Zaynab El Bernoussi, Interim Chair of the Department of Humanities and Associate Professor of Political Science at The Africa Institute, participated in the 2025 Summer Institute in Computational Social Science (SICSS), held from June 30 to July 11, 2025, at Villa del Grumello in Lake Como, Italy.
SICSS–Lake Como brings together a competitively selected group of graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career faculty working at the intersection of computational methods and the social sciences. The 2025 program was led by Dr. Nicolò Cavalli (Bocconi University), with support from Zhina Aghamohammadi (Central European University) and Ben Rochford (Duke University). Professor Chris Bail (Duke University), co-founder of the SICSS initiative, also participated.
Participants engaged in lectures, hands-on coding exercises, collaborative group work, and research development projects on topics such as text analysis, social networks, ethics, and the use of big data in social science research. The institute promotes open access to instructional materials and emphasizes collaboration across disciplines and regions.
“It was an honor to be selected as a participant in SICSS–Lake Como,” said Zaynab El Bernoussi. “SICSS is a rigorous and forward-thinking program that offers scholars the tools to better understand social and political phenomena using computational approaches. The setting in Lake Como, supported by the Alessandro Volta Foundation, created an excellent environment to learn, collaborate, and explore the practical integration of data science into social research.”
The program is hosted by the Lake Como School of Advanced Studies at Villa del Grumello and is organized by faculty from Bocconi University, Università Statale di Milano, and the University of Bologna. It is supported by several research institutions and funding bodies, including the Russell Sage Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
El Bernoussi’s participation in SICSS aligns with The Africa Institute’s commitment to interdisciplinary and globally engaged research, particularly on topics relevant to Africa and the Global South.
Click here to view more information about the 2025 SICSS–Lake Como program and its participants.
Zaynab El Bernoussi, Interim Chair of the Department of Humanities and Associate Professor of Political Science at The Africa Institute, participated in the 2025 Summer Institute in Computational Social Science (SICSS), held from June 30 to July 11, 2025, at Villa del Grumello in Lake Como, Italy.
Zaynab El Bernoussi, Interim Chair of the Department of Humanities and Associate Professor of Political Science at The Africa Institute, participated in the 2025 Summer Institute in Computational Social Science (SICSS), held from June 30 to July 11, 2025, at Villa del Grumello in Lake Como, Italy.
SICSS–Lake Como brings together a competitively selected group of graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career faculty working at the intersection of computational methods and the social sciences. The 2025 program was led by Dr. Nicolò Cavalli (Bocconi University), with support from Zhina Aghamohammadi (Central European University) and Ben Rochford (Duke University). Professor Chris Bail (Duke University), co-founder of the SICSS initiative, also participated.
Participants engaged in lectures, hands-on coding exercises, collaborative group work, and research development projects on topics such as text analysis, social networks, ethics, and the use of big data in social science research. The institute promotes open access to instructional materials and emphasizes collaboration across disciplines and regions.
“It was an honor to be selected as a participant in SICSS–Lake Como,” said Zaynab El Bernoussi. “SICSS is a rigorous and forward-thinking program that offers scholars the tools to better understand social and political phenomena using computational approaches. The setting in Lake Como, supported by the Alessandro Volta Foundation, created an excellent environment to learn, collaborate, and explore the practical integration of data science into social research.”
The program is hosted by the Lake Como School of Advanced Studies at Villa del Grumello and is organized by faculty from Bocconi University, Università Statale di Milano, and the University of Bologna. It is supported by several research institutions and funding bodies, including the Russell Sage Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
El Bernoussi’s participation in SICSS aligns with The Africa Institute’s commitment to interdisciplinary and globally engaged research, particularly on topics relevant to Africa and the Global South.
Click here to view more information about the 2025 SICSS–Lake Como program and its participants.
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