Conferences and summer schools

Entrepreneurship Research Lab, 11 - 13 June 2025

ERLab Days 2025 are structured around the theme "Create, Collaborate, Connect". It brings together startups, researchers, and industry leaders for a unique blend of discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities. Join the ERLab for three days dedicated to exploring the entrepreneurial ecosystem and connecting research and entrepreneurship practice.

Apply by 20 May for one of ten Wild Crads for emerging researchers or early-career founders - covering travel, accommodation, and full participation.

Venue: Kunstverein Heilbronn, Allee 28, 74072 Heilbronn

Summer School Viadrinicum, 16 – 31 August 2025

Viadrinicum is an annual summer school at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), devoted to the countries of the Eastern Partnership and the larger context of Central and Eastern Europe. Building on the discussions around the notion of learning city during the previous editions, in 2025 the school will focus on the ruptures in the urban fabric, both as the effects of (historical) negligence and abandonment, and as the traces of emancipatory disruptions in the established order of things.

It invites students, young researchers, civil society activists, artists and cultural workers to critically interrogate the (institutional) foundations of the city as a contested entity in-the-making, shaped by regimes of urban planning and governance, property relations and dwelling practices. Guided by the spirit of tactical urbanism and participatory pedagogics, the school will look into the ways how alternative futures (re-)emerge through the (invisible) cracks of the city, aided by contingent spatial imaginations and the acts of collective un-/inter-weaving.

Following the idea of experiential learning, a combination of academic and nonacademic formats will allow the participants of the school to actively explore the possibilities for a dialogue between different kinds of knowledge from academia, civil society and the arts.

In a more practical sense, the school offers opportunities for applied experimentation in the setting of a participatory urban intervention engaging local communities in the heart of the German-Polish twin city Frankfurt (Oder)-Słubice. This happens in the frame of three lab.workshops (Doc.Lab, Makers.Lab, Planners.Lab), where the participants will be able to develop their own small (team) projects with the assistance of facilitators from the respective fields.

Besides that, the school‘s programme features round tables with researchers from the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS, Berlin), film screenings, public events, and Open Space sessions, where participants will have a chance to discuss their own academic, civic, artistic or cultural work.

Successful applicants will be able to receive a travel scholarship. Accommodation costs will be covered by the organisers.

You can apply if you meet the following requirements:

• You are a student, a PhD candidate, an (NGO) activist or an artist up to 35 y/o;
• You have a genuine interest in transsectoral and transdisciplinary approaches to the topics of the school;
• Your knowledge of English is sufficient to take an active part in discussions.

You can apply online here.

Location: European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)

Language: English

Conference, 13 - 14 November 2025

The doctoral students of the Professorship of Economic Sociology are organising a conference at the European University Viadrina in November.

The conference will deal with the topic "Transformations of Capitalism - Perspectives of Economic Sociology in Times of Polycrisis". It will focus on the challenges and contributions of economic sociology in the current global crisis, including topics such as the fragility of socio-economic systems, sustainable economic models and the dynamics of social inequalities. The conference is particularly aimed at doctoral students in economic sociology in German-speaking countries; English contributions are also welcome.

Keynote speaker Dr Marcin Serafin (IFiS PAN, Warsaw) will open the discussion.

The call for papers is online. Abstracts (max. 500 words) can be submitted until 15 July 2025.

Location: European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)