Prof. Dr. Nils Stieglitz is a distinguished Professor of Strategy at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management since 2012 and serves as President & CEO since 2018. He leads the Management Department (2015–2018) and held the Executive Board role as Vice President Corporate Development (2017–2018). His research spans Strategic decision-making Organizational adaptation Human-agent interaction across dynamic environments. His scholarly work appears in top-tier journals like Strategic Management Journal , Management Science , and Organization Science , focusing on complex organizational trade-offs, incentive design, and scenario planning. He also contributes strategic insights to global media outlets such as Harvard Business Review and The Economist . As Senior Editor at the Journal of Organization Design and editorial board member of Organization Science , he shapes discourse on organizational theory. His teaching emphasizes strategy formulation and organizational design principles.
Christian von Scheve is a Professor of Sociology and Head of the Department of Sociology of Emotions at Freie Universität Berlin. He also serves on the board of the Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 1171 'Affective Societies' and is a Research Fellow at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin). His academic journey includes positions as a Research Professor at DIW Berlin (2011-2014), Junior Professor at Freie Universität Berlin (2008-2014), and Assistant Professor at the University of Vienna (2007-2008). His research examines the interplay between culture, social structures, and emotions, with emphasis on: The social/cultural constitution of emotions and affective experiences Emotional dimensions of economic action Human/non-human social interaction He employs diverse methodologies including surveys, interviews, and experiments. His recent publications (2022-2025) predominantly explore affective polarization , refugee integration , and the role of emotions in political discourse, utilizing interdisciplinary approaches spanning sociology, neuroscience, and political science. A consistent theme is how emotions shape social cohesion and conflict in contemporary societies. He holds key editorial roles including Co-Editor of Soziale Welt , Associate Editor of Emotion Review , and Editorial Board positions for multiple book series on affective societies and emotion research. He actively advises Master's students, requiring thesis proposals to be submitted six weeks before registration deadlines. His research is embedded in collaborative projects like SFB 1171 'Affective Societies' and the 'Social Cohesion and Civil Society' initiative.
Prof. Dr. Heike Bungert is a leading scholar in North American History at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster , focusing on ethnic migration, cultural history, and civil religion. Habilitation (2004) and Doctorate (1995) from German institutions Extensive teaching career since 2000, including visiting roles at UC Berkeley and Columbia University Her research bridges: German-American identity formation through festivals and cultural practices Transnational university history and academic networks Civil religion in US patriotic holidays Native American representation in film and collective memory Key article trends: 19th-20th century German migration patterns Academic institutions in transnational contexts Civil religion analysis in political rituals Historiography of indigenous peoples Scientific Honors : Heisenberg Fellowship (DFG, 2005) DAAD and DFG research fellowships Stuart L. Bernath Prize (1995) As a supervisor , she has guided doctoral research on topics like: Russian-American periodicals Symbolic communication in colonial legislatures Evangelical responses to immigration
Rita Finkbeiner is a Professor of German Linguistics at Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, where she has held a W3 professorship since April 2020 and served as managing director of the German Institute from 2022-2023. Previously, she was a W2 Professor at Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf (2018-2020) and has been affiliated with Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz since 2010. Her research focuses on the critical interface between grammatical structures and pragmatic functions in language use. Her academic background includes: Magistra Artium in German Linguistics and European Ethnology from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (2000) Ph.D. in German Linguistics from Stockholm University (2009) Habilitation at Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz (2016) Professor Finkbeiner's research examines how linguistic constructions operate at the grammar-pragmatics interface, with particular attention to speech acts, implicit meaning, and expressivity in German. She investigates phenomena such as wh-headlines in newspapers, reduplicative constructions, expressive morphology, and the pragmatics of social media commenting. Her work bridges theoretical linguistics with practical applications in language teaching and media discourse, demonstrating how linguistic form and communicative function interact systematically. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a consistent focus on construction grammar and pragmatics, with increasing attention to digital communication patterns while maintaining strong theoretical foundations. Key trends include exploration of wh-headlines across discourse types, expressive morphology in German word formation, and the pragmatics of social media commenting, demonstrating both theoretical depth and practical relevance to contemporary communication contexts. Professor Finkbeiner actively supervises doctoral and master's students, with numerous successful completions including Julian Stawecki (2024) and Robert Külpmann (2019). She has led significant research projects including the DFG-funded "W-Überschriften im Deutschen" (2018-2022) on German wh-headlines, and is coordinating the development of a German linguistics textbook. She collaborates closely with researchers including Dr. Robert Külpmann, Dr. Paul Reszke, and Charlotte Eisenrauch. She leads a research team at Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz that investigates construction grammar and pragmatics across various discourse contexts, with particular attention to digital communication and educational applications. Her work environment provides a strong interdisciplinary context connecting theoretical linguistics with language education and media studies.
