On 16 April 2024, the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance (FDEF) gathered for the fifth FDEF Research Awards, an occasion celebrating the remarkable achievements of researchers across Faculty’s three departments. The ceremony started with an inspiring speech by Vice-Rector for Research, Prof. Simone Niclou, who emphasized the pivotal role of research within the University’s framework. Prof. Niclou’s opening remarks acted as a prologue to the presentation of the Faculty’s 2023 Research Highlights.
The ceremony continued with Prof. Denise Fletcher, Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation and Head of Faculty Research Committee. She explained the research culture at the FDEF before exploring a complete overview of key research milestones achieved in 2023. Notable among these were several interdisciplinary projects and collaborations, including the FDEF’s House for Sustainable Governance and Markets, which serves as a cross-faculty hub, and numerous Doctoral Training Units. In 2023, the FDEF witnessed an enrolment of 148 doctoral candidates, maintaining a balanced gender ratio close to 50/50%.
Also highlighted, as Prof. Fletcher handed over to Mariane Huart, Team Leader Grant Management and Finance Unit, were the FNR-funded projects such as CORE, INTER, LuxAid BRIDGES, and RESCOM, alongside prominent EU-funded initiatives like Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, and OLAF.
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Prof. Simone Niclou ©Nader Ghavami
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©Nader Ghavami
Each department took the stage to showcase their achievements from the previous year:
Department of Economics and Management (DEM):
Prof. Konstantinos Tatsiramos focused on the breadth and diversity of topics studied within the DEM, citing 53 articles which were published during 2023 in top journals such as the International Economic Review, the Journal of Econometrics, the Journal of International Economics, the American Economic Review: Insights and others. Additionally, Prof. Tatsiramos mentioned 11 doctoral defences and the selection of events hosted throughout the year, including the Gender and Economics Workshops and the Ageing, Culture, and Comparative Development Workshops, alongside the European Aviation Conference.
Prof. Tatsiramos also highlighted the department’s substantial contributions to editorial services for international academic journals such as the Econometric Theory, the Econometrics Journal and the International Journal of Research in Marketing among others. The DEM also celebrated the arrival of their new Assistant Professor, Adrian Kubata.
Department of Law (DL):
The Department of Law highlights were presented by Prof. Matthew Happold. Prof. Happold highlighted the department’s impressive count of 334 publications in prestigious journals such as the Journal of World Investment and Trade, the International Review of Intellectual Property, the Europarecht, the Industrial Law Journal or the Revue des Sociétés. Notable achievements included securing the 68th position for it’s second year in a row, in the Law subject, in the Times Higher Education ranking, and the establishment in 2023 of the Chair in Cyber Policy. Prof. Happold also emphasized the department’s editorial contributions to esteemed journals such as the Human Rights Law Review, the European Law Open, the New Journal of European Criminal Law and the European Constitutional Law Review and the success of the department’s events, such as the EATLP 2023 congress, the 12th International SES Workshop, the EPPO The Way Forward: New Potentials and Challenges conference and the Ethics of Forensic event.
Department of Finance (DF):
Prof. Roberto Steri showcased the department’s significant contributions to renowned journals like the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics and the American Economic Review. Noteworthy was the participation in the American Finance Association conference, featuring a discussion by 2022 Nobel Laureate Philip Dybvig.
Prof. Steri continued with the department’s remarkable success by showcasing the achievement of a 100% acceptance rate for their CORE applications in 2023. He concluded his presentation with the department’s internal and external collaborations, consisting of Academia Meets Industry, joint seminars with ESM and the Sustainable Finance Conference.
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Prof. Konstantinos Tatsiramos ©Nader Ghavami
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Prof. Matthew Happold ©Nader Ghavami
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Prof. Roberto Steri ©Nader Ghavami
Hugo Dejean, our second master of ceremony, then continued with the presentation of awards. The awards were given to the following recipients:
Best Publication by Early Stage Researcher Award
The Research Committee awarded two prizes of 5.000€ each to the best junior researcher of the Department of Economics and Management and the Department of Law, celebrating a major impactful contribution:
- Bonn Kleiford Seranilla from the Department of Economics and Management. They have a joint work with Prof. Nils Loehndorf, which has very clear policy implications with research impact on real world problems.
- Dr. Mathilde Calcio-Gaudino from the Department of Law. They have published and been active beyond their large research contribution. Their piece in the Annales du Droit is a very extensive study of a situation under French law that is aimed to provide a backdrop for reform ideas in Luxembourg.
Best Doctoral Candidate Awards
The Research Committee awarded three prizes of 3.000€ each to the best Doctoral Candidate of each Department at the Faculty:
- Javier Sanchez Bachiller from the Department of Economics and Management. They have finished their first PhD year and have just got a publication out of their master thesis which is issued in the Journal of Monetary Economics. Their paper has been subject to a VOX column. In the context of their PHD in Luxembourg, they are finishing the first chapter on the incentive effect of emigration on the type of human capital.
- Elizaveta Nekrasova from the Department of Finance. Their work has been qualified as innovative and promising. Their research includes two innovative contributions: a study of wash trading, and a paper on disagreement in subjective expectations. They have extensively presented their research, including at the prestigious Barcelona School of Economics Summer Forum, a leading conference in finance.
- Francesca Finelli from the Department of Law. They have impressive achievement of a Common Market Law Review publication at this early stage of their career.
Honorary Mentions
The Research Committee awarded certificates to 16 senior members in Recognition of Research Excellence in 2023.
The ceremony concluded with closing remarks by Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Katalin Ligeti, and a celebratory cocktail, fostering further exchange and collaboration among the FDEF community.
Congratulations to all the winners!
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Prof. Katalin Ligeti ©Nader Ghavami
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©Nader Ghavami