On 10 June 2022, the first Pscience Day (Psychology Science Day; www.affectiveneuro.at/pscienceday) at the University of Innsbruck took place! The event was organized by Prof. Carmen Morawetz from the Department of Psychology at the University of Innsbruck.
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Prof. Morawetz invited Prof. Stefan Bode, who is currently a Visiting Fellow at the University College London, to hold a keynote lecture. Prof. Bode talked about the value of non-instrumental information. In his lecture he discussed recent research work that shows how humans intrinsically value obtaining information, even if this information is costly and cannot be used to maximise rewards (i.e. the information is “non-instrumental”). Prof. Bode demonstrated that people are willing to accept different types of costs for obtaining early non-instrumental information (e.g., about the outcome of a random lottery), and that the willingness to pay for this information depends on how valuable the early resolution of uncertainty is for individual decision-makers. In his speech he also showed how the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying information valuation are linked to neural networks involved in value and conflict processing.

During his stay in Innsbruck, Prof. Bode did not only give a keynote lecture at the Pscience Day, but also discussed ongoing and planned research projects with one of his long-term collaborators, Prof. Carmen Morawetz. The two reasearchers were also able to make plans for future collaborations where other members of the Department of Psychology at the University of Innsbruck and ... are involved.

BritInn supported Prof. Bode's visit to Innsbruck with a travel grant.

Read the full report here:
Pscience Day, June 2022

Prof. J. A. Carrillo de la Plata from the Mathematical Institute at the University of Oxford visited Prof. Mechthild Thalhammer and her colleagues at the Department of Mathematics at the University of Innsbruck.
The joint research project of Prof. Carrillo de la Plata and Prof. Thalhammer is devoted to the development and theoretical investigation of reliable and efficient numerical integration methods for evolution equations arising in kinetic theory. The scope of relevant applications from plasma physics in particular includes the Vlasov-Maxwell-Landau system capturing both, conservation and dissipation.

During the visit of Prof. Carrillo de la Plata, the current approach was analysed and advanced in several respects. Moreover, relevant extensions to be considered in the future were discussed. His guest lecture held on May 30, 2022, included a variety of applications and illustrative examples. It was very well received and attracted numerous Mathematics and Physics students.

While in Innsbruck, Mr. Carrillo de la Plata also found time to explore the city and took a trip up to the "Nordkette" to enjoy the stunning view!

Read the full report here:
BritInn Fellow Report ​

Dr. Arthur Broadbent was delighted to finally visit Tyrol for his BritInn-Fellowship in March 2022, after multiple pandemic-related postponements. He was hosted by Prof. Michael Bahn from the Department of Ecology at the University of Innsbruck. The goal of the visit was to promote joint research and plan for future collaboration. 
Back in November 2021, Dr. Broadbent held an online guest lecture on "Effects of snow cover changes and shrub encroachment on soil communities and processed in alpine grassland" that was part of the research project. In March 2022, he was able to travel to Innsbruck and meet with his colleagues in person.
​In Innsbruck, Dr. Broadbent gave a well-attended lecture about their joint research on winter climate change and native shrub invasion impacts in alpine grasslands, which initiated an interesting discussion. He also organised and led meetings with current and future collaborators from Prof. Bahn’s lab and beyond, to discuss recent research outcomes and plan for future experiments. It was agreed that the time was right to apply for an independent research fellowship, in close collaboration with the University of Innsbruck, with multiple research avenues discussed. After the meeting, Arthur Broadbent, Michael Bahn and the project collaborators went on the search for potential new alpine field sites for future winter climate change experiments, including locations near a long-term field site at the Stubaier Gletscher (see photo below).

Read the full report here:
BritInn Fellow Report
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Es war BritInn eine große Ehre, Botschafter a.D. und Buchautor Leigh Turner als Gast in Innsbruck begrüßen zu dürfen!
Botschafter Turner hat in seinem Gastvortrag zum Thema „Diplomatie im Gepäck: 12 Lektionen aus 42 Jahren“ nicht nur aus seiner spannenden und langjährigen diplomatischen Karriere berichtet, sondern auch von seiner zweiten Karriere als Krimi- und Thriller-Autor. Der Abend wurde in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Institut für Politikwissenschaft organisiert und von Prof. Martin Senn moderiert.