Lucio Baccaro is Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies (MPIfG) and was Full Professor of Macrosociology at the University of Geneva, where he also served as Deputy Dean for Research (2016–2020). He has held academic positions at MIT, Case Western Reserve University, and visiting roles at the University of Turin and the University of Vienna. His primary affiliations are with MPIfG and the University of Geneva, both central to his research in political economy and sociology. Education: PhD in Management and Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1999 Doctorate in Labor Law and Industrial Relations, University of Pavia, 1997 Master of Business Administration, Stoa' (IRI-MIT joint venture), 1991 Laurea in Philosophy, summa cum laude, University "La Sapienza", Rome, 1989 Lucio Baccaro’s research focuses on comparative political economy, labor relations, global worker rights, and deliberative governance . His work integrates economic sociology and political sociology to analyze institutional change, social dialogue, and the impact of globalization on labor and welfare systems. He has led major comparative studies on employment models, pension reforms, and international labor standards. His scholarship emphasizes the interplay between institutions, ideas, and power in shaping economic governance. His recent publications reveal a consistent focus on institutional change, deliberative processes, labor market reforms, and global justice . Themes include path dependence in international organizations, the transformation of collective bargaining, and the role of expertise in democratic governance. His interdisciplinary approach bridges sociology, political science, and economics, with strong methodological rigor in comparative and qualitative analysis. Scientific Awards and Honors: Honorary Professor, University of Duisburg-Essen (2023) Professeur honoraire, University of Geneva (2020) International Geneva Award (2011) Outstanding Young Scholar Award, IRRA (2003) Founder's Prize, SASE (2001) Maurice F. Strong Career Development Chair, MIT (2006–2009) Multiple fellowships from SSRC, Harvard, MIT, and CUNY Alfiere del Lavoro, awarded by the President of Italy (1984) Advising and Grants: While specific student advisees are not listed, Baccaro has supervised research and mentored scholars through his roles at MPIfG and the University of Geneva. He has secured substantial research funding, including grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) and the Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS), supporting projects on post-Fordist growth models, employment policy, and deliberative governance. His leadership in co-principal investigator roles highlights his collaborative research approach and institutional influence. Labs and Research Teams: As Director at MPIfG, Baccaro leads a major research institute focused on the study of societal and economic institutions. He has been instrumental in shaping research agendas on political economy and governance, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and international scholarly exchange.
Professor Matthias Bauer is a distinguished scholar of English literature at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, where he has served as Professor of English since 2004. He currently holds the position of Chair of English Literatures and Cultures and acts as speaker for Modern Languages in the Faculty of Humanities. His academic journey includes a professorship at Saarland University (2001-2004) and extensive scholarly contributions across multiple research domains. First state examination in English and History from Münster University (1984) MA in English Literature from Yale University (1985) Dr. phil. from Münster University (1990; supervisor: Inge Leimberg) Habilitation from Münster University (1999) Professor Bauer's research spans Early Modern English literature (particularly Shakespeare and Metaphysical Poetry), nineteenth-century literature (with emphasis on Dickens), and poetry across historical periods. His work explores the aesthetics of co-creativity, the relationship between language and literature, and literary processes of sacralization and desacralization. He investigates how understanding literary texts functions, what competencies are required, and whether systematic annotation can facilitate comprehension. His recent publications reveal a strong focus on collaborative authorship in Early Modern literature, ambiguity studies, and the intersection of digital humanities with literary annotation. Professor Bauer consistently examines how texts create meaning through ambiguity, co-creation, and religious dimensions, connecting historical literary practices with contemporary theoretical frameworks. Deputy spokesperson for CRC/SFB 1391 "Different Aesthetics" (since 2019) Chair of project C5 "The Aesthetics of Co-Creativity in Early Modern English Literature" Chair of project C5 "Multiple Common Grounds" in CRC/SFB 1718 "Common Ground" Former chair of Research Training Group "Ambiguity: Production and Perception" (2013-2022) He actively supervises Bachelor's and Master's theses on literature from 1550-1900, literary theory, literature and linguistics, poetry, and literature and religion. His editorial work includes serving as co-editor of Connotations: A Journal for Critical Debate, the Literaturwissenschaftliches Jahrbuch, and multiple book series focusing on religion and literature. Professor Bauer leads research teams working on projects related to the Collaborative Research Center "Common Ground" (CRC/SFB 1718), where he chairs project C5 "Multiple Common Grounds: Linguistic Mechanisms for Literary Meaning." His department also hosts a peer-learning project on annotating literature, connecting theoretical research with practical pedagogical applications.
