NERDS research group wins best research environment award

The IT University’s Networks, Data, and Society (NERDS) research group is the winner of Danish Young Academy’s award for best research environment.

Luca Maria AielloLuca RossiMichael SzellMichele CosciaRoberta SinatraAbout ITUawardsbig datadata scienceVedran Sekara

Written 2 June, 2022 06:27 by Theis Duelund Jensen

The IT University’s Networks, Data, and Society (NERDS) research group, which conducts research in the intersection between network and data science applications and social systems, has just been announced the winner of the Research Environment of the Year Award. The title is awarded by the Danish Young Academy – an independent platform under the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters for young researchers in all branches of science.

This is the first time the Danish Young Academy, founded in 2011, presents the award which is meant to recognise the important role a nurturing and supportive work environment plays in the academic career of researchers. The award comes with 10,000 kroner intended for an academic or social event in the research group.

PhD student Anastassia Vybornova and Postdoc Tiago Oliveira Cunha, both members of NERDS, nominated the research group when the award was announced last year: 

“In our group, we openly talk about the struggles of academia, such as stress, high pressure, competitiveness, gender, and racial biases – and about the struggles of our personal lives, such as balancing care duties and research work. As young academics, NERDS is the best company that we could wish for: individuals with curious minds, supporting each other in their personal quests for knowledge and for the betterment of society, which is what ultimately drives us all,” they write in a joint statement.

The NERDS research group at ITU was founded three years ago and counts 14 members including faculty, PhD students, postdocs, and interns. Since the research groups inception, NERDS members have published 46 papers in top venues like Nature or PNAS, on as diverse topics as bicycle network growth, gender inequality, or multilayer networks.

“It is a great honour to receive this award. The NERDS research group is among other things founded on the belief that open dialogue and a flat hierarchy fosters a better work environment. We strive to create an environment that is free of bullying, harassment, and abuse of power, and the award is a testament to those efforts,” says Associate Professor at ITU and NERDS member, Michael Szell.

According to the researcher the group has yet to decide on how the award money will be spent.

The purpose of the Danish Young Academy is to strengthen basic research and interdisciplinary exchange, to unite science and society - and to give some of the country’s most talented researchers a public voice. The members are all prominent profiles with strong international experience and interesting views on research and society. The Danish Young Academy aims to support young researchers in their academic development and careers.

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