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Researchers from the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science marked a successful European Population Conference 2026 in Bologna, with Professor Ridhi Kashyap receiving the inaugural EAPS Early Career Award, LCDS researchers winning a Best Poster Award, and Centre members contributing to major sessions across the conference programme.
The European Population Conference is one of the leading international gatherings for population research, bringing together demographers and social scientists working across fertility, mortality, migration, family change, health, inequality, and new data methods. LCDS researchers and collaborators presented throughout EPC 2026, reflecting the Centre's wide-ranging contribution to the field.
Ridhi Kashyap receives inaugural EAPS Early Career Award
A central moment for LCDS at EPC 2026 was the presentation of the inaugural Early Career Award from the European Association for Population Studies to Professor Ridhi Kashyap. The award recognises exceptional early-career contributions to demography and the interdisciplinary study of population.
Professor Kashyap's work has helped shape digital and computational demography, combining demographic theory with emerging forms of data and computational approaches. Her research has advanced understanding of population health, mortality, migration, ethnicity, family and marriage patterns, and gender inequality, while building bridges between demography and computational social science.
The EAPS award follows Professor Kashyap's Early Achievement Award from the Population Association of America earlier this year. Together, the two honours mark a year of major international recognition for her research, leadership, and contributions to the population sciences.
Best Poster Award for research on migrant fertility
LCDS researchers also celebrated a Best Poster Award for the poster "Uncovering Migrant Fertility Patterns through Consumer Data" by Francesco Rampazzo, Micol Morellini, Ridhi Kashyap, Douglas Leasure, and Melinda Mills.
The poster showcased innovative work using consumer data to study migrant fertility patterns. The award highlights the Centre's strength in developing and applying new data sources to address longstanding demographic questions, particularly at the intersection of migration, fertility, and population change.
Remembering Dirk van de Kaa and revisiting the Second Demographic Transition
EPC 2026 also included an important moment of reflection for the field. Professor Melinda Mills contributed to a session revisiting the Second Demographic Transition, 25 years after the influential Bad Herrenalb conference.
The session reflected on the legacy of Dirk van de Kaa, founding director of the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute, and honoured Ron Lesthaeghe, with whom van de Kaa developed the Second Demographic Transition framework. The discussion brought together several scholars who had taken part in the original meeting, considering how the framework continues to inform debates on family change, fertility, marriage, cohabitation, divorce, gender equity, religion, values, and public policy.
Looking ahead to EPC 2028
The Centre will also have a connection to the next European Population Conference. Hannaliis Jaadla is featured in promotional material for EPC 2028 and is part of the local organising committee for the conference, which will take place in Tallinn, Estonia, from 28 June to 1 July 2028.
The awards and wider contributions at EPC 2026 underline the strong presence of LCDS across the international population research community. The Centre warmly congratulates Ridhi, Francesco, Micol, Douglas, Melinda, and all LCDS colleagues and collaborators involved in the conference.
