Curriculum Vitae

Education:

November 2020: PhD from the European University Institute, Florence, Italy

• Dissertation on the "Digital Politics Across Contexts, Social Media, Parties and Citizens: Technological Opportunities and Challenges in Modern Democracies" (Supervisor: Alexander H. Trechsel (University of Lucerne, Switzerland))

• Thematic focus: interrelation of the discourses of political parties and public opinion on Twitter and Facebook, agenda-setting powers of social media users, issue competition and saliences across on- and offline media

• Methodological focus: web scraping, quantitative text analysis (dictionary approach, (structural) topic models, sentiment analysis), machine learning, qualitative content analysis, multilevel modelling

September 2015 - August 2016: Master of Research (M.Res.), European University Institute, Florence, Italy

September 2012 - September 2013: Master of Arts (M.A.) in Social Sciences, University of Tartu, Estonia

• Recipient of merit-based full scholarship

• Double degree in conjunction with University College London, awarded with distinction

• Master thesis: “A Functional Perspective on Post-Communist Civil Society: Contentious Activities and Internet Activism in Latvia”

September 2011 - August 2013: Master of Arts (M.A.) in Politics and Security, University College London, UK

• Recipient of merit-based full scholarship

• Double degree Erasmus Mundus program “International Masters in Economy, State and Society with Reference to Central and Eastern Europe” (IMESS) with first year in London and second year in Tartu

September 2008 - June 2011: Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Integrated Social Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany

• Recipient of merit-based scholarship

• Bachelor thesis: “Civic Community in Russia: Abundant or Deficient?” 

Academic & Work Experience:

Since June 2024: Maternity / Parental Leave

Since October 2024: Steering Committee Member of the ECPR Standing Group on Internet & Politics, Colchester, UK

• Elected member of the board of the ECPR Standing Group Internet & Politics.

• Planning and organizing events, workshops and conferences.

• Promoting academic exchange among members. 

Since October 2019: Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Political Science, Chair of Domestic Politics and Comparative Government (Prof. Dr. Jasmin Riedl), Universität der Bundeswehr München, Germany

• Responsible for the use case "Political Competition" of the research project SPARTA (Social Media Analysis for Everyone), focusing on nowcasting electoral campaigns on social media.

June 2021 - September 2021: Co-Director of euandi2021, a voting advice application (VAA) for the German election, Florence, Italy

• Designed and developed an online VAA for the 2021 German federal election.

• Led a team of PhD researchers to code party manifestos and liaise with political parties.

September 2018 - May 2019: Project Leader of the German part of euandi2019, a VAA for the EP elections, Florence, Italy

• Coordninated the German team for the development of an VAA for the 2019 European Parliament elections.

• Coded party manifestos and liaised with political parties.

Novermber 2015 - November 2017: Co-opted Member of the Advisory Board, Schader Foundation, Darmstadt, Germany

• Represented the next academic generation in the foundation's central advisory and evaluation body.

• Assisted in preparing the Grand Convention, reviewed funding applications, and provided scientific consultation.

October 2016 - October 2017: Manager of the EUI Student Bar Fiasco, Florence, Italy

• Managed logistics (stocks, orders, shifts) and organized events.

January 2014 - July 2015: Research Assistant in the Department of Political Science, Chair of Domestic Politics and Comparative Government (Prof. Dr. Ursula Münch), Universität der Bundeswehr München, Germany.

• Investigated communication structures between state and societal actors in the field of structural civil protection, particularly flood protection.

• Developed, conducted, and analyzed qualitative expert interviews and general population surveys.

Nominations & Prices:

• 2024 – Award for Outstanding Performance at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich (€1,500)

• 2023 – Nomination for the Best Paper Award of the Political Communication Section at the ECPR General Conference in Prague

• 2023 – Award for Outstanding Performance at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich (€1,300)

• 2022 – Written recognition for excellence in teaching at the University of Lucerne by the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

• 2021 – Award for Outstanding Performance at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich (€1,300)

• 2019 – Nomination for the Rudolf Wildemann Prize of the ECPR for an outstanding academic paper

Languages:

• German: mother tongue

• English: fluent

• French, Italien, Latvian: working knowledge

• Spanish, Estonian, Slovenian: beginner

 PC/IT Skills:

• Python, R, STATA, SPSS

• MAXQDA