On October 30th, 2025, the ASEP community gathered at the University of Milano-Bicocca for a significant and engaging event — the ASEP Lectio Magistralis for the academic year 2025–26. The occasion featured Professor Yuri Kazepov from the University of Vienna, who delivered a lecture titled “Territorialising Social Policies. An analytical perspective on comparative social investment policies.” His talk offered a nuanced analytical framework for understanding how social policies take shape across different territorial contexts, emphasizing the spatial dimensions of social investment strategies.

The lecture was followed by a stimulating discussion with Professor Tullia Galanti from the University of Milan, who provided thoughtful reflections and complementary perspectives that deepened the collective exploration of the topic. 

This event served both as the ceremonial and intellectual opening of the ASEP 41st cycle. It introduced incoming doctoral students to some key theoretical concerns that touch the issue of inequalities, one of the program’s core research focus.