The Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) has launched a new initiative aimed at helping early-career academics turn their research into practical public policy recommendations aligned with Türkiye's strategic priorities.
The Young Academics Program, introduced under the motto "From theory to practice, from knowledge to policy," aims to fill the gap between academic research and policymaking by equipping participants with the skills to develop evidence-based policy proposals.
According to SETA, the program is designed to address what is commonly described in academic literature as the "knowledge-policy gap," the distance between scholarly research and decision-making processes. Built around a think tank methodology, the initiative aims to strengthen participants' capacity to produce strategic knowledge while transforming academic findings into actionable policy recommendations.
Participants will work in teams organized around seven key themes identified by SETA's research departments. These include population aging and demographic transformation, artificial intelligence and digital diplomacy, the future of democracy and political representation, Türkiye's foreign policy in a changing international system, public policy design in an era of crises, agricultural policy and sustainable food security, and environmental and climate issues.
