iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Florian G. Kern @floriangkern.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

🚨Some professional news: in Dec 2026, I’ll be joining @unibirmingham.bsky.social's School of Government & POLSIS as 125th Anniversary Fellow & Associate Professor in Political Science. Such a wonderful opportunity + exciting to meet new students and colleagues. www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2026/un...

birmingham.ac.uk

University of Birmingham appoints more 125th anniversary academics - University of Birmingham

Introducing 10 new 125th Anniversary Fellows and Chairs - outstanding academics who bring expertise in key areas.

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John Stott @jpsastro.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Had a UKRI funded grant proposal rejected at the "AI triage stage". "This AI-based triage was used only to identify approximately 50% of the strongest proposals to take forward to full human review." 🧪 #academicsky

I am writing to let you know that, unfortunately, your application was not successful.

Review process

As part of the initial triage of the 179 proposals submitted to this call, each was assessed using an AI-based review. Every proposal was read independently by several different AI models against the same seven criteria used to shape this call (including cyber security relevance, research quality and novelty, importance of the problem addressed, feasibility of the project plan, likely outputs and impact, value for money, and responsible research practice), with each model asked to give a score and a written justification with supporting quotations from the text. To guard against any one model's idiosyncrasies, we also ran a second, independent process in which different AI models debated the merits and weaknesses of each proposal before reaching a judgement, again against the same criteria. Scores from both processes were combined to produce an overall ranking.

This AI-based triage was used only to identify approximately 50% of the strongest proposals to take forward to full human review. Projects selected for funding were drawn from those that progressed to the full human review stage. We recognise that AI-assisted assessment is a new and evolving part of the review process, and we are continuing to evaluate how well it aligns with the judgements of human reviewers on this call. We will soon produce a document detailing our method, so that others can build upon it and improve it.

Feedback on your application

Your application was not selected to progress beyond the AI triage stage. To provide transparency on the outcome of this assessment, we are sharing below the scores (out of 5) from each of the two AI review processes described above, together with the mean score across the two processes.

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ECFR Africa @ecfrafrica.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

As the Houthis try to gain control over strategic heights on the Red Sea coast, thousands flee the violence. But the danger no longer comes from Yemen alone. @ecfr.eu Read what Europeans can do to prevent instability in the Horn of Africa 👇️ buff.ly/MvleExT

buff.ly

Shoring up the Red Sea: Why the next crisis may begin in the Horn of Africa – European Council on Foreign Relations

The Red Sea is becoming more dangerous, and not only because of the Houthis. Conflicts in the Horn of Africa are converging and drawing in external powers, crea

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Florian G. Kern @floriangkern.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

🌍 Interested in Africa’s role in international politics? 🚨What does Nigeria’s natural gas diplomacy tell us about sovereignty and the politics of climate finance in Africa? Join our next International Politics in Africa Virtual Seminar, Wed, 7 Oct, w/ Andre Ben-Moses Akuche (University of Ilesa).

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amaBhungane @amabhungane.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

AmaBhungane has been named a finalist for the 2026 African Investigative Journalist of the Year Award. Our investigation, The Great Capture Train, is one of just five finalists selected from 204 entries from across Africa.

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ECFR Africa @ecfrafrica.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

As BRICS expands, Africa has a larger presence than ever before. "For African governments, the real measure of BRICS will not be the strength of its communiqué, but delivery," writes Alex Vines in his op-ed for the Times Now. @ecfr.eu Read it here 👇️ buff.ly/CsA673l

timesnownews.com

BRICS and Africa: Can the Expanded Bloc Deliver More Than Geopolitical Symbolism?

The expansion of BRICS, now including more African nations, raises questions about its potential influence and coherence. The challenge remains in aligning diverse foreign-policy priorities among…

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Macartan Humphreys @macartan.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Post doc alert: Very nice new opportunity in Hamburg: Climate change and social conflict www.uni-hamburg.de/stellenangeb...

uni-hamburg.de

Ausschreibung

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Niall Ó Conghaile @nialloconghaile.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

This is the best summary of where Labour is at with Europe that you're going to read. It's from @chrisgrey.bsky.social . It's also, for those who want a pro-European UK, utterly emptying. Let's look at the four paragraphs A 🧵 chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2026/08/brex...

