Per Holderberg

Dr. Per Holderberg is a Research Associate at the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Hildesheim, where he works in the Department of Sociology and the Methods Center. Since January 2025, he has served as Deputy Head of the Science Support Hub, providing consulting in quantitative research, survey methodology, and data tools such as unipark, f4transkript, and MAXQDA Analytics Pro. He is actively involved in teaching, research, and institutional service, including roles as Deputy Senate Commissioner for Data Protection and representative of the Postdocs Group on the Graduate Center Advisory Board.

• Ph.D. in Social Sciences
• Research Associate, University of Hildesheim (2015–present)
• Research Assistant, German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW), Hanover (2014–2015)
• Student Assistant, DZHW and Leibniz University Hannover (2010–2015)

Dr. Holderberg's research centers on modern democratic theory, political participation, voter turnout, and the working conditions of academic staff. His work explores compulsory voting, generational differences in political engagement, and democratic deficits in university governance. He investigates how structural and institutional factors shape citizen and student participation, with a focus on inequality and democratic resilience.

His recent publications examine universities as democratic socialization agencies, student representation, and the precarity of academic mid-level staff. These works reveal a consistent focus on democratic participation, institutional reform, and socio-political inequality. He frequently employs survey-based empirical methods, contributing to projects on citizen attitudes, student satisfaction, and electoral behavior.

• Germany Scholarship
• Didrik Pining Fellowship (visiting scholar at the University of Florence)
• Nomination for the 2020 Award for Outstanding Digital Teaching

Dr. Holderberg has advised and collaborated closely with students and early-career researchers, particularly through his leadership in academic staff representation and postdoc advisory roles. He has led and contributed to third-party funded projects on university governance, student engagement, and academic working conditions. His institutional service includes roles in data protection, entrepreneurship, and academic democracy advocacy.

He is a core member of the Methods Center at the University of Hildesheim, supporting researchers in quantitative methodologies and survey implementation. He is also an active member of several academic networks, including the German Political Science Association (DVPW), the Network for Good Work in Science (NGAWiss), and the Loccum Initiative of Critical Scientists (LI).