Universidade Lusófona Academic Co-Chairs Section at ECPR Conference

Teresa Teixeira Lopo, a lecturer at Universidade Lusófona and researcher at CeiED – Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Education and Development, co-chaired the Knowledge, Science and Expertise section alongside Niklas Andersen from Aalborg University. The section formed part of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) General Conference, held from 8 to 12 September 2026 at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland.

As part of her involvement, the lecturer helped organise five thematic panels focusing on the relationships between scientific knowledge, expertise and political decision-making. Discussions explored topics such as the role of expert knowledge in public policymaking, public trust in science, the use of knowledge in parliaments, and the challenges associated with its organisation and governance.

The panels brought together more than 30 participants from internationally renowned academic institutions, including Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, the London School of Economics and Political Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Ghent University, the University of Edinburgh, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the University of Oslo. The conference provided a platform for sharing research, critical reflection and interdisciplinary dialogue on contemporary challenges at the intersection of science and politics.