In some cases, the parent academy selects members, while in others the young academy chooses its members independently. In recent years, the Finnish Young Academy has implemented a kind of hybrid model that I have not encountered elsewhere. The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters selects the members of the Young Academy Finland, but the Young Academy itself is one of the bodies that can propose candidates. For this purpose, we have organized four open calls for membership, with the key goal of attracting increasingly active researchers. In this, we have been highly successful. After all, the starting point for membership is quite different depending on whether one hears about the Young Academy for the first time when invited, or applies independently after already becoming familiar with its activities.
The clearest membership criteria of the Finnish Young Academy are that, at the time of selection, the researcher must be under 40 years of age and within five years of completing their PhD (though flexibility may be granted for justified reasons). Strong research merits are also an essential criterion, although somewhat more difficult to assess. The membership consists specifically of researchers, whereas in Belgium, for example, artists may also be selected as members.
The Finnish Young Academy’s membership selection process consistently attracts attention in international contexts. Another notable feature is our strong national impact on science education. Many sister academies are interested in how we have reached our current position and ask for advice on how they might establish similar initiatives, such as our successful Meet a Researcher service.
Despite many differences, the organizations in the network share a common goal: to support researchers, particularly those at early stages of their careers, and to promote the role of science in society. And, of course, they are communities of young researchers—although even the definition of “young” varies considerably. In the Swedish Young Academy, only career stage matters, not the researchers’ age, whereas in the Estonian Young Academy, membership ends at the age of 42.
Information on young academies around the world can be found in a booklet compiled by the Global Young Academy.
This text is a machine translation of the Finnish original, checked by the author.
