FENStatS Newsletter - Q2/2026

edited by Jaione Etxeberria

Dear colleagues and FENStatS members,

I am writing these notes while attending the Joint SIS–FENStatS Meeting at La Sapienza University. For FENStatS, this is our first European meeting, and I must say that organising such an event was one of my main goals when I began my term as FENStatS President almost three years ago.

Over the course of this conference, we have witnessed outstanding keynote presentations, rigorous debates on the current challenges facing statistics and official statistics, and a genuine spirit of collaboration. Whether discussing methodological advances, the evolving role of data science, or the many other topics explored throughout the sessions, the quality of the research shared here has been truly inspiring.

I would like to emphasise how special this joint initiative between the Italian Statistical Society (SIS) and FENStatS has been. FENStatS was founded on precisely the kind of synergy we have experienced this week: bringing together members of different national societies to foster a broader European dialogue, share best practices, and strengthen the voice of statisticians across the continent.

I would also like to highlight the significant presence of the Italian National Institute of Statistics (IStat) at this event. We greatly appreciate its contribution to reinforcing the vital connection between official statistics and the academic community.

On behalf of FENStatS, I extend my deepest gratitude to Marcello Chiodi, President of SIS, for his exceptional hospitality and partnership. I also wish to thank Francesca Martella and Serena Arima, Chairs of the Local Organizing Committee and the Scientific Committee, respectively, for their dedication and outstanding work.

Building on this momentum, I would like to share three important initiatives undertaken this year.

First, we have officially established the Policy and Awareness-Raising Committee. As the world becomes increasingly reliant on data, the integrity and visibility of our discipline must be actively promoted and defended. In the News section below, you will find the formal composition of the committee as approved by the Executive Committee. However, all Presidents and representatives of member societies are warmly invited to participate should they wish to do so.

Second, I am pleased to announce the completion of the formal signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on reciprocal conference registration among 21 FENStatS member societies. This agreement will enable us to better serve our members by facilitating attendance at national conferences across Europe and strengthening collaboration among our societies.

Third, I am proud to announce the official signing of a memorandum of understanding for the mutual recognition of accredited statisticians between FENStatS and the American Statistical Association (ASA).

With warm regards to all members of our societies,

Lola Ugarte
FENStatS President

Joint Meeting SIS–FENStatS 2026

The 53rd SIS and 1st FENStatS Scientific Meetings were successfully held at Sapienza University of Rome from June 22 to 25, 2026, bringing together statisticians and data scientists from across Europe for scientific exchange, collaboration, and networking.

The next two photographs document Lola Ugarte, President of FENStat, speaking during the opening session of the conference, and Lola Ugarde, Marcello Chiodi, and Serena Arima with the conference’s first keynote speaker, Michael I. Jordan.

The Meeting featured an exceptionally rich scientific programme. The FENStatS invited sessions bridged foundational methodologies and transformative technologies, covering pivotal themes such as artificial intelligence in official statistics and its governance, biostatistics, health data science, and high-dimensional data analysis. Participants explored innovation in official statistics, machine learning, clustering, multivariate methods, and recent advances in functional data analysis. The programme also addressed key contemporary topics, including spatial and spatio-temporal statistics, statistical learning and causal inference, as well as statistical literacy and communication. Complementing these themes were sessions on business and economic statistics, advanced methodologies for the social sciences, and survival analysis in medical research. Together, these invited sessions highlighted the breadth, vitality, and interdisciplinary nature of contemporary statistical research, fostering collaboration and stimulating discussion across the European statistical community.

We thank all participants, speakers, and organizers for their valuable contributions to the success of the meeting!

The following pair of photograp feature the prominent speakers of Fenstat Session # 7 Artificial intelligence in official statistics and its governance conceived as a round table, and Matteo Mazziotta from the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (Istat) giving his presentation entitled Granularity and timeliness: the challenge of new territorial statistics.

The Joint Meeting also included the FENStatS General Assembly 2026. The Assembly brought together representatives of the European National Statistical Societies to discuss the federation’s activities, strategic priorities, and ongoing initiatives, strengthening collaboration across the European statistical community.

The next photograph shows in-person participants at the FENStatS General Assemby 2026.

In-person participants at the FENStatS General Assembly 2026

European Courses in Advanced Statistics 2026

The European Courses in Advanced Statistics (ECAS) has an exciting programme of advanced courses and summer schools for 2026. Whether you are interested in modern machine learning, generative AI, or time series forecasting, these events offer excellent opportunities to learn from leading experts and connect with the European statistical community.

Edinburgh Summer School on Generative AI for Extremes

Edinburgh, UK | 8–11 September 2026

Registration deadline: 31 July 2026

Join this international summer school exploring the intersection of generative AI and extreme value theory, aimed at PhD students and early-career researchers. Participation is free of charge.

🔗 More information is available here. 🔗

ECAS-ENBIS Course: Adaptive Machine Learning for Time Series Forecasting

Florence, Italy | 6 September 2026

Registration deadline: 1 July 2026

This ECAS course introduces adaptive machine learning methods for time series forecasting, with a focus on interpretable models such as Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) and Kalman-filtered GAMs for non-stationary data. Participants will also explore recent advances including foundation models for time series and online expert aggregation techniques.

🔗 More information is available here. 🔗

Why attend?

ECAS courses combine cutting-edge statistical methodology with practical applications, providing high-quality training delivered by internationally recognised researchers. They are an excellent opportunity for PhD students, early-career researchers, and professionals to expand their expertise and build collaborations across Europe.

