13/11/2025
The application period for the Sakıp Sabancı International Research Awards has begun. The 2026 theme of the awards, established according to the will of Sakıp Sabancı, Honorary Chair of Sabancı University, is "Planetary Realities: Rethinking Governance Beyond Borders". Researchers can submit articles aligned with the theme until January 15, 2026. Articles will be evaluated by an independent, international jury.
This year's award theme focuses on Sakıp Sabancı's legacy of values.
The Sakıp Sabancı International Research Awards, Turkey's first international awards program in the field of social sciences, have been held annually since 2006. The theme chosen for 2026 highlights the fact that in our world, redefined by borderless challenges such as the climate crisis, digital information regimes, pandemics, and the sharing of space resources, the responses to these challenges are still largely nation-state-centric, fragmented, and inadequate. Researchers are invited to consider questions such as, "How can new forms of governance be shaped in response to planetary problems?", "How can information flows in the digital world be democratized?", "How can new ethical frameworks (justice, rights, equality) be established between the local and the global?", "Are public interest governance models possible against profit-driven global platforms?", and "How should collective responsibility be defined in the face of planetary challenges such as the climate crisis, space pollution, and pandemics?" The 2026 theme strongly aligns with Sakıp Sabancı's legacy of values in today's world, where young generations are calling for not only national but also global responsibility.
A $25,000 Special Jury Prize will be awarded to a researcher who has made a distinguished contribution to the 2026 theme of the Sakıp Sabancı International Research Awards. Three researchers under the age of 45 will receive Article Awards. The authors of three selected articles in the article category will each receive a prize of 10,000 USD.
