JSPS Alumni Club Award 2025
by board member Dr. Saskia Schimmel
JACA Award Ceremony for Dr. Jan Mikuni on May 9, 2025
The German JSPS Alumni Association awards Dr. Jan Mikuni with the JSPS Alumni Club Award 2025, the JACA Prize.
The JACA Prize recognizes Dr. Mikuni for her contributions to enhancing research exchange between Japan and the German-speaking area and Austria in particular.
Dr. Jan Mikuni is a psychologist at the University of Vienna. Part of her research explores how our cultural backgrounds shape perception, evaluation, and engagement with our environment.
By fostering cross-cultural collaborations with individuals from both Japan and German-speaking countries, Dr. Mikuni and her team have not only expanded scientific understanding of the role of culture but also promoted a more inclusive, diverse, and equitable approach to psychological research. During her doctoral studies at Keio University, she embarked on a transformative research stay in the University of Vienna, supported by the JSPS Overseas Challenge Program for Young Researchers. This experience was not only pivotal for her own research but also led to something even more profound—an institutional bridge between Keio University and the University of Vienna. Through her initiative, Dr. Mikuni played a key role in establishing a joint PhD degree framework between these two institutions. In 2022, she became the first graduate of this pioneering program. By laying the groundwork for this joint program, she has opened new doors for future students, fostering academic exchange between Japan and the German-speaking world. This framework will continue to support young researchers, enabling deeper international collaborations.
The JACA Prize 2025 includes a flight ticket and a travel allowance of up to 500 EUR.
Laudation by Dr. Saskia Schimmel (55 KB)
Acceptance speech by Dr. Mikuni on receiving the JACA 2025 (50 KB)
Additional links to Dr. Jan Mikuni:
- ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jan-Mikuni
- Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=BSkvIgcAAAAJ
- EVA Labs (Empirical Visual Aesthetics Labs) | University of Vienna: https://eva.univie.ac.at/
- ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0110-6993
- Urban Art & Green: https://www.urbanartandgreen.org/
- Frontiers: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1409086/full
- Nature Scientific Reports: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-65088-z
- ScienceDirect: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666558124000332