Contact Details
Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Bologna (Italy)
Via Bersaglieri, 6 – 40125 Bologna (Italy)
telephone number: +39 051 2092714
e-mail: paola.bordandini@unibo.it [mailto:paola.bordandini@unibo.it]
https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/paola.bordandini/
CURRENT POSITION
Since October 2014 she is associate professor in Political Science at the University of Bologna - Department of Political and Social Sciences
AREAS OF INTEREST
Political Culture - National identity - Social Capital and trust - Political parties transformation - Digitalization and political parties - Gender gap and political parties - Methodology of Political and Social Science
EDUCATION:
2002 – Ph.D in Political Science, Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Florence. Dissertation title: “Political Culture and Small Business-owners in Italy”. Supervisor: Prof. Roberto Cartocci, University of Bologna. Defended in February 2002.
1996 – M.A. in Political Sciences, Faculty of Political Sciences “Cesare Alfieri” at the University of Florence with a dissertation in Methodology of Social Sciences, under the supervision of Prof. Alberto Marradi. Dissertation title: “Particularism and Universalism. Constructing a Typology of Attitudes through an Analysis of Non‑structured Interviews”. Grade: 110/110, cum laude (with honours). Defended in June 1996.
PRINCIPAL TRAINING EXPERIENCES:
April-June 2026: Course “Student-Centred Teaching with Generative AI”, organized within the framework of COLUMBUS – Tecnológico de Monterrey. Duration: 17 hours.
June 2026: Workshop “AI Tools to Support Research”, organized by the University of Bologna. Duration: 2.5 hours.
March 2026: Course “Using Generative Artificial Intelligence in Teaching”, organized by the University of Bologna. Duration: 9 hours.
July-September 2025: Training programme on the integration of artificial intelligence tools into teaching, organized by the University of Bologna. The programme consisted of seven seminars addressing artificial intelligence and teaching, digital transformation, new educational models, interdisciplinary experiences developed at the University, institutional guidelines, and the appropriate citation and acknowledgement of generative AI tools. Duration: 14 hours.
Januari 2012: Workshop "Migration from SPSS to STATA". Faculty of Sociology - University of Trento. Director: Ivano Bison.
May 2005: Workshop “Giornate non standard” in Text analysis: the Use of Hermeneutics in a Mixed Methods Design organized and held at the Catholic University “Sacro Cuore” of Brescia. Directors: Prof. Rita Bichi (University of Milan) and Prof. Daniele Nigris (University of Milan).
April-May 2005: Workshop in Correspondence Analysisin Practice (Prof. Michael Greenacre - Universitat Pompeu Fabra) organized by the Fundaciòn BBVA in Madrid (Spain).
May 2004: Workshop “Giornate non standard” in Participant Observation Methods Design organizedand held at the Catholic University “Sacro Cuore” of Brescia. Directors: Prof. Rita Bichi (University of Milan) and Prof. Daniele Nigris (University of Milan).
February 2002: Winter School in Methodology of Human Sciences in "Principles of Questionnaire Construction." Director: Prof. Alberto Marradi (University of Florence).
March 2002: Spring Seminar in Quantitative Methodsorganized by the ZA-Eurolab of Koeln (Germany).
July-August 2002: ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research - Ann Arbor, Michigan University (USA)
January - April 2001: Workshop in "Focus Groups Organization" organized by SoIS of Pordenone. Prof. Gianpietro Gobo (University of Milan).
July-August 2000: Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis & Collection - Essex University – Colchester (GB)
September 1999: Summer School in Sociological Theory and Methods in Viterbo. Methodological Issue: Factor and Principal Component Analysis. Director: Prof. Alberto Marradi (University of Florence).
July-August 1998: Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis & Collection - Essex University – Colchester (GB)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Academic year 2018/19 - present: Teach Lecturer in “Social Sciences Methodology”/"Public Opinion Research" (20 hours) for the Second cycle degree program in COMPASS and PAO at the Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Bologna.
Academic year 2015/ 2016- present: Teach Lecture advanced in “Italian Political System” (40 hours) for the Second cycle degree programs in Politics Administration and Organization and COMPASS at the Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Bologna.