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Federica Genovese @fgenovese.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

@acalacino.bsky.social myself and others have crunched the numbers (work in progress, see sources and deets here: osf.io/preprints/so...) and have some hard evidence of that: decline of climate change in news reporting since 2023 is esp. dramatic in the Global North ⬇️

Patterns of climate reporting in Global North vs Global South HQ news matched to GDELT climate tag articles. For notes see "When the Tail Wags the Dog: Climate Exposureand News Media Behavior in the Global South", Anthony Calacino, Mats Ahrenshop, Federica Genovese, Hayley Pring (work in progress)

See Calacino, Ahrenshop, Genovese and Pring. https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/37juf_v1

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Florian G. Kern @floriangkern.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Today at the International Politics in Africa (IPIA) seminar, we had Kingsley Ogunne (University of Ibadan) present his work on African State's Diplomatic Strategies in Global Health Governance. For more info on our virtual seminars and the IPIA see: www.internationalpoliticsinafrica.org/events.html

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Sebastian Karcher @adam42smith.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I'm hiring an Associate Director for the Center for Qualitative & Multi-Method Inquiry: www.sujobopps.com/postings/114... Run IQMR, work on QDR, help run events around methods @maxwellsu.bsky.social - great for recent MA or PhD interested in alt-ac 1/2

sujobopps.com

Associate Director, Center for Qualitative and Multi-Method Inquiry (CQMI)

Work collaboratively with the Director of the Center for Qualitative and Multi-Method Inquiry (CQMI). Lead the planning and logistics for the annual Institute for Qualitative and Multi-method Research...

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Sebastian Karcher @adam42smith.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

2/2 This is in person in Syracuse (flex arrangements available). Unfortunately we won't be able to sponsor a visa for this (sorry!). You'll work in a small team within Maxwell w lots of opportunities to shape the position. Happy to chat with interested folks about SYR and/or the job

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John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

And then this World Cup happened. and FIFA did the Balogun thing. And the target was Belgium. and if European history teaches us anyrhing its that no European power gives a shit about Belgium until suddenly EVERYONE does. Because if you can fuck with Belgium, you might do it to any Euro power.

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Federica Genovese @fgenovese.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

🚨New paper Like most things in democracies, achieving climate action in the form of sustainable policy needs a significant amount of political mobilization. We investigate when & where this is more likely to happen across places on the climate frontline: the Global South🧵 📌 osf.io/preprints/so...

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John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

so FIFA now risks a situation where not only do they lose every european club from blth the men and women's world cups.. ...but uefa could easily invite concacaf to join then in forming a NEW global football authority. over which FIFA would not have control.

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Florian G. Kern @floriangkern.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Here‘s a trip for you. It’s not possible. #deutschebahn

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Will Allen @williamlallen.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Are you an early-career scholar (self defined) and going to @psaepop.bsky.social #epop2026 in Liverpool? I’m happy to arrange a few coffee chats (on me) about the job market, publishing, applying for grants, or research on (visual) political communication or political behaviour. Just email me!

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Florian G. Kern @floriangkern.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Paredes at this point has just accepted he can do whatever he likes and it won’t mean a second yellow.

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Florian G. Kern @floriangkern.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Transparency going mainstream down by the Eurostar. #sciencebrained

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Ryan Bakker @rbakker.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Several years of data collection, 2 editorial teams and a few rounds of R&R were all well worth it to finally see this paper in print. Thanks to all the survey teams and the many experts who helped make this possible. doi.org/10.1086/736578

doi.org

University of Chicago Press Journals: Cookie absent

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Dana El Kurd @danaelkurd.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Help us Yacine Bounou, youre our only hope.

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Athena Kugblenu @athenakugblenu.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Universities keep towns and cities alive. The economies within them and outside of them are so vital. Not only is the way we've treated higher education in this country appalling, its dreadfully negligent, and compounds already existing problems

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Florian G. Kern @floriangkern.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Not only are things enshittified, things are increasingly enshittiflated.

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Chris Hanretty @chanret.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

A contribution to the economy? In this heat?

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Federica Genovese @fgenovese.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Full room today! It was great to talk to the climate pol community abt who are we, what we do, what we think the field has learned and myths we can bust. @antvalentim.bsky.social @patrickbayer.bsky.social @dianebolet.bsky.social & I did a little pre-EPSS survey, reach out if you want to look at it!

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Florian G. Kern @floriangkern.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Oh yes, the time allocation survey reminder, most accurate measure of my work and workload, and all-out inspiring feat of social scientific ingenuity.

