Prof. Dr. Ayşenur Büyükgöze-Kavas of the Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance at Ondokuz Mayıs University’s (OMU) Faculty of Education has received the 2026 Excellent Contribution Award from the International Section of the American Psychological Association’s Division 17, the Society of Counseling Psychology. The International Section officially lists Prof. Dr. Büyükgöze-Kavas as the 2026 recipient of the award.

Prof. Dr. Büyükgöze-Kavas received the award during the APA 2026 Convention in Washington, D.C. The convention was held on August 6–8, 2026. During the award ceremony, she briefly introduced herself and her academic work, sharing her research in career counseling and vocational psychology as well as her international academic collaborations.

International Recognition for Career Counseling and Vocational Psychology

The Excellent Contribution Award recognises professionals who have made significant recent contributions to international counseling psychology through areas such as international research, cross-cultural collaboration, and internationally focused service or training. Prof. Dr. Büyükgöze-Kavas’s work recognised by the award encompasses research collaborations developed over many years with scholars from different countries, international academic partnerships in career counseling and vocational psychology, and membership on the editorial boards of international journals.

Following the award ceremony, Prof. Dr. Büyükgöze-Kavas also visited the Embassy of the Republic of Türkiye in Washington, D.C., where she discussed the academic work and international collaborations underlying the award. She noted that the congratulations she received and the interest shown in her research made the occasion in Washington particularly meaningful.

A Record of Academic Awards

Prof. Dr. Büyükgöze-Kavas has previously received several awards recognising her academic work. In 2011, while serving as a research assistant at Middle East Technical University (METU), she received the Young Researcher Award from the Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Association. In 2013, while working at OMU, she received the European Promising Researcher Award in career counseling from the European Society for Vocational Designing and Career Counseling (ESVDC) in Italy. She was also awarded the TÜBİTAK Incentive Award in 2019.

“I Am Proud to Bring This Award to Türkiye, Samsun and OMU”

Reflecting on the award, Prof. Dr. Büyükgöze-Kavas said:

“I see this award as recognition of the research I have conducted over the years in career counseling and vocational psychology, as well as the international academic collaborations I have established with colleagues from different countries. I would like to thank all the colleagues with whom I have worked and continue to work. At a time when internationalisation in higher education is becoming increasingly important, I am very happy and proud to bring such an award to Türkiye, to Samsun, the city where I was born, and to Ondokuz Mayıs University.”