A GYA Working Group (WG) is the most common unit through which GYA activities are conducted. They focus on a broader topic, and can engage in many different ways such as, for example, raising awareness in the field through conducting (online) workshops or panel discussions, running a social media campaign, publishing research outcomes, interdisciplinary findings or policy briefs.

Strategic projects are identified by the GYA leadership. They are closely connected to improving the conditions for young scientists and scholars around the world, and are seen as being of strategic relevance for the development of the organisation. These projects are global in scale, extend beyond the 5-year GYA membership term, and often seek external funding.

Each year, the GYA awards this competitive grant to interdisciplinary pilot projects. The grant scheme thus supports the development of small-scale, innovative, curiosity-driven, blue-sky, exploratory research projects that unite GYA members in low and middle-income countries with those in high-income countries, and cross disciplinary boundaries.

The GYA works with partner organisations in many different ways. Partner projects build on synergies of the organisations involved in order to make a national, regional or global impact.

Incubator groups are working groups in the making: they are nascent ideas that need to be tried out before being given shape as a full-fledged WG.