UCL SSEES

Congratulations to Ramona Gonczol and colleagues who have been recognised for their outreach work with languages in schools in the UCL Widening Participation & Student Success Community of Practice Awards 2026

Ramona Gonczol receives UCL Widening Participation Award Congratulations to Ramona and colleagues who have been recognised for their outreach work with languages in schools.

Zsofi Stavri and Jessie Barton Hronesova ask what’s next after Péter Magyar’s election victory in Hungary in this new blog piece for the UCL European Institute:

Is It Springtime For Hungarian Democracy? Zsofi Stavri and Jessie Barton Hronešová ask what’s next after Péter Magyar’s election victory in Hungary.

'It is difficult to see how any amount of US and Israeli bombing can force the Iranian regime to surrender.' In his latest piece for The Conversation, Dr Christian Emery offers a critical “report card” on US policy toward Iran:

Trump administration claiming a ‘win’ against Iran – here’s a report card This conflict is fast becoming a catestrophic US failure which could define Trump’s second presidency.

Last week marked two important moments for the promotion of Romanian language education in the UK.

On 27 April, UCL SSEES Associate Professor Ramona Gonczol participated in a meeting at the UK Parliament, hosted by MP Gareth Thomas and the GCSE campaign, to discuss the need to introduce an optional GCSE in Romanian. She emphasised the role of heritage language education in supporting identity, academic development, and overall wellbeing.

On 30 April, she was interviewed by Euronews Romania, where she addressed the current status of Romanian in the UK, the ongoing GCSE campaign, and the wide-ranging benefits such a qualification could bring to young people. She also highlighted the Romanian language provision at UCL SSEES.

A great step forward in supporting the Romanian community and promoting linguistic diversity in education.

A big congratulations to Dr Christian Emery, SSEES Departmental Tutor and Associate Professor (Teaching) in International Relations, who received the award for 'Outstanding Student Support' at UKAT - the UK Advising and Tutoring Association. This accolade is awarded to an individual who has shown outstanding dedication and support to their students through academic advising, something we know Christian is excellent at!

Christian is cited as 'Providing compassionate and proactive support through personal tutoring, significantly improving student experiences and institutional practices.'
Dr Emery pictured here (left) alongside other UCL winners Pete Fitch and Sarah Bennett.

'The atmosphere was electric, marking a momentous release for a people held (both willingly and unwillingly) in the straitjacket of Fidesz politics for 16 years.' Experiencing the election results from Hungary, Dr Jessie Barton Hronesova and Zsofi Stavri reflect on the 12 April Hungarian elections:

https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/ssees/2026/04/15/from-fidesz-to-tisza-a-turning-point-in-hungarian-politics/

A fitting tribute to Dr Duncan published in The Guardian on 13 April, by friend and colleague Robert Service:

Peter Duncan obituary Other lives: Lecturer at UCL who wrote books on Russian politics and advised the House of Commons

Presenting the real stars of UCL SSEES 🐶🐱
Wishing everyone a pawsome International Pet Day! 🐾
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