​Geboren und aufgewachsen ist Leigh Turner in Südafrika, dann folgte die Schulzeit in Manchester und an der University of Cambridge. Nach Stationen in Wien, Moskau, Kiew, Berlin, Hong Kong, Vladivostok, Miami, Buenos Aires, Bejing, und Istanbul, war Turner von 2016 bis zu seiner Pensionierung britischer Botschafter in Österreich. Er erlebte zahlreiche historische Wendepunkte wie den Fall des Eisernen Vorhangs, die Abtretung von Hongkong an China, die Revolution in der Ukraine, den Brexit etc. hautnah und im Zentrum des jeweiligen Geschehens mit und gab angehenden Diplomaten Tipps und Lektionen mit auf den Weg.
​Interessant waren natürlich seine Einschätzungen zur aktuellen Lage in der Ukraine, der Kriegspolitik Wladimir Putins und der Lage Großbritanniens seit dem Brexit.

Ein großes Danke an Leigh Turner für den spannenden Vortrag und natürlich auch an die Kollegen vom Institut für Politikwissenschaft für die tolle Zusammenarbeit!

Hier der Link zum Podcast für alle, die den Beitrag noch anhören wollen:
Podcast 14: Diplomatie im Gepäck - 12 Lektionen aus 42 Jahren

Livestream unter: https://webconference.uibk.ac.at/b/tho-ws0-m7m-m33

Moderation: assoz. Prof. Dr. Martin Senn
Institut für Politikwissenschaft, Universität Innsbruck

Vortragender: Leigh Turner, ehemaliger Britischer Botschafter in der Urkaine und Österreich, Schriftsteller

Leigh Turner, ehemaliger Botschafter in der Ukraine (2008-2012) und in Österreich (2016-2021), wuchs in Nigeria, Lesotho, Swaziland und Machester (UK) auf. Er studierte an der University of Cambridge. Turner ist Autor mehrerer Fiction-Bücher.

Zum Vortrag:
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​Leigh Turner wird über seine Karriere sprechen, den Beruf des Diplomaten, der ihn in 42 Jahren von Wien, Moskau, Kiew, Berlin, Hong Kong, Vladivostok, Miami, Buenos Aires, Bejing, Istanbul bis nach Las Vegas geführt hat und von seiner zweiten Karriere als Schriftsteller. Dabei erklärt er, wie seine Arbeit als Diplomat sein Schreiben beeinflusst hat und was einen guten Diplomaten ausmacht. Im Anschluss an den Vortrag steht Leigh Turner für Fragen und zur Signierung seiner Bücher zur Verfügung. ​

Zum Blog:

https://rleighturner.com/my-readings-in-march-and-may-2022/

Die Veranstaltung findet nach den gültigen Corona-Regelungen statt. Stand 16.3.2022:
​Einlass mit 3G Nachweis und FFP2 Maske.

Dr. Davide Gerna visited the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in January 2022, to work on his research project "Targeting the structural properties of bread wheat seeds to understand their fate during early germination".
​Dr. Gerna's research activities in collaboration with the host group "Seed and Stress Biology" were integrated in the frame of a broader Early-Stage-Funding Project. 
​Additionally, he held a guest lecture with the title "Does oxygen affect seed ageing mechanisms? A matter of cytoplasmic physical state", where he summarised a recently published paper. Due to the pandemic, the live lecture was held with restricted in-presence-audience. Nonetheless, Dr. Gerna stated that a lively discussion on current and future collaborations followed.
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Read the full report here:
BritInn Fellow Report

Dr. Jonathan Singerton from the Department of History and European Ethnology at the University of Innsbruck, visited his research colleagues at the Faculty of History at the University of Cambridge from 25 October until 5 November 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the original schedule of his visit to be delayed, but fortunately Dr. Singerton was able to travel to Cambridge and work on his project "New Perspectives on Eighteenth-Century Habsburg History".

