#EUIUpFront

Описание: 📌 In this #EUIUpFront conversation, EUI scholars Kalypso Nicolaidis and Elias Dinas reflect on the place of universities in today’s world: how knowledge is produced, who holds knowledge power, and why academic institutions increasingly find themselves under threat.

🎬 Filmed during an ongoing public debate about the role of academia, the discussion between Kalypso Nicolaidis (Florence School of Transnational Governance) and Elias Dinas (Department of Political and Social Sciences) explores the tensions between data-driven research and scholar-activism, and the challenges facing universities as they navigate politics, public expectations, and rapid technological change.

At its centre lies a fundamental question: What is — and what should remain — the core business of universities?
The conversation spans democratic participation, action research, co-production of knowledge with citizens, and whether academics should embrace activism or maintain distance in order to preserve analytical rigour.

Kalypso and Elias also discuss why universities are increasingly targeted by political actors, the pressures that come with being influential producers of knowledge, and how institutions can remain resilient while engaging with society in meaningful ways.

📚 Both speakers bring long-standing expertise to this dialogue:

Kalypso Nicolaïdis works on democratic innovation, citizen assemblies, and participatory approaches to reimagining European and planetary politics.

Elias Dinas specialises in political behaviour, historical memory, and the long-term forces that bind societies together.

📺 The #EUIUpFront conversation series brings together EUI scholars to reflect on the most pressing issues of our time from diverse perspectives.
Watch all #EUIUpFront videos on the EUI YouTube channel.

📍 Kalypso Nicoladis is Chair in Global Affairs at the School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute. Her work spans democracy, legitimacy, participatory methods, and the future of European and global governance.

📍 Elias Dinas is Professor at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute. He studies political behaviour, intergenerational transmission of attitudes, and the enduring impact of historical events on contemporary societies.

00:00 Introduction
00:46 Scholar-Activist vs. Data-Driven Academic
02:30 What Counts as Knowledge? Data, Emotion, and Storytelling
05:00 Co-Producing Knowledge with Citizens
08:40 Democracy, Policy, and the Future of Research
15:40 The Core Mission of Universities Today