These are the ZeMKI Visiting Research Fellows of 2026

For 2026, the ZeMKI Steering Committee has selected seven international visiting scholars as part of the Visiting Research Fellowship program. Each fellow will spend at least four weeks collaborating with selected ZeMKI Labs. The call for applications attracted more than 165 submissions from around the world. The research stays will take place during the summer semester 2026 and the winter semester 2026/27.

The 2026 Fellows are:

Chad Edwards is Professor of Communication at Western Michigan University and conducts research on human–machine communication and artificial intelligence. At ZeMKI, he will further develop a research program on mediatized instructional communication, linking social robotics and large language models with mediatization theory and critical data studies.

Ana Grgic is Associate Professor at Babeș-Bolyai University in Romania. At ZeMKI, she will research marginalized archival collections and women’s cinema heritage in the Balkans in order to critically expand canonized, male-dominated film histories of the region.

Rafael Grohmann is Assistant Professor of Media Studies at the University of Toronto and Research Associate at the Oxford Internet Institute. During his fellowship, he will examine worker-led AI governance and the collective strategies through which employees seek to shape or regulate the use of AI in the workplace.

Felicia Loecherbach is Assistant Professor of Political Communication and Journalism at the University of Amsterdam and Research Affiliate at New York University. At ZeMKI, she will investigate perceptions of algorithmic curation and information diversity.

Sarah T. Roberts is Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, with appointments in Gender Studies, Information Studies, and Labor Studies. At ZeMKI, she will explore the role of AI imaginaries in the context of labor, as well as potential forms of resistance.

Karin Wahl-Jorgensen is Professor at Cardiff University and an internationally recognized scholar in journalism studies. At ZeMKI, she will work on her book project The Rise of Boutique Media, which examines new, personalized, and affectively driven forms of journalism.

Patryk Wasiak is Associate Professor at the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. At ZeMKI, he will work on the history of software user interfaces as digital media infrastructure.

Through the Visiting Research Fellowship, ZeMKI further strengthens its international networks and promotes exchange on key questions of digital transformation, media cultures, and societal power relations. Throughout 2026, the Fellows will collaborate closely with two ZeMKI Labs each and contribute their projects through workshops, lectures, and joint publications.

More information about the fellows can be found here.