Dr. Wiebke Drews

At the Centre for Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property (CETIP), my research applies computational social science methods to study how emerging technologies are debated and governed under conditions of radical uncertainty. 

I currently lead the CSSInnoRadar project, funded by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (ARIS) until 2029 (€194,310). The project develops a dashboard to map how emerging technologies are discussed across public discourse, organisational communication, and policy narratives in Europe. Using quantum technologies as a case study, it analyses large-scale digital discourse to understand how expectations, risks, and legitimacy evolve over time, thereby contributing to anticipatory innovation governance.

More broadly, my research examines how digital communication environments shape public spheres. I focus on digital publics—how communication emerges, circulates, and influences political and social processes—and on digital methods, using natural language processing, network analysis, and advanced statistics to study discourse dynamics, actors, and power structures. 

I received my PhD in Digital Politics from the European University Institute in Florence and subsequently worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich in the SPARTA (Social Media Analysis for Everyone) project, where I remain an affiliated researcher.