CIVICA ESR
COURSE CATALOGUE

Seminar offered by Dondena Research Center (Spring 2025 seminar series) ----- March 31st 2025 12:45-2:00pm (UTC+1) ------ CIVICA ESR can attend ONLINE only. Zoom meetings link will be available upon registration. ------ SEMINAR DESCRIPTION: Using cutting-edge research and new data, this book shows that the Western world has experienced a massive rise in the size of the middle class over the 20th century and a great equalization of wealth. Unfettered capitalism, it seems, doesn’t have to lead to boundless inequality. The key to progress was political and institutional change that enabled citizens to become educated, better paid, and to amass wealth through housing and pension savings. The book argues for tax and social policies that raise the wealth of people in the bottom and middle rather than cutting wealth of entrepreneurs at the top. ----- BIO: Daniel Waldenström is a professor at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics, specializing in economic inequality, taxation, and economic history. He has previously held professorships at the Paris School of Economics, Uppsala University, and UCLA. In addition to his academic work, Waldenström advises government agencies, the OECD, and the European Commission. He is also a frequent commentator in European and global media.
Teachers:

• Daniel Waldenström ()

We all know that we learn in different ways. But what are the consequences of this for our teaching? Do we really take this into consideration when planning our courses? Maybe we plan our courses according to our own preferences for learning? During this session, we will first look at different preferences for learning, including your own preferences. We will then apply this on your teaching, and you will have the opportunity to review this, and see how you perhaps could change it? Finally, you will learn about ideas that other participants have about how they could change their teaching. After this session you are expected to be able to: - Recognize the diversity of ways of learning. - Analyze your own teaching in relation to different preferences for learning. - Assess and adjust your own teaching to various contexts.
Teachers:

• Pär Mårtensson (Stockholm School of Economics)

Do you measure your PhD progress in relation to your peers? Do you find yourself constantly comparing yourself to others? In this workshop we will explore the instinct to compare ourselves to others within academia. Although the urge to compare may be understandable, the impact is rarely positive. Constant comparison not only harms our self-esteem, it also produces a skewed sense of our PhD progress. This session will consider the uniqueness of each PhD project and the futility of comparison. We will then explore ways to measure PhD progress beyond comparison.

Second in a two-part sequence providing a systematic approach to teaching fundamentals, focusing on course design and assessments. Participants must previously take Foundations or contact elkanacenter@ceu.edu for exemption. “Learning by Design” is a semester-long, intermediate-level course focused on how students learn and how instructors can facilitate student learning. Building on Foundations of Teaching in Higher Education (which is a prerequisite), it shifts the focus even more firmly from the teacher to the student. In their roles as designer, facilitator (and assessor) of learning, course participants explore how they can guide students in their learning and how to make that learning longer lasting and more significant. During our sessions we will unpack assumptions that surround student learning, delve into theories of how students learn, and explore corresponding principles and approaches to teaching that seek to align learning, teaching, and asessment. We will discuss how to better understand your students, recognize several implications of student diversity for student learning, and explore how to support different types of learners and different types of learning. We will explore, at some length, how to assess student learning, including assessment design, grading, and feedback. Throughout all of this, we will constantly reflect on our own growth as scholars in the process of becoming facilitators of learning.
Teachers:

• Tamara Kamatovic (Central European University)
• Mátyás Szabó (Central European University)

10:00-14:00 Are you struggling with organizing your days, making progress, following your plans, and finding a balance between PhD work and other aspects of life? In this course, we adopt a different approach to time management. The premise of this course is that time management does not begin with the calendar, but with finding meaning. We will develop awareness and reflective capacities related to your time use, organization of daily life, and creating and maintaining work-life balance. The method in this course is soft but powerful: we will do reflective exercises and discussions based on poetry therapy and creative writing. No specific skills are needed, but you are expected to come with an open mind and a willingness to work on your challenges on a personal level. The course is suitable for you, for instance, if you: -struggle with time use and planning, -fail to meet deadlines, -have a constant feeling of being behind, -suffer from guilt related to not performing, -are unsure of what activities to prioritize, -have difficulties saying no to things. You will learn to examine your personal foundations for time use and planning, and identify the first concrete step(s) in organizing your days and your life differently. On a more general level, this course will help strengthen your self-reflective and self-management capacities. The workshop contents comprise brief introductory talks on issues related to time use and time awareness, reflective written exercises based on literary materials, and group discussions. No preparation is needed, but you are expected to be fully present and in a private space during the meetings, with all distractions eliminated (no multitasking, or other apps open). Note that this is not a tool- or calendar-based approach to time management. Instead, you will develop access to the fundamental issues related to time use on the individual level.
Teachers:

