2023 Speakers

• Hung Muy -Personal Assistant to Ambassador and Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva. As the organisation's name and the job title suggest, her role involves bilateral and multilateral cooperation in wide-ranging areas including but not limited to human rights, economics, environment, disarmament, health, labour, migration, and humanitarian affairs. Graduated from the programme in 2022.
• Caroline Müller-Runte - Manager for internationalization at Baden-Württemberg International in Stuttgart, Germany. In this role, Caroline serves as the link for regional exchange and cooperation in business and science between East and Southeast Asian countries and the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. She enables companies, clusters and research institutions in Baden-Württemberg to explore opportunities in the Asian region and vice versa. In doing so, she is involved in organizing delegation trips, conferences, trade fairs and expert webinars. Previously, she was a finance trainee at Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Graduated from the programme in 2021.
• Junhua Zhu - Third-year doctoral researcher at the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku. His research focuses on AI ethics and governance specifically in the Chinese context. Apart from the doctoral dissertation, he has working experience in several projects funded by the Academy of Finland and Europe Horizon. His work has been published by the peer-reviewed journal AI & Society, and the China in Europe Research Network. He previously studied and lived in China, Japan, Korea, Sweden, Austria, and Finland. Graduated from the programme in 2019.

 

2021 Speakers

• Charlotte Svensson – Policy & Communications Coordinator at the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. At the Chamber, Charlotte first joined as a working group coordinator for financial services, construction and maritime manufacturing working on industry-specific policy issues for European companies operating in China. She currently serves on the Publications and Communications team working on horizontal issues, Chinese long-term policy objectives and China’s adherence to its WTO commitments. She graduated in 2019.
• Georgia de Leeuw – PhD Candidate at the Department of political science at Lund University. Her research deals with mining advances on indigenous land in Sweden and Indonesia. As part of her roll, she also teaches bachelor and master students in development studies, global studies and peace and conflict studies. Georgia has earlier worked as a researcher at a Swedish municipal office, conducted internships at the UN in Vienna, and worked in a development project with German development agency GIZ in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She graduated in 2018.
• Gavin Piercy - U.S. Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State.  As a career diplomat for the United States, Gavin has served abroad at the U.S. Embassies in Moscow, Russia and Chisinau, Moldova, as well as the U.S. Consulate General in Munich, Germany.  In Washington Gavin has served in the Office of Science and Technology Cooperation, and currently serves on the Strategic Communications team in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.  He graduated in 2009.

 

2020 Speakers

• Xianwen Kuang. PhD, Associate Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong – Liverpool University, China. His main research interests include news framing, online activism and media censorship. Graduated in 2010.
• Sussi Prapakranant is a independent long-term refugee and human rights advocate based in Bangkok, Thailand. She has worked in the fields of child protection, anti-trafficking and community capacity building for the past +7 years. Graduated in 2012.
• Ulf Stomberg. Co-Owner - Practice Leader at PeopleSearch. Japan. Graduated in 2012. Read an interview with Ulf here.

 

2019 Speakers

• Victoria Stetsko, Advocacy, Campaigns and Communications Officer - Oxfam in the Russian Federation. She graduated in 2012. Read an interview with Victoria here.
• Kees Krul, PhD candidate in institutional economics at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, working on tenure reform in China’s forest sector. He graduated in 2015. Read an interview with Kees here.
• Anni-Elina Vänskä, currently a student on our course ”Qualified Internship in Asian Studies”. She graduated in 2019.

 

2018 Speakers

• Li Yue, Senior consultant in Beijing Boyuantuozhi Child Development Center, China. Graduted in 2008. 
• Likki-Lee Pitzen, Associate in Financial Advisory and Asset Management, Lion’s Head Global Partners, London, UK. Graduated in 2015. Read an interview with Likki-Lee here
• Otso Harju,  PhD candidate in gender studies at the University of Helsinki, Finland, working on a thesis on family conflicts in urban India. Graduated in 2016.

 

2017 Speakers

• Niall Duggan, Director of the MSC International Public Policy and Diplomacy at Department of Government, University College Cork, Ireland (UCC). Graduated in 2007. Read an interview with Niall here
• Elinor Lumbang, Manager, Global Internal Communications at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Zürich, Switzerland. Graduated in 2009.
• Sune Petersen, Project Administrator at DIGNITY - Danish Institute Against Torture, Copenhagen, Denmark. Graduated in 2015. Read an interview with Sune here