Prof. Dr. Jonas Schützeneder is a Professor of Digital Journalism at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, where he serves as Deputy Chair of the Examination Board. He holds a doctorate in Sports Journalism and Sports Communication and completed his habilitation in Innovation Communication. His academic responsibilities include teaching digital journalism in the Management and Media program (BA/MA), with a focus on data journalism, social media strategies, and online formats. Schützeneder's research explores transformative trends in journalism, with core interests in: Artificial intelligence applications in newsrooms Social media's impact on journalism practices Innovation communication and media evolution Podcast formats and audio storytelling strategies Ethical dimensions of digital journalism His publications demonstrate a consistent focus on journalism's digital transformation, particularly examining how emerging technologies like AI and social platforms are reshaping content production, distribution, and ethical frameworks across European media landscapes. His scientific recognitions include: University Teaching Award from Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (awarded twice) Multiple nominations for Teaching Award at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences Schützeneder leads the podcast project 'Held:innen von Magdeburg' where students research and produce content about contemporary and historical figures. Since 2018, he has served on the editorial board of Communicatio Socialis, an academic journal on media ethics, where he manages peer review processes. Since 2024, he co-heads the DGPuK Journalism Section, a 400-member organization within the German Society for Journalism and Communication Studies.
Saskia Goldberg is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Social Sciences , University of Stuttgart , with a current affiliation as Postdoctoral Researcher at the KU Leuven (since April 2022). Her work focuses on deliberative democracy, dialogic citizen participation, and legitimacy perceptions in representative democracies. Education: Master in Empirical Political and Social Research from University of Stuttgart (2014–2016) Goldberg’s research examines how citizens evaluate deliberative minipublics, the contingent legitimacy perceptions of non-participants, and the intersection of deliberation with policy outcomes. She has conducted empirical studies on democratic preferences, citizen forums, and dialogic participation in local governance. Her recent publications analyze the legitimacy of deliberative forums, cost-benefit assessments of citizen participation, and democratic expectations. Trends in her work include experimental methodologies, comparative studies of political systems, and the practical implications of deliberative innovations in real-world governance contexts. Goldberg has collaborated with institutions like the Ohio State University (2021) and contributed to edited volumes on empirical social research and democratic theory. Her teaching experience includes courses on democratic innovations, political systems, and comparative democracy models. She has participated in projects funded by the Fritz-Thyssen-Stiftung and Baden-Württemberg Stiftung , focusing on evaluating citizen participation mechanisms and analyzing democratic preferences.
Dr. Carolin Vollenberg serves as a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Chair of Information Systems & Transformation Management within the Faculty of Computer Science at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE). Her academic journey includes a PhD from the University of Muenster (2021-2025), an M.Sc. in Technical Consulting and Management from Hochschule Hamm-Lippstadt (2018-2020), and a B.Eng. in Biomedical Technology from the same institution (2014-2018). Prior to her current position, she worked as a Research Assistant at South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences and gained industry experience at Zapp Systems GmbH. PhD in Business Informatics (2021-2025), University of Muenster M.Sc. Technical Consulting and Management (2018-2020), Hochschule Hamm-Lippstadt B.Eng. Biomedical Technology (2014-2018), Hochschule Hamm-Lippstadt Research Focus: Vollenberg specializes in the governance of lightweight IT systems, digital transformation in public and healthcare sectors, and process mining applications. Her work bridges technical implementation with organizational behavior, particularly examining resistance to automation in sensitive domains like healthcare. She investigates how organizations navigate unintended consequences of technology adoption, with emphasis on RPA (Robotic Process Automation), omnichannel transformation, and data-driven process optimization. Her research methodology combines ethnographic field studies with quantitative process analysis. Publication Trends: Analysis of her 16 publications (2020-2025) reveals strong focus on healthcare IT (45% of works), public sector digitalization (30%), and foundational process management (25%). Recent output shows increasing emphasis on ethical dimensions of process mining and sustainability applications. Her collaborative work spans multiple European institutions with consistent publication in top IS conferences (ICIS, ECIS, HICSS). Best Paper nomination at HICSS-55 (2022) Associate Editor for General Track at Internationale Tagung Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI) 2025 Professional Engagement: Vollenberg actively contributes to academic discourse through editorial roles and peer review. Her industry collaborations with healthcare providers and public sector entities demonstrate applied research impact. Current projects examine virtual nursing transformations and crisis-responsive RPA implementations, reflecting her commitment to solving real-world operational challenges through information systems innovation.
