The International Association of Universities (IAU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) are delighted to announce the launch of the IAU – E4J Paper Competition for Young Researchers: Higher Education engages with SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, within the framework of the Education for Justice (E4J) initiative. This grants programme aims to support young scholars (up to the age of 35 years) to conduct research on topics related to SDG 16 and the rule of law, to provide them with a platform to present their research, and to foster networking between young scholars working on related themes at the international level, while at the same time strengthening cooperation between academia and the United Nations.

Interested young scholars are invited to submit a short paper outlining the core idea latest by Wednesday, 10 March 2021. Only authors of selected abstracts will be notified latest by 19 March 2021. Full papers (6000-8000 words, including graphs and tables, excluding references) need to be submitted by 23 April 2021. All submissions will undergo review by a team of academics selected by UNODC and IAU. Up to 15 proposals will be accepted, and each selected proposal will receive 500 US$ upon submission of the full paper. Authors will be recognised in a press release and the awarded papers will be featured in a special issue of the IAU HESD publication series on SDG16.

Please carefully consult the eligibility criteria, submission and selection process. Incomplete submissions will be disregarded.