ERC Webinar recording now available

Did you miss the 5th FENStatS ERC Information Webinar held on April 24, 2026? The recording is now available on the FENStatS website, providing valuable guidance for researchers interested in applying for European Research Council (ERC) funding.

FENStatS expresses its sincere appreciation to Maria Gonzalez-Cerveron (ERC Scientific Officer) for her outstanding support and collaboration in presenting ERC funding opportunities and the selection of ERC-funded projects in Statistics.

📺 Watch the recording here. 📺

FENStatS launches
the Policy and Awareness-Raising Committee (PARC)

FENStatS is pleased to announce the establishment of its new Policy and Awareness-Raising Committee (PARC). The committee has been created to strengthen the visibility and voice of the statistical community by:

👉 Monitoring and reporting potential threats to statistical independence.
👉 Responding to public consultations on issues relevant to statistics.
👉 Promoting the role of statisticians in public policy and societal debates.

The committee is chaired by Walter Radermacher, FENStatS Vice-President and former Director-General of EUROSTAT.

The inaugural members of PARC are:

♦ Josip Arneric (Croatian Statistical Society)
♦ Christophe Bernacki (French Statistical Society)
♦ Yarema Okhrin (German Statistical Society)
♦ Sonia Malefaki (Greek Statistical Society)
♦ Marcello Chiodi (Italian Statistical Society)
♦ Lola Martínez-Miranda (Spanish Statistical Society)
♦ David Caplan (Royal Statistical Society)

FENStatS looks forward to the committee's contribution to promoting statistical excellence, safeguarding professional independence, and increasing the impact of statistics in European policy discussions.

Discover vISIon: The ISI Magazine

The International Statistical Institute (ISI) has released the second issue of vISIon, its magazine dedicated to showcasing how statistics and data science contribute to addressing major societal challenges. The magazine is freely available and features articles written by experts from across the international statistical community.

Highlights from Issue 2

✔️ AI against modern slavery
✔️ Community-engaged statistics and data science
✔️ Using secondary data to engage learners in social issues
✔️ The International Statistical Literacy Project
✔️ Why some countries measure race—and others do not
✔️ An interview with Tony Labillois
✔️ Computational workflows for human rights archives
✔️ Climate pressure on Indonesian fisheries

Readers can also explore Issue 1, which includes features on Brazilian wildfires and the role of environmetrics in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

📥 Download the latest issue here and the previous issue here. 📥

News from national statistical societies

Statistical Society of Slovenia

The Statistical Society of Slovenia (SSS) was actively engaged in a range of scientific, educational, and institutional activities in 2026.

Key events included the organization and promotion of the 22nd Applied Statistics Conference in Koper (September 21–23, 2026), with the call for papers nearing its deadline and registration opening on June 12, 2026. The Society also participated in the signing of an agreement among European statistical societies in 2026, establishing discounted registration fees for conferences organized by member societies.

Outreach and educational activities included the national competition awards ceremony on April 15, 2026, where Dr Vanja Erčulj highlighted the importance of statistical literacy, and awards were presented to winning student teams by Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. On May 8, 2026, members also took part in a guided cultural tour of Ljubljana, exploring the city’s history and landmarks.

In the research and conference sphere, SSS members contributed to the 45th Conference on Stochastic Processes and their Applications (June 14–20, 2026) in Ithaca, USA, organizing a special session on random geometry and limit theory, as well as to the Royal Statistical Society Annual Conference, featuring a discussion meeting on causal inference and natural experiments.

More information can be found here.

Spanish Society of Statistics, Operations Research and Data Science

The Spanish Society of Statistics, Operations Research and Data Science (SEIO) is pleased to announce that Lola Ugarte, current President of FENStatS, has been awarded the 2025 National Statistics Award, granted by the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE).

In its official press release, the INE highlights the breadth and excellence of her scientific contributions, her international impact, and the successful transfer of her research to applications of significant societal and industrial relevance. The award also recognises her outstanding institutional leadership in scientific governance and evaluation.

Her engagement with official statistics and public health provides a notable example of this impact. Over the years, she has collaborated with statistical agencies and research institutions in Spain and abroad, including the Statistical Institute of Navarre (Nastat), the Basque Statistics Institute (Eustat), Spain’s National Centre for Epidemiology, and the Methodology Division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), among many others.

Lola Ugarte is Full Professor of Statistics at the Public University of Navarra (UPNA). Among her many distinctions are the 2024 SEIO Medal, the highest honour awarded by the SEIO, and the 2021 SEIO–BBVA Foundation Award, which recognized her socially impactful research on dowry-related deaths in India. Throughout her distinguished career, she has also served as SEIO Vice-President for Statistics and as Editor-in-Chief of TEST, SEIO’s official scientific journal in the field of statistics.

Looking ahead, SEIO will host its 42nd National Conference on Statistics, Operations Research and Data Science (SEIO 2026) in Santiago de Compostela from September 2-5 2026. The meeting will bring together researchers, professionals, and public and private sector representatives in a context shaped by advances in artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and global sustainability challenges. The conference will feature contributed talks, invited sessions, and poster presentations, with plenary lectures by internationally renowned researchers, as well as a rich scientific and social programme fostering collaboration and exchange within the statistical community.

Royal Statistical Society of Belgium

The RSSB is happy to announce that the registration for the 33nd Annual Meeting of the Royal Statistical Society of Belgium is now open. Early registration and abstract submission are possible up to September 14, 2026. FENStatS members benefit from the same basic registration fees as RSSB members.

More information can be found here.