The University of Jyväskylä hosted the first joint DeCrises and EGRUiEN Horizon Europe projects Early-Career Research Seminar on 22–23 October 2025. The event was held in a hybrid format, bringing together participants both onsite and online from the University of Jyväskylä and LUT University.

Prior to the seminar, early-career researchers from the two projects submitted their papers to all participants. Representing DeCrises’ early career researchers were Giga Mukutadze, Mashiur Rahman, and Paul Arteaga, and from EGRUiEN, Sarah Tornberg and Zamzam Elmi. The other participants were the supervisors of these researchers, including Farid Karimi, Tapio Litmanen, Matti Kojo, and Rodrigo Santaella-Goncalves from DeCrises and Nathan Lillie and Ilona Bontenbal from EGRUiEN. Each participant reviewed their peers’ papers and prepared constructive feedback in advance.

During the seminar, the early-career researchers presented their papers and received insightful comments from peers, as well as detailed comments from senior researchers and professors affiliated with DeCrises and EGRUiEN projects from the University of Jyväskylä and LUT University. Theories and research topics discussed included multi-level governance (MLG), EU-level legislation, twin transition and industrial relations, etc.

On the first day, three papers were presented:

• The Paradox of Protection: State Ownership and Eroding Worker Rights in Finland’s Green Transition — Zamzam Elmi (EGRUiEN)
• Data Governance in a Digitalised Energy System: A Case Study of Fingrid Datahub in the Context of the EU Green Deal and Digital Strategy — Paul Arteaga (DeCrises)
• Mind the Gaps: Addressing Structural and Procedural Weaknesses in EU Multi-Level Governance for the Twin Transition — Mashiur Rahman (DeCrises)

On the second day, two papers were presented:

• Distributive or Integrative? Social Negotiations During Structural Changes — Sarah Tornberg (EGRUiEN)
• Horizontal Governance in the EU: The Role and Impact of Transnational Municipal Networks and Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations in the Twin Green and Digital Transitions — Giga Mukutadze (DeCrises)

The seminar offered an excellent opportunity for early-career researchers to reflect on their research from interdisciplinary perspectives and to gain valuable input on potential theoretical and methodological developments.

The DeCrises and EGRUiEN teams plan to organize the seminar every six months. The seminar is open to all project partners of both projects.