The 4^th semester

Research Seminar

could be described as the culmination of dedicated thesis work, and as a complement to the Advanced Research Seminar that took place at the beginning of the 4^th semester. In the Advanced Research Seminar, students presented the initial exploratory research for their master theses, along with works in progress, research questions, and potential methods. In the Research Seminar, everyone presented his or her research. This provided a fascinating opportunity to see the diversity of my colleagues’ interests and academic backgrounds come to fruition after a year and a half of being SEEP students.

As usual, these sessions were discussion-intensive and interactive – qualities that came to define much of the SEEP experience at WU. One of the most interesting aspects of the Research Seminar was seeing the plurality of issues, questions, and insights in the presentations. Part of this diversity can be attributed to the four concentration areas in SEEP that students study in the 2^nd and 3^rd semesters. All concentration areas are quite complementary to each other, which there are multiple combinations available to support everybody’s interests.  The research methods employed were as diverse as the projects themselves: Methods used included standard quantitative analyses of large datasets, expert interviews, focus groups, content analyses, field work, and demographic methods.

Some colleagues focused largely on philosophical aspects of the social sciences and their ability to answer some of the most pressing socioeconomic (or socio-ecological) issues of our time. These projects were particularly influenced by courses in the first semester with their emphasis placed on understanding the philosophies of science that underlie current economic and scientific thought.  Other colleagues had more traditional projects; for example, some looked at sustainability issues in certain industries or regions, while others looked at social and economic policies both in Austria and abroad, and at multiple levels.  A common theme throughout the projects was the profound concern for the intertwined social, economic, and environmental problems that confront people worldwide.

My master’s thesis was on the topic “Heat wave vulnerability and Vienna’s aging population.” Before SEEP, I had academic interests in natural disasters, socioeconomic vulnerability, and population change – and how these all interact with climate change and global economic institutions. The Population (demography) & Social Policy concentration areas allowed me to “connect the dots” between this chaotic and overwhelming amount of interests and narrow down my ideas into a meaningful and manageable project. Being able to present and discuss the results of my empirical research with my colleagues and professors and during the Research Seminar while learning about the research my colleagues had done was a satisfying way to conclude my time as a SEEP student at WU!

 

Leora Courtney-Wolfman

BA (University of British Columbia, 2012)

MSc (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, 2015)