The University of Bamberg's Winter School Local Organising Committee

Thomas Saalfeld, Convenor of the Bamberg Graduate School of Social Sciences

Thomas studied Political Science, Modern History and Communication Studies at Munich University and the University of Hull. He received his doctorate from the University of Munich and held research and teaching positions at the Universities of the German Federal Armed Forces Munich, Hull, Dresden, Kent and Bamberg. His visiting professorships include Boğazici University Istanbul, Mannheim University and the Institute d’Études Politiques de Lille. Since 2009 he has been Professor of Political Science at Bamberg University, and since 2010 he has been founding Director of the Bamberg Graduate School of Social Sciences (BAGSS), which has a very strong emphasis on research methods. He has a particular interest in survival analysis and quantitative text analysis. In 2008, Thomas Saalfeld was elected Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS). Between 2015 and 2016 he served on the Council of the German Political Science Association (DVPW).

Academic Unit

Michael Gebel, Department of Sociology, Chair for Methods of Empirical Social Research

Michael graduated both in economics and social sciences and earned his doctoral degree in sociology at the University of Mannheim. He has already (co-)lead two international collaborative research projects, the TEW-CCA project and the Horizon-2020 project EXCEPT. In 2018 he was awarded an ERC Starting Grant for his research project SECCOPA and became member of the "Young Elite" – "Top40 under 40" in the category Society and Science in Germany. His specific research interests include transitions to adulthood, multilevel analysis of comparative micro data, longitudinal data analysis and methods of modern causal analysis.

Lasse Gerrits, Department of Political Science, Chair of the Governance of Complex and Innovative Technological Systems

Lasse got degrees in public administration and spatial planning from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, were he worked as an associate professor before coming to the University of Bamberg as a full professor in political science. In Bamberg, he holds the Chair for the Governance of Complex and Innovative Technological Systems. His research interests are in complexity-informed methods such as qualitative comparative analysis, network analysis and system dynamics modeling.

Ariadna Ripoll Servent, Department of Political Science, Assistant Professorship for Political Science and European Integration  

Ariadna has been Assistant Professor of Political Science since 2013. Her research focuses on European integration, EU institutions and EU internal security policies. She holds a degree from Sciences Po Paris and the College of Europe in Bruges and she obtained a PhD in Contemporary European Studies from the University of Sussex. She has previously worked at the Institute for European Integration Research in Vienna and the College of Europe.

Administration Unit

Nasia Pliakogianni, Administrative Coordinator

Nasia has studied International and European Studies and Politics and Economics of Eastern and Southeastern Europe at the University of Macedonia in Greece as well as Political Science at the University of Bamberg in Germany. She has worked as an intern for the Greek-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Thessaloniki as well as for NGOs and International Organizations.

Daniel Kupfberger, Student Assistant

Daniel studies History and Primary School Didactics at Bamberg University. Previously, he also studied English and History at Erlangen University and the University College Cork in Ireland. In doing so, Daniel worked in different international environments, for example Amnesty International. He also has experience in organizing and guiding historical tours and exhibitions.