The Young Scholars Forum was launched in 2004 with the aim of bringing together outstanding young scholars in Israel. In addition to serving as a platform for discussion and thought, the forum is designed to promote collaborative intellectual and research activity among researchers from different institutions and from a range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.
Each year, a group of young scholars from academic institutions in Israel is selected for the forum. Eligibility begins at the post-doctoral stage and ends 12 years after the scholar’s completion of her/his doctorate. A committee composed of members of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities selects the group from among candidates submitted by Academy members and by rectors and deans of institutions of higher education. The criterion for selection is extraordinary distinction in research and original thinking. The group is active for one to two years.
A member of the Academy heads each group and guides its discussion of a broad topic chosen for the group, which includes young scholars from a range of fields related to the topic. The group’s activity includes meetings, workshops and lectures, delivered by members of the group and occasionally by guest lecturers, who may or may not be Academy members. The group leader and participants may also decide to discuss the state of research in Israel and tools available to researchers at institutions of higher education.
During the initial years of the Young Scholars Forum, multidisciplinary groups were selected to examine the main topic from different disciplinary angles. In recent years, the selection of participants has focused on the group leader’s general field of study. Over the years, the forum’s participants have included jurists and economists, along with historians, philosophers, and scholars of Judaism, architecture, theater, Egyptology, Indian studies, Armenian studies and more.
The activity of the Young Scholars Forum is reflected in the publication by the Academy’s Publications Department of articles by group members, in international conferences, and more.