In this edition of PLF Alumni Hour, alumni Aleksei Karnaukhov and Virginia Fiume will share their experiences navigating the transition from policy work to doctoral research, followed by peer discussion with current fellows and alumni.
The PLF Alumni Hour is a peer-to-peer learning space where alumni share their experiences, lessons learnt, and professional insights with current fellows and the wider STG alumni community.
In this session, two PLF alumni who transitioned into doctoral research after their fellowship explore what it means to pursue an academic path when you already bring years of policy experience. What is the added value of academic research for someone who has worked in policy analysis or policy making? How does a policy background shape the way you approach a research question, choose a supervisor, or engage with a scholarly community? And how do you keep your work grounded in the real-world relevance that brought you to policy in the first place?
This is an open conversation about motivations, choices, and what the intersection of policy and research looks like in practice.
Join the session via Zoom: https://eui-eu.zoom.us/j/92822868582?pwd=8v5XtTdIl3odPyw7LLlmL4BxmhAWTB.1
About the speakers: Alex Karnaukhov is a lawyer, investigator, and policy analyst with 10 years of experience investigating corruption and building public integrity. He is the co-author of the anti-corruption programme "A Corruption-Free State: 100 Solutions to Overcome Corruption in Russia" for the political party Yabloko, and has collaborated as a freelance journalist and columnist with independent media since 2015. A PLF 2022-23 alumnus, Aleksei is currently a PhD researcher at the Department of Political and Social Sciences (SPS) at the European University Institute.
Virginia Fiume is a researcher and civil society organiser with extensive experience in transnational advocacy, participatory democracy, and nonviolent action. Co-founder and former co-president of EUMANS, a pan-European movement for citizens' initiative, she coordinated European Citizens' Initiatives and transnational campaigns from Brussels between 2019 and 2023. A PLF 2023-24 alumna, Virginia is currently a PhD candidate in the National PhD in Peace Studies at Sapienza University of Rome, where her research explores nonviolence in social movements across the Mediterranean.