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Florian G. Kern @floriangkern.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

If you’re at @epssnet.bsky.social go check out @chrisguarnold.bsky.social presenting our work on computational vs AI-based secondary analysis of archived qualitative data! Thanks for organising the panel, @kenbenoit.bsky.social and @audreyalejandro.bsky.social. Would have loved to be there!

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Florian G. Kern @floriangkern.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

🇬🇧Sudden loss of ability to take penalties. Just in time for tonight!

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Africa Special Interest Group at University of Essex @africasigessex.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

The Africa Special Interest Group holds Africa Linguistics Day 2026 on June 11 @universityofessex.bsky.social with a great lineup of speakers, incl research by @floriangkern.bsky.social @uniessexgov.bsky.social, Hannah Gibson & Merick Niyongabo on African youth languages' role in social mobilisation

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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 26/05/2026

"Brace yourselves,” said Kenyan opposition politician Fred Matiang’i. “The worst is about to come.”

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Richard Delevan @richard.wickedproblems.earth · 23/05/2026

Had fun gaming out w @fgenovese.bsky.social, @lorenzocrippa.bsky.social and @davidrvetter.bsky.social what effect Pope Leo's AI encyclical coming out Monday might have on markets. Have a watch/listen! youtu.be/pTCcM2uEkOI

youtu.be

Pope Leo XIV on AI: Can Popes Move Markets?

YouTube video by Wicked Problems - Climate Tech Conversations

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Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

I joined a deeply insightful conversation about Papal Encyclicals and markets, the climate, AI and ethics. Thanks to @fgenovese.bsky.social, @lorenzocrippa.bsky.social and @richard.wickedproblems.earth

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Florian G. Kern @floriangkern.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Our @mccrafrica-essex.bsky.social project on multilingualism and conflict in Africa featured on the radio in Cameroon, thanks to our superb colleague and co-investigator Tata. Fun to see this kind of engagement with our research. @uniessexgov.bsky.social

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Federica Genovese @fgenovese.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Come to the European Studies Center at St Antony's College @ox.ac.uk to hear Dr. Franziska Brantner talk about the state and future of Europe on Thursday May 14th 💫

Franziska Brantner 2026 talk at ESC, St Antony's, University of Oxford

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Florian G. Kern @floriangkern.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Planning your fieldwork? Don‘t know where to start? We’re offering our course again on field research planning, logistics, implementation across methods, funding applications, ethics, participant recruitment, etc at the @essexsummerschool.bsky.social. Apply here. bit.ly/4kkxDue

bit.ly

1Q Preparing for Fieldwork in the Social Sciences: Methods, Logistics, Ethics – Essex Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis

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Federica Genovese @fgenovese.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

When asked by @rollingstone.com what I think the Hormuz chaos is doing to the energy transition in 🇪🇺, I said it's pushing things ahead but there's much uncertainty. It's a big opportunity to decarbonize but so was the Ukraine war, when we learned about supplies but now we're still price vulnerable.

rollingstone.com

The Iran War Is Accelerating the Renewable Energy Transition -- Just Not in the U.S.

The Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is moving nations — but not the United States — to accelerate the transition to renewable energy.

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Florian G. Kern @floriangkern.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

@mccrafrica-essex.bsky.social in practice is when I, a native German speaker working in an English-speaking country, married to an Italian, runs a project meeting in French(-ish) with colleagues in the DRC (and the brilliant @surerm.bsky.social and Carmen Leon-Himmelstine @odi.global).

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Florian G. Kern @floriangkern.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

🚨Call for papers: @mcchacha.bsky.social and I are convening the "International Politics in Africa" stream at the African Studies Association UK 2026 (Durham, Sept 10-12). Submit your papers on all things international in African politics. Deadline: April 30. pay.durham.ac.uk/event-durham...

pay.durham.ac.uk

Abstract Management

Durham University eCommerce and Events Management portal

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Adam Conover @adamconover.net · 18/04/2026

I don't recall any previous transformative technologies that had to be sold to the public so hard. No one in 1999 was going, "Guys. Cell phone? It's coming, whether we like it or not. I think it's important, FOR WOMEN ESPECIALLY, to learn about cell phone. So that we're not left behind!!"

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Florian G. Kern @floriangkern.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

🪻The bluebell invasion in Wivenhoe woods is here!

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Multilingualism, Conflict and Conflict Resolution in Africa @mccrafrica-essex.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Prof Hannah Gibson presented the MCCRA project at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka this week, in the workshop "Language, Communication, and Conflict Resolution in the Lake Chad Region: Building a Collaborative Research Agenda." She joined colleagues from across Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad.

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