Prof. Dr. Simone Winko holds the Chair for Modern German Literature and Literary Theory at the University of Göttingen since 2003. Her research spans literary theory, canonization, praxeology of literary studies, and the intersection of emotions with German poetry around 1900 and digital humanities. Academic Roles: Chair at Göttingen (2003–), DFG Priority Programme 2207 leadership (2017–), Courant Center collaboration (2009–) Key Projects: DFG projects on literary change (2023–), computational literary history (2020–2023), and argumentation practices in interpretations (2018–2020) Her recent work focuses on emotions in German-language poetry , using computational methods to model text similarity and analyze historical shifts between Realism and Modernism. She explores how emotional codes and narrative strategies are embedded in lyrical structures, particularly through projects like Anthologien zeitgenössischer deutschsprachiger Lyrik (2022). Scientific Awards : 2010: 1st prize for best doctoral supervision (KissWin, BMBF-funded) Teaching & Collaboration : Supervises B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. theses; co-edits the Journal of Literary Theory and Revisionen book series. Collaborates with Fotis Jannidis, Gerhard Lauer, and Matías Martínez on computational approaches to literary studies.
Prof. Michael Janoschka is a Professor of Regional Studies at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), leading the Institute of Regional Studies since June 2022. His work focuses on urban transformation, housing market dynamics, and participatory research methods. He holds a doctorate from Goethe University Frankfurt and has taught internationally in institutions including the University of Leeds, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and Universidad de Santiago de Chile. Research interests include financialization of housing markets, urban displacement processes, and governance innovations. He has conducted fieldwork across Latin America, Southern Europe, and German urban regions like Leipzig and Karlsruhe. Notable projects include CONTESTED_TERRITORY (EU-funded, 2025), CoprodAction (Ecuador urban co-production study), and the IECO Institute for Eco-Industrial Development (BMBF-funded). Publications span over 20 years, with key works on gentrification dynamics, post-crisis urban landscapes, and transnational real estate investment. His 2016 study Gentrification, displacement, dispossession established frameworks for understanding Latin American urban processes. Current research emphasizes spatial justice and the 'Right to the City' discourse. Education: Humboldt University of Berlin (undergraduate), Goethe University Frankfurt (PhD) Labs/Teams: Institute of Regional Studies research group, IECO eco-industrial development initiative Grants: Over €5M in EU and German federal funding since 2020
Dr. Varsha Suresh serves as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Saarland University's Computer Science and Computational Linguistics department, affiliated with Prof. Vera Demberg's research group since May 1, 2024. She also contributes to the DFG-funded SFB-1102 project "Information Density and Linguistic Encoding" as part of project B2 focused on "Cognitive modelling of information density for discourse relations". Her research expertise spans multiple dimensions of language technology: Development of knowledge-augmented language models to enhance language understanding capabilities Creation of multimodal language models incorporating non-verbal communication cues Cognitive modeling approaches to information density in discourse relations Integration of gestures, body language, and speech features with linguistic processing Dr. Suresh's work represents an interdisciplinary fusion of computational linguistics, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence, aiming to create language models that more accurately reflect human communication patterns through multimodal data integration. Her research has significant implications for advancing human-computer interaction systems and natural language understanding technologies.
