IIASA 2026 Young Scientists Summer Program concludes

Every summer since 1977, IIASA hosts doctoral students from across the globe for its three-month Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP). This year’s cohort represented Austria, China, Finland, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

“I joined the YSSP after a colleague recommended it to me,” says Anna Reckwitz, a PhD candidate at the University of Potsdam, Germany. “I had never done a program like this before, and it was very enriching and diverse in terms of exposure to different disciplines, research topics, people, and cultures. I am quite certain that the connections I made and the experience I gained at IIASA will be useful for me in my future career.”

The YSSP gives early-career researchers the opportunity to spend the summer working alongside IIASA scientists, developing their own research projects while gaining exposure to new disciplines, methodologies, and perspectives. For many participants, the experience extends well beyond their individual projects, providing an opportunity to understand how different fields of science can be connected through systems thinking.

“I come from Ethiopia, but I study in the United States. My research focuses primarily on how crises impact food security and migration,” says Sara Ghebremicael, a PhD candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US. “I heard about the YSSP through a conference I attended at the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital. What I really enjoyed about the program is how it provides you with a completely different type of exposure to science compared to a university. My project at IIASA focused specifically on the differential effects of crises on agricultural and non-agricultural households, however, beyond my own field of work, I have been exposed to a multitude of different research projects and fields. The Program really helps you see the interconnectedness of different disciplines and systems, broadening your perspective as a researcher.”

As the 2026 YSSP cohort concludes its time at IIASA, participants take with them new research experience, methodological skills, and connections. Their experiences reflect the central value of the program: creating an environment where young researchers can exchange ideas across scientific and geographic boundaries and develop the perspectives needed to tackle increasingly interconnected global challenges.

“I came to IIASA to learn about different methods of systems analysis. I come from the medical field, so for me, the most interesting part of the program was learning about new methods that are not used in health research but are used, for example, in risk studies. The research conducted at IIASA really helps you understand what systems analysis is all about, breaking down the silos between different scientific disciplines,” says Shahar Livne, a PhD candidate and lecturer at the School of Public Health and at Ben Gurion University (BGU) in Israel.

The breadth of countries and backgrounds represented in the program highlights IIASA’s role as a neutral space where scientists from around the world can come together to work collaboratively on complex global challenges.

You can learn more about the participants of YSSP 2026 and their work here.

The next round of applications for the YSSP 2027 will open in October 2026.