Assist. Prof Christian WILLE

Christian Wille (Dr.) is a Senior Researcher at the Department of Geography and Spatial Planning at the University of Luxembourg. He works in research, teaching, outreach, and management.

Research

With a strong interdisciplinary background, Christian Wille works on border theories and publishes on the topics of border complexities at the intersection of cultural studies, migration studies, geography, sociology, and anthropology.

He has published 21 books and special issues, 43 papers in books, 32 papers in journals, and 33 other publications. Christian Wille has held more than 100 talks and presentations in German, French, and English in Luxembourg and abroad. He organized 25 conferences and workshops and was requested 35 times as a chair or discussant.

Christian Wille was appointed to more than 20 scientific and advisory boards of international projects and conferences. He has supervised PhD candidates and is a member of several Thesis Supervision Committee in border studies and geography.

He is a founding member of the international research groups “Cultural Border Studies”, “Bordertextures” and “Labor SwissLux – Labour Across Borders”.

Christian Wille serves as Principal Investigator in various cross-border research projects and is Co-Spokesperson of the international research group Bordertextures. He is Co-Editor of the book series Border Studies: Cultures, Spaces, Orders and sits on the editorial boards of Cahiers de la Grande Région, Borders in Perspectives, and À propos – Franco-German Humanities and Social Science Research. From 2017 to 2018, he was the Founding Managing Director of the research group Cultural Border Studies.

He has carried out research stays at the University of Duisburg-Essen, EHESS Paris, Saarland University, Europa-Universität Flensburg, European University Viadrina, the University of Lorraine, and the Franco-German Institute. His academic path reflects a strong commitment to transnational and interdisciplinary scholarship in Border Studies.

Christian Wille serves as a reviewer for national and international funding bodies, including the German Research Foundation (DFG), Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), Czech Science Foundation (GAČR), and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). He also reviews for leading journals such as Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Journal of Borderlands Studies, and Space and Polity.

Teaching

Christian Wille has taught in France, Germany, and Luxembourg at BA, MA, and PhD levels in the fields of border studies, migration studies, cross-border cooperation, and research methods.

He has supervised theses at the BA, MA, and PhD levels in France, Germany, and Luxembourg at the intersection of cultural studies and border studies. He has co-organized seven interdisciplinary lecture series with international partners in the field of border studies.

Christian Wille is Deputy Study Director of the tri-national Master in Border Studies at the University of Luxembourg and serves on its steering committee. In addition, he is a member of the steering board of the cross-border doctoral school LOGOS, which promotes interdisciplinary research across the Greater Region.

He regularly teaches courses at the undergraduate and graduate level on topics including Cultural Border Studies, cross-border everyday life, mobilities and transnationalism and others.

At the doctoral level, Christian Wille has designed and led interdisciplinary master classes on theories and concepts in border studies and interdisciplinary collaboration in multilingual contexts.

Outreach

Christian Wille carried out 40 outreach activities in Luxembourg and abroad with universities, research networks, public administration, museums, and civil society actors.

His workshops, study days, round table discussions, book presentations, podcasts, and more have been mentioned in 100 media reports in German, Luxembourgish, French, and Swiss media.

He has worked as an advisor and expert for the European Commission, Luxembourgish museums, and government bodies in Germany and Luxembourg.

Christian Wille coordinates the science-policy series Forum Greater Region and represents the University of the Greater Region in the Transfrontier Euro-Institute Network (TEIN) as Deputy Representative. He is also an invited member of Team Europe Direct at the European Commission in Luxembourg.

Management

Christian Wille serves as Head of the UniGR-Center for Border Studies, an interdisciplinary cross-border center of expertise. He acts as Line Manager in the Department of Geography and Spatial Planning and regularly hosts guest researchers within the department. From 2007 to 2015, he held the position of Scientific Coordinator at the Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE).

He is an elected member of the Faculty Council (FHSE) and the Board of the Department of Geography and Spatial Planning. He has served on multiple recruitment and selection committees and was invited as a referee for the department’s Project Advisory Panel (PAP). From 2018 to 2024, he has been an elected board member of the FHSE Key Research Area Migration and Inclusive Societies (MIS). He served on the Scientific and Administrative Council of the research unit IPSE at the University of Luxembourg (2016–2018).

Awards/Distinctions

• Individual partner status at the Viadrina Center B/Orders in Motion, European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)
• Individual University Research Grant (2022-2026, 2019-2022), European Science Foundation
• Interregional Research Award of the Greater Region (2022), Summit of the Greater Region
• Excellent Doctoral Thesis Award 2012, University of Luxembourg (placed second)

Work experience

Christian Wille worked as a research associate, lecturer, doctoral researcher, postdoc, and senior researcher for the Saarland University, the University of Lorraine, the University of Luxembourg, the Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University Kaiserslautern-Landau, and the Interregional Labour Market Observatory of the Greater Region.

Educational background

• Selected to complete the University Leadership Academy, University of Luxembourg
• Awarded the right (ADR) to supervise research projects and doctoral thesis, University of Luxembourg
• International Dual PhD Degree in Cultural Studies and Social Sciences, Saarland University and University of Luxembourg
• Magister Artium in Intercultural Communication and French Cultural Studies, Saarland University and University of Strasbourg