The seventh edition of the SPS Summer Academy welcomed 27 master students representing 20 countries through their nationalities and academic affiliations. Over the course of the week, they explored some of the major challenges shaping contemporary European societies, including democracy, political participation, inequalities, artificial intelligence and transnational solidarity.
At the heart of this edition were the workshops led by EUI postgraduate fellows Miranda Loli, Llorenç Soler Buades, and Sebastian Ramirez-Ruiz. Also among the highlights was a keynote lecture by SPS Assistant Professor Kevin Munger, titled ‘The Internet and Political Polarisation’.
The Academy also gave participants an insight into opportunities for pursuing academic research at the EUI, with a presentation of the Institute’s PhD programme by SPS Head of Department Professor Arnout van de Rijt.
In addition to showcasing EUI’s research rigour and excellence, Summer Academy facilitated a sense of belonging to an academic community through informal social gatherings such as the welcome lunch and farewell dinner, which became valuable opportunities that allowed participants to build relationships with one another and to learn more about the EUI in an engaging and interactive way.
People
- Prof. Arnout van de Rijt – Head of Department, Full-time Professor, Department of Political and Social Sciences
Research interests: collective action, social stratification, social networks, computational social science, mathematical sociology. - Prof. Filip Kostelka – Director of Graduate Studies, Full-time Professor, Department of Political and Social Sciences
Research interests: political behaviour, political parties, regime change and democratisation, Central and Eastern Europe, Western Europe, quantitative methods. - Prof. Valentina Di Stasio – Full-time Professor, Director of Research, Department of Political and Social Sciences
- Prof. Herman G. Van De Werfhorst – Full-time Professor, Department of Political and Social Sciences
- Prof. Tasha Fairfield – Full-time Professor, Department of Political and Social Sciences
- Prof. Waltraud Schelkle – Full-time Professor – Joint Chair, Department of Political and Social Sciences; Joint Chair, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
Research interests: European Monetary Union, European integration, risk sharing, financial markets, political economy of the euro, social policy, United Germany.
Keynote Speaker
- Prof. Kevin Munger – Full-time Assistant Professor, Department of Political and Social Sciences
Assistant Professor Kevin Munger delivered a key note lecture titled ‘The Internet and Political Polarisation’.
Kevin Munger is Assistant Professor and holds the Chair of Computational Social Science in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute, in Florence. Kevin uses computational and experimental methods to study the implications of the internet and social media for the communication of political information.
His work has been published in venues like Nature, the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, and the Journal of Communication. He is the author of two books: Generation Gap: Why the Baby Boomers Still Dominate American Politics and Culture, and, The YouTube Apparatus, recently published with Cambridge University Press. In 2021, he co-founded the Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media, of which he is currently co-editor. His current interests include TikTok, the philosophy of social science, Twitch, and American Pragmatism applied to the theory and practice of digital democracy.
Testimonials
Participants of the Summer Academy 2026:
- “SPS Academy gave me much more than I could have expected: new connections, new ideas and, most importantly, a new perspective on my own field — full of possibilities I had not considered before. During this week, it was impossible not to catch the research spirit and start looking at my own future, being surrounded by such highly motivated and inspiring peers and professors.”
- “The professors are very kind and clearly know their subjects inside out, and the atmosphere at the university is truly inspiring. The other participants are also amazing, and I’ve really enjoyed meeting and connecting with everyone. The only downside is that it’s all coming to an end so quickly! Other than that, I’m absolutely delighted with the experience.”
- “The EUI is a great place and gave me many opportunities to connect with the other participants, get valuable feedback from the postdoctoral researchers and gain interesting insights from the lectures. I also really liked spending time in the library and working from there. Overall, the EUI provides great resources and possibilities to work productively.”
- “I really enjoyed being here. The professors are really excellent in their fields, and the students were really friendly. I explored more research fields and got help with my own studies.”
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