The winners of the Alpine Convention’s 2024 Young Academics Award were presented in the framework of the XVIII Alpine Conference in Brdo, Slovenia, on 21 January. The award celebrates the outstanding contributions of young researchers whose work addresses challenges and opportunities in the Alpine region. The Award was organised by the Alpine Convention together with ISCAR, the International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps, and supported by the Slovenian Presidency.
The topic of this edition was “Responding to environmental changes and maintaining high quality of life in the Alps”, taking into account various aspects such as climate action and biodiversity protection, governance for resilient communities as well as the socio-economic aspects of environmental change adaptation and mitigation.
An international expert jury, composed of four renowned researchers in the fields related to the award topic, evaluated 31 master’s theses based on their scientific excellence, relevance for the Alps, and knowledge applicability and regional transferability. In addition to the three main prizes, the award also included prizes by six of the Alpine Convention Infopoints for works relevant to their region.
Among the applications received, the jury selected seven that they considered to stand out from the rest. The finalists had the opportunity to hold an additional presentation in front of the jury in Brdo on 21 January.
After a suspenseful wait, the three winners of the Young Academics Award were announced during the opening ceremony of the XVIII Alpine Conference:
- Agnese Moroni (University of Amsterdam) for her thesis on snowmaking as maladaptation in the Alps and sustainable water management
- Elena Grace Siegrist (University of Bern) for her thesis on how climate change is impacting landscapes in Switzerland
- Christina Dollinger (Technical University Munich) for her thesis evaluating forest management strategies under climate change in the Berchtesgaden National Park
The Slovenian Minister, Jože Novak, presented the prizes together with Alpine Convention Secretary General Alenka Smerkolj and Janez Nared, President of ISCAR. The three main prizes were handed over by the environment ministers or their high-level representatives of the three countries of the finalists – Vannia Gava for Italy, Steffi Lemke for Germany, and Ulrich Seewer for Switzerland.
The Infopoint prizes were awarded to master’s theses with special relevance to the territory and the thematic scope of six of the Alpine Convention Infopoints. The following prizes were awarded:
- Infopoint Chamonix: Fiona Hurrey
- Infopoint Domodossola: Jonathan Ambrogi
- Infopoint Grand Paradis: Benjamin Buchan
- Infopoint Mojstrana: Ambrož Černe
- Infopoint Tolmin: Nik Obid
- Infopoint Villach: Antonia Wildt
The abstracts from the winners and finalists can be read here.
A huge congratulations to the winners and the finalists for their important contributions to Alpine research!
