The ASEP PhD Program continues its mission of fostering high-level academic exchange by hosting a series of international seminars featuring distinguished scholars from across Europe. These seminars provide our doctoral candidates and the broader research community with a platform to engage with cutting-edge research addressing urgent social and economic processes.

By opening our program to internationally relevant scholars, we ensure our researchers remain at the forefront of global sociological and economic debates. Our 2025/2026 schedule highlights this commitment through diverse and interdisciplinary sessions.

Family life course trajectories and later life outcomes in terms of wealth and health

• Speaker: Stefani Scherer (University of Trento), with Davide Gritti and Raffaele Grotti.

• Date & Time: February 12, 2026 | 14:30 – 16:30 | Room U7/24.

• Focus: An analysis of how cumulative marital and employment biographies influence health and wealth inequalities in mature age. This research utilizes biomarkers and data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE).

Housing under platform capitalism. A comparative approach to the contentious politics of short-term rental regulation in European cities

• Speaker: Claire Colomb (University of Cambridge).

• Date & Time: February 27, 2026 | 10:30 – 12:30 | Room U7/24.

• Focus: A comparative study of short-term rental (STR) regulation across 12 European cities. The talk explores the contentious politics between public authorities, residents, and digital platforms as new urban actors, identifying three distinct ‘worlds of STR regulation’.

The Future of Work Environments: Creating Livable and Productive Working Habitats

• Speaker: Werner Eichhorst (IZA and University of Bremen).

• Date & Time: March 24, 2026 | 15:30 – 17:30 | Room U7/23.

• Focus: Drawing from his latest book, Eichhorst investigates the evolution of paid work and job quality across Europe. The seminar adopts an interdisciplinary lens—combining sociology, economics, and psychology—to discuss how public policy and HR management can create sustainable and livable "working habitats".

Non-standard employment in the Danish public sector – in comparison with the private sector and Italy

• Speaker: Mikkel Mailand (University of Copenhagen).

• Date & Time: May 5, 2026 | 11:00 – 13:00 | Room U7/23.

• Focus: This session investigates the prevalence and characteristics of non-standard employment within the Danish public sector, offering a unique comparative lens against private-sector dynamics and the Italian labor market context.