1st International Best Paper Award of the Academy of Politics and Current Affairs and of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

The Academy for Politics and Current Affairs, the think tank of the Hanns Seidel Foundation, and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the largest of the eight state academies in Germany, are pleased to announce a joint International Best Paper Award for the first time in 2023.

Thematically this first joint call focuses on the topic: “Thinking, Doing and Using New Energies – Challenges, Approaches and Solutions.”

Against the backdrop of worsening climate change, growing economic challenges and a tense (geo-)political environment, the transformation of the energy system is a crucial field of technical, political and social efforts, both regionally and globally.

In order to achieve the ambitious energy and climate policy goals regarding the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and in the context of the European Green Deal, a fundamental transformation of the energy system is necessary, with consequences for almost all sectors of national economies and societies.
Increasingly, new sources and forms of energy are in the focus of public, political and scientific discussion: sun, wind, water, earth, the tides and nuclear fusion are discussed as sustainable and green energy sources. In the field of energy carriers, green hydrogen is the main focus of attention; with regard to new forms of use, increased energy efficiency is the overriding goal of technical as well as political efforts.

Against this background, we encourage young scientists — in the late stages of their PhD study and postdoctoral researchers — from all disciplines addressing aspects of the transformation of the energy system to submit papers discussing new sources and forms of energy and its usage as well as related issues, such as: 

• Economic prerequisites of the transformation of the energy system
• Social and ethical challenges related to the transformation of the energy system
• Political challenges and approaches related to the regulation of energy and its usage
• Technical challenges and approaches related to new sources and forms as well as usage of energy.

The papers to be submitted must have already undergone a successful peer-review process. A half-page front letter and a short CV must be submitted together with the English-language paper.

The review and selection of the prize-worthy papers is conducted by a jury composed by the Academy for Politics and Contemporary Affairs and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
The first prize is endowed with 1,000€ the second prize with 500€ and the third prize with 250€. Furthermore, the award winners will have the opportunity to present their excellent work to a distinguished audience at the award ceremony, which will take place at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Munich. Moreover, the award winners will have access to events and the network of both academies.

Deadline for submissions: 29.02.2024.

Notification of winners: in early-April.

Award ceremony: 25.04.2024.

Contact for further information: Johannes Welsch, Head of Unit New Technologies and Societal Transformation, Hanns Seidel Foundation, Welsch-j@hss.de.

Contact for submissions: best-paper@hss.de