To support the research and visibility of early career researchers in Science and Technology Studies, STS Austria will, for the third time, award a prize for the best publications by young researchers in 2026. The award addresses academic writings by early career researchers demonstrating the relevance, productivity, and critical potential of Science and Technology Studies research. In particular, we are searching for publications that excel in one or several of the following categories: societal relevance, quality of writing, and theoretical or methodological innovativeness.

Selection Criteria

We invite submissions from master’s and doctoral students, as well as early career researchers, who have obtained their PhD degrees no longer than 5 years ago. Submissions will be evaluated in consideration of the authors’ academic age.

Submissions may be academic publications in all common formats (dissertations and theses, journal articles, book chapters, etc.). We will consider submissions by STS Austria members resulting from research or study programs located in Austria, with a clear reference to Science and Technology Studies, that have been published or submitted for assessment between 31st of July 2023 and 31st of July 2026. 

Co-authored publications will be accepted if there is a clear indication that the lead author qualifies for submission according to the criteria listed above. If several of the co-authors qualify, they may submit as a team.

Details

Submission deadline: August 10, 2026

We ask for submissions to be accompanied by

• a short CV of the applicant
• a short overview of the context of the submission (e.g. Master thesis, paper for PhD thesis) and how it meets the selection criteria
• a short academic abstract of the submission and its contribution/relevance to Science and Technology Studies.

Please submit the text and abstract as a PDF to office@sts-austria.org 

The STS Austria Award for Early Career Publications is endowed with € 1,500 and will be awarded during the next general meeting of STS Austria, scheduled to take place in December 2026. The board of STS Austria will decide on the number of recipients and the individual sums awarded.