Academic year 2009/2010 - present: Teach Lecturer in “Methodology of Political and Social Sciences” (60 hours) for the First cycle degree programin Political, Social and International Sciences at the Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Bologna.
Academic year 2013/2014 to 2017/18: Teach Lecturer in “Social Sciences Methodology” (20 hours) for the Second cycle degree program in Sociology and Social Work at the Department of Sociology, Economics, and Law, University of Bologna.
2009 - 2019: Undertake numerous undergraduate and Ph.D short courses at the University of Bologna and the University of Florence in Methodology of Social and Political Science (Research Design, Scaling Techniques and Questionnaires) and in Italian Political System (Political culture issues such as trust, social capital, and civic culture).
SELECTED RESEARCH PROJECTS PARTICIPATION:
2025 – present: Member of the Surveys Committee of the Jean Monnet project ENLARGE (European Network on Learning, Assessing, and Researching Governance in Enlargement). Within the project, she contributes to the design of a cross-country survey on the attitudes of younger generations, past and present, towards European Union enlargement.
2017 - present: Research Project Coordinator for the research on “Italian National Party Delegates" at the “Observatory on Political Parties Aldo Di Virgilio” - University of Bologna
2023 - 2026: Local Coordinator for the PRIN 2022 project "Italian Parties Digitalization – IPAD".
2022 - 2026: Research Project Coordinator for the research on "Social Capital and Social Sustainability" within Spoke 8 of the PNRR PE9 – GRINS: Growing Resilient, INclusive, and Sustainable.
January 2020 – Guest Lecture at Waseda University, Japan, hosted by the Global Asia Research Center. Lecture title: “Trust, Populism and the Quality of Democracy: The Italian Case from a Comparative Perspective.”
2017 – 2019: Research Project co-Director at the Istituto Cattaneo of Bologna for the research on "Consumers and Producers Cooperative in Italy Today"
2016 - 2018: Research Project co-Director for the research on "Social Capital and Inequalities in Italy" at the Istituto Cattaneo of Bologna
2012-2015: Research member for the Interuniversity Research Project (Dimension Responsiveness) on "Economic crisis and Democratic Quality in Europe." National project coordinator: Leonardo Morlino (LUISS - Rome)
2012-2014: Italian fieldwork co-Director for the "European Social Survey (ESS) - round 6"
February-May 2008: Visiting Scholar at the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland(USA). Project title: “Trust, Social Capital and Quality of Democracy: an Analytical In-depth Comparative Perspective”.
2003/2012: Research member for the Interuniversity research project on "Political Parties Transformation in Italy." Four Universities involved with the projects: University of Bologna, University of Calabria, University of Florence, University of Trieste.
2006/2007: Coordinator for the research project on "Immigration and Urban Development in the Ferrara Area." Co-director: Prof. Roberto Cartocci (University of Bologna)
April-September 2006: Research Grant - Department for Organization and Political System, University of Bologna, Italy. Project title: “Trust like Trait d'Union between Social Capital and Political Culture”. Supervisor: Prof. Roberto Cartocci, University of Bologna.
2004/2006: Research member for the "Social Capital in Italy" research project. Istituto Cattaneo, Bologna. Director: Prof. Raimondo Catanzaro (University of Bologna).
September-October 2005: European Research Visiting Grant - ZA-Eurolab of Koeln (Germany). Project title: “Trust, Social Capital and Political Culture in Italy and Other EU Countries”-
2002/2004: Research member for the "Social Capital in Emilia Romagna" research project. Istituto Cattaneo Bologna. Director: Prof. Raimondo Catanzaro (University of Bologna).
2002–2006 – Collaborated with the Department of Organisation and Political System at the University of Bologna on the following research projects: “Political Culture, Social Capital and Trust among Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Owners”; “The Dual Nature of Trust as a Link between Social Capital and Political Culture”; and “Social Capital in Italy and Europe: Stock Endowments and Processes of Formation and Erosion from a Comparative Perspective.” Principal Investigator: Professor Roberto Cartocci. The projects were conducted within the framework of research fellowships.
May-June 2001: European Research Visiting Grant - ZA-Eurolab of Koeln (Germany). Project title: “The Political Culture in Italy and in Other EU Mediterranean Countries”.
