We are pleased to announce that the second edition of the Annual YAE Prize has been awarded to Dr. Gabi Lombardo. This Prize will be awarded during the YAE Meeting in Barcelona next November. Dr Lombardo is an expert in global research funding, research and education policies, and international higher education. She has high-level experience in the interface of strategy, policy, research and business. Her field of work accompanies strengthening connections across the university and beyond, within a complex field of external, and international stakeholders. She holds an extensive record in the design and implementation of highly innovative projects, including public and private business investing in HE in the US, China and Europe. She has also a record of establishing multilateral institutional collaborations and university representative offices abroad. Dr Lombardo holds a senior level experience in strategic planning and ‘foresight’ planning in elite higher education institutions, international research funders and associations. She is a constant promoter of the value of the Social Sciences and Humanities from her position as the Director of The European Alliance for SSH, which is the largest science policy organization for SSH in Europe, and has a specific approach to give voice in the science policy debate to an international scientific community.