Chris Steyaert is a Professor and Director at the University of St. Gallen's Business Administration Department in Switzerland. His work focuses on organizational psychology, entrepreneurship, and human resource management, with a particular emphasis on qualitative and narrative approaches. Research Interests: Organizational Psychology Entrepreneurship Studies Human Resource Management Qualitative Research Methodologies Social Constructionism Narrative Analysis His research explores how entrepreneurial activities are socially constructed and how organizations manage diversity and change through dialogical and narrative processes. His work often challenges traditional management paradigms by emphasizing the creative and performative aspects of organizing. Scientific Awards: Best Paper Award at RENT X Conference, Brussels 1996 Selected paper in EFER competition, Ghent 1995 Second best paper at 7th RENT workshop, Budapest 1993 Publications and Contributions: Steyaert has published extensively in top-tier journals and books, focusing on entrepreneurship, organizational psychology, and human resource management. His work includes both theoretical contributions and empirical studies, often employing qualitative methodologies.
Max Pellert is a computational social scientist and cognitive scientist with faculty appointments at multiple institutions. Since 2022, he has served as an Assistant Professor at the Chair for Data Science in the Economic and Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim . He previously held an interim Professor position at the University of Konstanz and an Assistant Researcher role at Sony Computer Science Laboratories Rome. His work bridges computational methods with social science theory. Education M.Sc., University of Vienna (2017) in Middle European interdisciplinary Master's program in Cognitive Science (with distinction) Ph.D., Medical University of Vienna (2022) in Medical Informatics, Biostatistics & Complex Systems Research interests center on Computational Social Science , Digital Traces , and Natural Language Processing for emotion and sentiment analysis. He develops Temporal Adapters for tracking longitudinal emotional patterns and FAULTANA pipeline for polarization studies. His AI Psychometrics framework assesses personality-like traits in large language models. Recent publications include: (1) 2025 ACL work on political bias in LLMs; (2) 2025 ICWSM study of temporal emotion analysis; (3) 2024 Perspectives on Psychological Science paper on LLM psychometrics; (4) 2024 PNAS Nexus polarization analysis; (5) 2023 Emotion cross-cultural study of pandemic emotions. Scientific Awards Habilitation candidate status at University of Mannheim Teaching includes IS 616: Large Scale Data Analysis , IS 809: Advanced Text Mining Lab , and IS 723: Data Science Seminar at master’s and PhD levels. His Barcelona Supercomputing Center role focuses on principal investigator duties for computational social science projects.
Prof. Dr. Nadja-Christina Schneider is Professor of South Asian Societies and Cultures at the Humboldt University of Berlin, where she is affiliated with the Institute of Asian and African Studies within the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education. She previously served as Professor of Gender and Media Studies for the South Asian Region at HU Berlin from 2017 to 2024, and before that as Professor of Media and Society at the IAAW with a focus on Global South Asian Studies from 2009 to 2016. She also held an interim professorship in Visual and Media Anthropology at Heidelberg University during the winter term 2016/17. Her research focuses on media culture, gender, urban transformation and intersectional im/mobility in South Asia. She is particularly interested in media developments in South Asia, mediatization processes and social change, and debates on Islam, media and gender. Her interdisciplinary approach draws from South Asian Studies, Modern and Contemporary History, and Islamic Studies. Prof. Schneider's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on transcultural media and communication, critical regionalism in architecture, and visual representations of social cohesion and identity politics in South Asia. Her work often explores how media forms shape and are shaped by social transformations, with particular attention to gender dynamics and religious identities. Her significant research projects include 'Beyond Social Cohesion - Global Repertoires of Living Together (RePLITO)' from October 2021 to December 2024, where she served as co-spokesperson and HU project leader. Prof. Schneider has supervised several doctoral projects including: Mobility and Witnessing: Independent Documentary Film Practices in the Kashmir Conflict (Max Kramer) Cinema, Cultures and Marker of Muslim Identity (Saima Haq) Mobility Differentiated: Navigating Religion, Activism and Everyday Life among LGBT Indonesians (Wikke Jansen) Unveiling Images. Regimes of Visibility in the Visual Politics of Contemporary Far Right Parties in Europe (Anna Kathrin Oswald) She has held prestigious research fellowships such as the Alexander von Humboldt research fellowship (Feodor Lynen Fellowship), a senior research fellowship at the Humanities Center for Advanced Studies 'Multiple Secularities' at Leipzig University, and a research fellowship at the Heidelberg Center for Transcultural Studies.
