The Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA)

The Young Scientists Award Programme (GEBIP) - Atrium into Academy Membership An Investment into the Future of the Academy

Launched in 2001, this award programme is one of the first of its kind in the world. The objective of TÜBA-GEBIP is to foster young, outstanding scientists who are at the stage of establishing their own research programmes in Turkey after finishing their post-doctoral research activities. TÜBA supports these scientists for a period of three years and helps them set up their own research groups at a stage when they are in need for incentives. In this way TÜBA tries to contribute to develop a new generation of competent researchers from all disciplines, including social sciences and humanities, basic sciences and health sciences. The Turkish Academy of Sciences considers itself as a school to train young promising academicians.

The GEBIP programme aims to set up a kind of Young Academy of scientists under the age of 37. Aside from a grant provided for a period of three years, a member of the Academy is assigned as the mentor, and an environment of solidarity and interaction is created through joint meetings held with Academy members.

The GEBIP Programme is conducted by the GEBIP Main Committee and the GEBIP Field Committees set up by the Presidency of the Academy. Applications may be in person, by the President of the related university or the highest administrator of the related institution or by a Principal or Honorary member of the Academy.

The selection procedure among GEBIP candidates has very high standards. First, applicants prepare detailed dossiers including their international publications in refereed journals, books edited, ongoing research projects and proposed research programme, plus three letters of reference. Second, juries in six different scientific fields (field committees) evaluate and grade the applicants according to their dossiers and three referee reports. In the final stage, applicants who become GEBIP candidates according to their grade points are invited to an interview.

GEBIP awardees are expected every six months to submit a detailed report to their mentor about the progress of their scientific research and publications. The mentors convey their evaluations about the GEBIP awardees’ scientific activities to the Academy Council at the end of every six months. Based on these evaluations, the Academy Council decides to continue, stop or end the payment of the award. The limit of the award period is three years.

When GEBIP awardees involve a master’s or Ph.D student in their research work they receive an addendum to their award. All GEBIP awardees are seen as role-models who will potentially create Centers of Excellence in their environment. After their active period of support (three years) is over, they receive once a year some financial support to participate in a scientific meeting.

Every year, a meeting is organised by TÜBA at a different University in Anatolia for all the GEBIP awardees who are in their active period of support and their mentors. The aim of these annual meetings is to introduce the GEBIP members and their mentors to each other and create a synergy in this young scientific community. During these meetings which last for three days, GEBIP awardees convene in six field groups with their mentors and make presentations about their scientific studies. These sessions are open to all other participants from the host University. The fields are: 1) Social Sciences, 2) Life Sciences, 3) Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, 4) Astronomy, Physics and Mathematics, 5) Engineering, 6) Medical Sciences.

The GEBIP programme is considered as a source of prospective members to the Academy. After completing the GEBIP programme, the young scientists maintain their ties with the Academy as senior members of the GEBIP community. From among such senior GEBIP Members, the most outstanding ones may be elected to Associate Membership for a period up to nine years (12 senior GEBIP members have been elected to Associate Membership and one to Principal Membership). Thus, a process for a period of twelve years is envisioned for supporting the best young scholars of the country with continuous assessment of their scientific performance as possible candidates for Principal Membership of the Academy.

The number of scientists participating in GEBIP since 2001, reached 220 along with those selected in 2009 (n = 19). The rate of success in admission is approximately 15 %. Of this pool of distinguished young scientists, 138 conduct research in basic sciences, 36 in life sciences and 46 in social sciences. Presently, 76 GEBIP awardees are in their period of active support, 144 have already terminated this period but continue to be a part of the GEBIP community as senior members, and as aforementioned, 12 of them became Associate Members, one of them Principal Member of the Academy.

With 56 women and 164 men, the percentage of women in the GEBIP community i.e. Youth Academy (24 %) is higher than that in the Academy, leading to the expectation that it will be reflected in the future membership of the Academy.

                                                          GEBIP AWARDEES BETWEEN 2001 – 2008

YEARS        FIELDS          WOMEN    MEN
2001-2009    Life Sciences        13             20
2001-2009    Social Sciences    19             21
2001-2009    Basic Sciences     21           107

Years                 Applications to the Programme (n) Awardees (n)
2001-2009                     1476                                              220

Rate of Success: 15 %

 GEBIP CUMULATIVE TOTAL


TUBA-GEBIP Awardees: (List by Field)