Maria Luisa Zucchini-Solimei (University of Milano-Bicocca) is a visiting PhD student (Cotutelle de thèse model) at Team Kazepov until 1 October 2026.
Her dissertation "Urban Social Investment: Migrants and Labour Market Dynamics in Milan and Vienna" focuses on the adoption and implementation of social investment (SI) policies relevant for migrants in two urban contexts: Milan and Vienna. Using a comparative case study approach, it combines quantitative analyses of local SI policies with qualitative insights drawn from interviews with policymakers and stakeholders, exploring broader dynamics of multi-level governance, vertical coordination, and institutional complementarities. The project aims to contribute to academic and policy debates by providing theoretical and empirical insights into the subnational dimensions of the SI approach, assessing opportunities for institutional learning and policy transferability, and advancing knowledge on migrants’ trajectories in the labour market.
During her research stay, she will conduct qualitative fieldwork and local-level data analysis for the empirical case study on Vienna.
Shiwen Liu is a visiting PhD scholar from Renmin University of China (Beijing), where she is currently in the third year of her doctoral studies in demography. Her research interests include marriage and family, gender inequality, and population health.
At the University of Vienna, she will be working with Team Steiber (until 30 September 2026) on a project estimating transfers of unpaid care and domestic work, as well as market and non-market child investments in East China.
Rosa Kim (University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) works on her dissertation "The Relationship of News and Risk: An Approach from Wissenssoziologie" at Team Pfadenhauer until 31 Ocotber 2026.
Her research investigates the relationship between news and risk in the construction of danger and safety in everyday life. It analyzes the narrative modes of news in risk communication, and the ways in which social knowledge and subjective experiences influence meaning-making. It also examines how emerging media technologies transform these communicative processes and the construction of social reality.
During her stay, she aims to deepen her understanding of Wissenssoziologie and related approaches, further developing the theoretical framework of her dissertation while also contributing to the ComAI group’s ongoing research.
