Seminars & Studios

Scientific, artistic and skills-based seminars & studios

The seminars and studios at EFA26 are characterised by a participative atmosphere, interdisciplinary approaches and intergenerational dialogue. Every year, the European Forum Alpbach awards scholarships to hundreds of young talents from all around the world. The participating students, young professionals and changemakers also attend the conference programme, including its social and cultural activities. 

Find the right seminars or studios for you

Scholarship holders and participants choose either two seminars or two studios. 

  • Seminars run for half a day over five days, with scientific seminars in the morning and art and skill seminars in the afternoon, designed to broaden perspectives and foster personal growth
  • Studios are intensive, method-focused formats that encourage engagement with complex questions. Each studio runs for 2.5 days in a block format and focuses on a single topic.

Since each studio and seminar's content builds on the previous day, participants can choose two in total.

Hear directly from the chairs about what to expect!

Seminars

9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Seminar Chairs

  • Momodou Sallah, Executive Director, National Research and Innovation Fund (The Gambia)
  • Sophie Howe, Director, Sophie Howe Associates

Get to Know the Seminar

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • Ciara Staunton, Experienced Legal and Compliance Expert, BBMRI ERIC
  • Injy Johnstone, Senior Research Fellow / Associate, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition / Oxford Net Zero
  • Martje Köppen, DPhil Researcher, University of Oxford

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • Zuzanna Warso, Director of Research, Open Future Foundation
  • Timo Seidl, Assistant Professor of Political Economy, Technical University of Munich

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • Alberto Alemanno, Jean Monnet Professor of European Law, HEC Paris / The Good Lobby
  • Luiza Bialasiewicz, Professor of Political and Economic Geography, Ca' Foscari University of Venice

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • Nicola Bilotta, Senior Research Associate and Coordinator EU-Supervisory Digital Finance Academy / Economist Fellow, Florence School of Banking and Finance - European University Institute / GLOBSEC
  • Co-Pierre Georg, Professor of Practice in Financial Technology, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • Lisandra Flach, Director and Professor, ifo Center for International Economics and LMU Munich
  • Katrin Kamin, Senior Director for Government Affairs Strategy, Siemens AG and Kiel Institute

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • Camilo Martinez, Postdoctoral Researcher, Central European University
  • Juliette Vazard, Senior Researcher, University of Zurich

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • Petar Bojanic, Professor of Philosophy, University of Belgrade and RECAS
  • Chiara Libiseller, Lecturer in Strategic Studies, King's College London

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • Felippa Amanta, PhD candidate and policy researcher, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford
  • Ciara Staunton, Experienced Legal and Compliance Expert, BBMRI ERIC

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • Katharina Neges, Senior Scientist, Graz University of Technology
  • Josef Mitterer, Professor, University Klagenfurt

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Seminar Description

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3 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Seminar Chairs

  • Iara Lee, Activist, Filmmaker, and Cultural Producer, Cultures of Resistance
  • Gerald Geier, Designer, filmmaker, strategist
    Open Future Lab, Global Shapers Vienna

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • Daniel Bayer, Founder & Consultant, Fingu GmbH
  • Heike Lehner, Economist, independent

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • Lucy English, Professor of Creative Enterprise and The Spoken Word, Bath Spa University
  • Daphne Francis, Student, Bath Spa University
  • Lauren Jeffries, Student, Bath Spa University

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • James MacDonald-Nelson, Cities Programme Lead, DemocracyNext
  • Rhiannon McQuone, Research Associate, More in Common

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • Wiebke Rademacher, University professor of Music/Arts Education/Head of MA programme, Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (MUK)
  • Hans-Adrian Dorfmeister-Pölzer, Master's Student ,Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (MUK)
  • Pia Madlener, Student, Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (MUK)

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • Alexander Gstrein, Advisor, Federal Ministry Republic of Austria Defence
  • Alexander Schiller, Staff Officer for Psychological Operations (PsyOps) / Instructor for Communication Trainers, Operations Command Division of the Austrian Armed Forces

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Seminar Description

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Mentor

  • Nona Shepphard, Associate Director and Chair of Audition Panel
    Royal Academy of Dramatic Art London (RADA)

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • Meike Gleim, Artistic Coordinator and Senior Researcher, Science of Singularities ASBL / Technical University Dortmund
  • Antonia Ulrich, PhD Student in Philosophy, University of Potsdam/University of Applied Arts Hannover, Department Design and Media

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Seminar Description

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Mentor

  • Nona Shepphard, Associate Director and Chair of Audition Panel
    Royal Academy of Dramatic Art London (RADA)

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Seminar Description

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Seminar Chairs

  • Jan-Willem van Putten, Executive Director, The School for Moral Ambition
  • Barend Bos, Head of Democracy Program, The School for Moral Ambition

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Seminar Description

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Studios

Block 1

25-27 August 2026

Studio Chairs

  • Fabian Lecker, Architect and Researcher, EFFEKT Architects
  • Emiline Elangovan, Doctoral StudentChalmers University of Technology

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Studio Description 

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Studio Chairs

  • Sarah Helena Schäfer, Political Sociologist, University of Vienna
  • Jiri Honzírek, Director, Theater Feste

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Studio Description 

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Studio Chairs

  • Evelyne Selberherr, Tenured Associate Professor of Microbiome ResearchUniversity of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
  • Markus Peschl, Professor of cognitive science and innovation, University of Vienna & theLivingCore

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Studio Description 

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Studio Chairs

  • Ludvig Broomé, Analyst at the Europe Programme, The Swedish Institute of International Affairs
  • Michael Reiterer, Professor, Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy, Brussels School of Governance, VUB

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Studio Description 

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Block 2

27-29 August 2026

In the Video:

  • Caroline Paulick-Thiel, Politics for Tomorrow
  • Daniel Kondor, Complexity Science Hub
  • Jenny Reddish, Complexity Science Hub
  • Jakob Zsambok, Complexity Science Hub
  • Andreas Sorge, Next Learning e.V.

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Studio Description

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Studio Chairs

  • Jannik Pfister, Head of European Identity, Hertie Foundation
  • Fabian Goslar, Founder, Enkel Europas

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Studio Description

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Studio Chairs

  • Nhat An Trinh, Sociologist, WZB Berlin Social Science Center
  • Marina Alcazar Cid, Doctoral Researcher and Co-FounderParis School of Economics, Club Alpbach Spain,  the Wealth Cap Project

Get to Know the Studio

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Studio Description

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