International recognition for Wellbeing Research Centre Fellows

Researchers from the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford have been recognised by an international organisation at the forefront of wellbeing science.

Dr Caspar Kaiser and Dr Alberto Prati were awarded first prize and joint-second place, respectively, by the International Society for Quality of Life Studies (ISQOLS) in the category of ‘Best Dissertation on Quality-of-Life, Well-being and Happiness’.

The two Research Fellows follow in the footsteps of former Wellbeing Research Centre Research Fellow Dr Lucía Macchia, who won the award in 2021.

Dr Kaiser, recognised for his ‘Four essays on applied and methodological issues in the study of subjective life satisfaction’, also scooped a prestigious Young Scholar Award for his “substantial contribution” to wellbeing research.

As well as his position at the Wellbeing Research Centre, Dr Kaiser is also a Research Officer at Oxford’s Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) and a trustee and advisor to the Happier Lives Institute.

In response to the recognition, Dr Kaiser said: “I am extremely grateful and honoured to be receiving both of these prizes. ISQOLS has, for a long time, been a kind of academic home for me. This makes this recognition especially valuable to me.

“I especially thank my two DPhil supervisors – Maarten Vendrik and Brian Nolan – who have gone out of their way to guide me during the DPhil. I’m also particularly grateful to the people at INET and the Wellbeing Research Centre, without whom my current research would not be possible.”

Dr Prati, also Assistant Professor at University College London, took second place for his essay ‘Memory and Subjective Well-Being: Empirical Analysis of Workers’ and Consumers’ Endogenous Recall Behaviours’. He added: “I was honoured by this encouraging recognition and I sincerely hope that my doctoral research will help push the boundaries of well-being science.”

Established in 1995, the ISQOLS was one of the first international organisations set up to promote and encourage research in the field of quality-of-life and wellbeing science. In the last three decades it has become a globally recognised organisation with its own publications, journals and an ever-growing membership of some of the brightest minds in the field.

Professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Director of the Wellbeing Research Centre, based at Harris Manchester College, Oxford, said: “Both Caspar and Alberto are fantastically talented members of our research group, and it is hugely rewarding to see their hard work and dedication acknowledged at an international level.

“All of us at the Wellbeing Research Centre wish to congratulate them on their awards.”