Faculty members win British Academy Rising Stars Engagement Awards

Dr Veronika Fikfak and Dr Alicia Hinarejos have both been awarded British Academy Rising Stars Engagement Awards.

Dr Fikfak won her award for her project The Future of Human Rights in the United Kingdom. The aim of the project is to examine the uncertain future of human rights protection if the Human Rights Act is repealed or replaced. If the Government goes ahead with its plans, the question arises how judges, Parliament and the devolved powers are likely to respond to those actions. The project seeks to provide a platform for new voices – 12 young scholars – to discuss their ideas about the potential future of human rights in the UK with policymakers and scholars. The goal will be achieved through a workshop hosted in Cambridge at which each young scholar will present their work and discuss it with a judge, a legal adviser to Parliament, or a senior academic who will provide feedback on their work.

Dr Hinarejos' award will fund a project entitled New Challenges to European Solidarity. The European Union finds itself at a historical crossroads. It currently faces a number of existential threats that need a common and unified response; yet such a common response is likely to require unprecedented sharing of burdens and financial sacrifices for the individual Member States. In other words, these challenges require a new understanding of solidarity among the States and peoples of Europe. The responses that the Union gives to these challenges will shape European integration for the foreseeable future. Dr Hinarejos' project will focus on the most pressing challenges to European solidarity, possible responses, and consequences.

The British Academy’s new Rising Star Engagement Awards enable established early career scholars to actively engage in the work of the Academy and to enhance their own skills and career development through the organisation of events, training, and mentoring activities for a wide range of other early career researchers.