KNAW Early Career Award for Donya Alinejad

Media scholar Donya Alinejad is this year's recipient of a KNAW Early Career Award. The award is intended for researchers in the Netherlands who are at the beginning of their careers and have innovative, original research ideas. Alinejad is an associate professor of digital media and society. She is interested in the influence of digital media on social and societal processes.

In her current research, she analyzes the role of social media in the interaction between science and the public on topics such as climate change and corona.

Role of social media in valuing scientific knowledge

Her goal is to combine, in both individual and collaborative projects, qualitative research on user experience with analysis of large-scale platform data and critique of platform systems. "I am particularly interested in what studying social media can teach us about how contemporary societies value scientific knowledge. I am excited to do this work within a dynamic environment where I collaborate with leading scholars, such as José van Dijck. I very much look forward to further integrating my future work within the focus area Governing the Digital Society."

KNAW Early Career Award

The winners are chosen in four KNAW science domains: humanities; behavioral, social and legal sciences; natural and technical sciences; and medical, medical biological and health sciences. There are three winners per domain. The KNAW Early Career Award consists of a cash prize of 15,000 euros, made available from the KNAW Academy Fund. This amount may be spent by the winners as they see fit on their research career.

Award ceremony

The award ceremony of the KNAW Early Career Award will take place during a festive celebration at the Trippenhuis on 14 February 2022.