Zane Šime is a Visiting Research Fellow at the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) and an Affiliated Researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The title of her doctoral work is “The EU Science Diplomacy Towards the Southern Neighbourhood: Reappraising the EU Structural Diplomacy.” In 2024, Zane serves as a Country Informant for the Asia-Europe Science & Technology Diplomacy Initiative of the Asia-Europe Foundation and a member of one of the EU Science Diplomacy Working Groups convened by the European Commission. Zane has obtained academic administration experience at the RISEBA University of Applied Sciences and the Department of EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies of the College of Europe (Bruges campus). She has completed research at the Academy of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). She is a co-recipient of the Vilis Vītols Article Prize 2022 and a member of the class 2020 of “Top 40 under 40 EU - India / UK - India Young Leader”. She is a graduate of KU Leuven and the University of Latvia. Her previous work experience includes the Secretariat of the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the Latvian civil service.