about
I’m a first-year PhD researcher at the European University Institute (EUI), supervised by Kevin Munger and Arnout van de Rijt. I am interested in how the internet allows offline minority voices to shape society. Through online channels, opinions and behaviors that are suppressed offline can reach broad audiences and ultimately influence the offline world as well. But who are these minority voices, how large is their influence, and what barriers must they overcome for this to happen?
Before joining EUI, I had the opportunity to study at multiple universities and engage with diverse research fields. I started my journey at ETH Zurich, where I obtained a BSc in mechanical engineering and a MSc in robotics, systems and control. During that time, I focused on the modeling and control of nonlinear systems, with an emphasis on numerical simulations and optimization (Insitute for Dynamic Systems and Control, Soft Robotics Lab, Chair in Nonlinear Dynamics). Have a look at my previous publications if you want more details!
While on exchange at Imperial College in 2022, I decided to apply to the MA in political science at the University of Zurich out of curiosity. This decision was an important personal milestone, as I gradually shifted my focus, time and energy towards the social sciences. My Master’s thesis about toxic speech on TikTok gave me the opportunity to visit NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics for a few months in spring 2025 and to work with the research group on Political Behavior and Digital Media at the Univerity of Zurich.
Alongside my studies, I am active in different organisations and projects. In particular, I’m board member of GirlsCodeToo, a Swiss non-profit with the mission of encouraging young girls to discover coding and explore careers in tech, aiming at closing the gender gap in these fields.