The International Academician Studies Congress 2021-Spring, which was hosted by Çag University Institute of Social Sciences and held on-line between April 29 and May 1, 2021 with the theme of New Norms in Social Sciences from Change to Transformation, has been successfully completed.

As the intellectual designers of this congress, we have stated that since the preparatory work of the congress the mass and global fear "taught" in the first six months of 2020 marks the formation of a new "social virus" similar to Covid-19. This formation marks the beginning of a brand new era in social sciences.

Moreover, it was our main goal to approach facts and dynamics with different perspectives and to deepen the issues in their own contexts through fertile discussions in this period of transformation, where the pandemic is challenging our social norms with all its burden.

This dynamic chain of events has emerged with new communication technologies and an interaction in every layer of the social structure in which change and transformation is experienced and new norms and parameters are formed.

-It has been a period when remote work is required.

-It has been a process in which flexible working systems have been applied.

-It has been an experience where social structures that had not yet met with technology, innovation and continuous improvement had to develop new perspectives to maintain their sustainability.

Furthermore, this process has settled in the memory of social science professionals as a period where several current concepts from digitalization to society 5.0, consumption typologies to the 21st century competencies are confronted. Since our congress was framed with this awareness, the assumptions at our congress also led to new paradigms from different perspectives.

Our Congress, prepared by Academic Studies Community and hosted by Çağ University, was held in a three-day study period. During the congress, a total of 18 sessions and 2 panels were planned, 6 sessions per day. In these studies, a total of 107 authors from 9 different countries presented their opinions during sessions on 75 papers. Participants from 40 different universities, 18 of which were from abroad, and 4 public institutions from Turkey took part in the congress.

The process we are in is the time to diverge the weakest and strongest in the global equation. The force will be on the side of agile, space-powerful, time-strategic thinkers and scientific solutions. Global interaction will leave its place to power transition and line balances. At least until a new “Social Virus” emerges, we are faced with the necessity of transforming our data into predictions.

In this congress, some of the macro questions were;

1. Can the emerging new norms permanently change the fate of humanity with the trauma they created and the lessons taught, as they did after the world wars?

2. Could this process create a brand new dynamic of globalization with a new kind of transformation?

I think we have found plenty of answers to these questions in the perspective of social sciences and we have at least progressed in an academic sense on the subject.

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of Çağ University, I would like to thank all academicians and participants who have contributed productively throughout the congress.