CBS research on how popular culture affects reality wins prestigious grant

Photo: Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond

Ana Alacovska, Associate Professor at the Department of Management, Society and Communication at CBS, has been awarded Independent Research Fund Denmark’s Sapere Aude grant of DKK 6 million.

Alacovska is awarded this grant for her excellent research on how popular culture affects our reality.

”I am very happy, honoured and feel much privileged. I am thrilled at the prospect of working on this project and I am extremely grateful to have been given the responsibility to lead a research project with a world-class research scheme,” says Ana Alacovska, admitting that she needed a couple of days to let the news sink in.

Of more than 300 applications submitted to Independent Research Fund Denmark, 35 researchers have been awarded Sapere Aude grants in the current round.

According to the  press release the selection criteria weighted “groundbreaking ideas and high leadership ambitions for the benefit of Denmark’s future”.

In her research, Ana Alacovska is looking into how fictions from popular culture genres, such as crime fiction, affect the work of the police.

She is also investigating how science fiction shapes robotic design as well as how climate fiction influences radical environmental activism.

”I simply cannot wait to pursue my ideas together with my brilliant colleagues. Together with two excellent post-docs, we will study the effect of fictions on how we work and organise ourselves. It is a dream come true,” says Ana Alacovska.

What is Sapere Aude?

• The Sapere Aude grant has been awarded by Independent Research Fund Denmark since 2010. ‘Sapere Aude’ means ‘dare to know’ in Latin.

Read more about Ana Alacovska and her research