• Carol Kiriakos (European University Institute)

This professional development event is part of the Teacher Development Programme and aims to discuss about cooperative learning strategies as effective tools for promoting active learning, critical thinking, and meaningful learning outcomes. The aims are: to explore the benefits of cooperative learning in higher education, to get familiarized with methods that promote cooperative learning, such as Jigsaw, Corner debate, PBL (project-based learning) and peer-learning, to identify challenges and barriers to implementing cooperative learning. The webinar encourages reflection and the sharing of personal perspective on teaching experiences.
Teachers:

• Simona Velea (National University of Political Studies and Public Administration)

The cross-disciplinary field of “infrastructure studies” has recently captured the imagination of legal scholars interested in global and planetary ordering, technology regulation, securitization, and other topics. But what does it mean to “think infrastructurally”? This seminar discusses ways of engaging productively with insights from other disciplines that have studied infrastructures across space and time, in particular in the field of science and technology studies (STS): How do infrastructures differ from systems, networks, or platforms? How are infrastructures regulated – and how could they be regulated differently? Which infrastructures underpin regulation – and can infrastructure itself be understood as a form of regulation? Thinking infrastructurally can open-up pathways for analytical, critical, and normative inquiries from law and policy perspectives. The seminar will be attuned to researchers’ own interests and projects (facilitated through short presentations). Attendance and active participation required. Assignments include response papers and a short case study presentation of an infrastructure of relevance to the researchers’ own projects.
Teachers:

• Thomas Streinz (European University Institute)

The course aims to provide Ph.D. Students (in social science and particularly business administration) with philosophical perspectives for their research. It is open to all Ph.D. Students, but students from SSE, CBS, and institutions that are part of the Nordic Academy of Management (NFF) will receive general priority. The ideal course participant is a PhD candidate in business administration with a philosophical curiosity and an inclination to broaden their epistemological understanding of social science with ontological perspectives. The course is free of charge for all participants. The first part will given at Stockholm School of Economics, 23-25 April 2025 (13.15 23/4 to 12.00 25/4), the second part will be given at Copenhagen Business School on 27-29 August 2025 (13.15 27/8 to 12.00 28/8), and the final part will be given at Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden, 19-21 November 2025 (13.00 19/11 to 12.00 21/11). The course gives 7.5 ECTs.
Entry requirements: a short motivation letter
Assessment: Students are assessed based on (1) active classroom discussions of course literature (50%), and (2) three reflective 2-3 pages hand-ins which discuss the literature for each model, and a final course paper in which the student focuses on one specific topic (50%).

Law and economics (L&E) is a scholarly approach that provides an economic perspective on legal institutions and the law. L&E utilizes formal and empirical economic analysis to understand the law. If the results of such economic analyses show that the explanatory power of economic theories is lacking, L&E also engages in the reconsideration of economic theories themselves. The course aims to introduce L&E as a methodological approach while being mindful of its normative assumptions and implications. It will first discuss the historical development and contemporary significance of L&E. The course will then explore several substantive policy areas: contract law, liability, antitrust, economic regulation, environmental law, behavioral law and economics, and technology. Guest lecturers will be invited to contribute to the course. Participants commit to the following: Prior reading of 2 to 4 scholarly papers or cases before each session. The papers will be discussed as the course progresses.
Teachers:

• Nicolas Petit (European University Institute)

We will explore some of the benefits of bringing coaching approaches to your work with students, including in assisting them in setting goals, increasing their sense of ownership and providing them with a safe and constructive space in which to develop, and practice the approaches with peers. In this workshop we will: • Consider the benefits of coaching techniques for supporting students • Explore coaching approaches, benefits of coaching, and how to foster coaching environments • Introduce some key models • Encourage participants to reflect on their approaches to supporting students
Teachers:

• Eden Centre Eden Centre (The London School of Economics and Political Sciences)

Entry requirements: N/A
Assessment: N/A

28 May 2025, 2.00-3.30 PM. This workshop will give insights into ethics in academic research. We will speak about good practices, as well as misconduct in academic research touching upon topics such as academic freedom, research integrity, and data protection. We will give an overview of the role of the ethics committee, and what to consider when designing a project with view to applying for ethics review. At the end, there will be a forum for the audience to ask questions. Speakers: Herman G. Van De Werfhorst, Professor at the Department of Political and Social Sciences and Chair of the EUI Ethics Committee Julia Hiltrop, Administrator of the EUI Ethics Committee
Teachers:

• Herman Van de Werfhorst (European University Institute)
• Julia Hiltrop (European University Institute)