The goal of his research visit was to present a paper at the Cambridge New Habsburg History seminar run by Prof. Joachim Whaley, Dr. William O’Reilly, and Dr. Janine Maegraith. "The network exists as a forum to facilitate the cutting-edge research on the history of the Habsburg monarchy and is frequented by a strong cadre of central European and German historians at Cambridge" says Singerton. He explained that his paper focused on a novel approach to the history of the Habsburg Monarchy via the effects of the American Revolution.

Dr. Singerton also held a talk on "The Importance of the American Revolution for the Habsburg Monarchy" at the University of Cambridge. In this talk, he argued that the Revolution’s significant lay not only in its widespread influence within central Europe but also in its invitation to recast Habsburg history from a wider, transatlantic and even global dimension.
The paper as well as his talk were well received with fruitful discussions occurring during and after the seminar.

BritInn was pleased to support Dr. Singerton's research visit and is looking foward to the International conference hosted at the University of Innsbruck in May 2022, where Habsburg history will be reconceptualized from a global perspective and Dr. O'Reilly as well as other members of his team will be in attendance.

BritInn Fellow Report

It was our pleasure to welcome Dr. Martin C. Schleper from the Department of Management, Business School, University of Sussex to the University of Innsbruck as the first BritInn Incoming Fellow since March 2020!

Dr. Schleper was hosted by Prof. Andreas Eckhardt and his team from the Department of Information Systems, Production and Logistics Management​ at the University of Innsbruck.
During his stay, Dr. Schleper presented an overview of topics around responsibility transcendence in supply chain management, with a strong focus on the topic of conflict minerals. Following the talk, the audience, consisting of faculty members and PhD students, lively discussed different approaches to ethical supply chain management and operational and perspectives on conflict materials. Several faculty members were keen on discussing more detailed questions about potential collaborations.

Additionally, Dr. Schleper and Prof. Eckhardt had the opportunity to move forward with their joint research project "Between caring and denying - The role of conflict minerals and unfair working conditions for technology use". Inspired by Dr. Martin Schleper's talk on "Transcending Corporate Responsibility? The Context of Conflict Minerals" they decided to further study consumers’ awareness and denial with regard to the use of conflict minerals, which are important raw materials for the production of IT devices. "Although it has been shown that these conflict minerals are mined under inhumane conditions, consumers do not seem to care about this issue." says Prof. Eckhardt. Thus, they are planning on developing an empirical study to investigate the underlying reasons for consumers' attitude and behavior. 

BritInn was delighted to have Dr. Schleper here in Innsbruck and is excited for future projects in this research area!

BritInn Fellow Report

From October 25 until October 28, 2021, Prof. Susanne Augenhofer from the Department of Business Law at the University of Innsbruck travelled to Oxford. There, she met with colleagues from the Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford.

Prof. Augenhofer first met with Prof. Adams-Prassl to discuss their joint research interests. They were working on developing a conceptual framework for access to justice and compare the situation in the European Union – with Austria as an example for detailed review – and the United Kingdom, using the United States as a reference country. They also examined how access to justice can be improved through digital means. 
Prof. Augenhofer was invited to join a dinner with colleagues at Magdalens College which provided for "an interesting insight into college life at Oxford" as she said.

On October 27, she gave a guest lecture on "Access to Justice in the Digital Age" at the European Law Discussion Group which took place as a hybrid event. Three PdD students had been in charge of the organization of the lecture and hence, Prof. Augenhofer had the opportunity to engage with students in Oxford too. After the talk, she had the chance to catch up with Prof. Hugh Beale, one of the “fathers” of European Private Law.

As for future plans, Prof. Augenhofer and Prof. Adams-Prassl plan a research visit to the University of Innsbruck in spring 2022. Furthermore, Prof. Augenhofer wants to return to the University of Oxford for a longer period in fall 2022.

BritInn Fellow Report​