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First Annual Graduate Conference on the History of European Integration was a success

Posted on 25 September 2017

The first annual Graduate Conference on the History of European Integration ended after an intense three days on 20 September 2017 with a visit to Historical Archives of the European Union.

The conference is a joint initiative between the Alcide De Gasperi Research Centre (ADG) and the two European associations of young researchers, RICHIE (Réseau international de jeunes chercheurs en histoire de l’intégration européenne) and HEIRS (History of European integration research society).

The Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS) and the Department of History and Civilization (HEC) also provided support for the event.

The conference started on Monday 18 September. PhD students and early career researchers, no more than 5 years from PhD completion, were invited to submit their research papers on the topic of the history of European integration. Those selected were then given an informal forum to discuss their ideas and research directions.

“Typically conferences are about a broad topic such as Europe since the French revolution. Just bringing together so many experts in this specific field and being able to exchange ideas at that level is a rare opportunity,” says Grace Ballor, one of the presenters.

Fellow presenter at the conference, Alessio Zuddas, echoed these thoughts, saying that he believes this is the “only opportunity to discuss these particular things” and therefore the conference is very useful.

The conference focused on the topic of postwar Western European cooperation and integration in particular topics like enlargement, foreign policy, business and currency.

What many participants described as unique was the length of time allowed for discussion. Each participant was given a chance to present and also 45 minutes of discussion time in order to maximize the possible input from the other participants at the conference.

Marina Pérez de Arcos, the first person to present her paper, says that the amount of input given on the work submitted made the conference stand out for her: “The Q&A is particularly long, which is quite different to other conferences and quite helpful.”

The event aimed at bringing together researchers at different stages in their research, so all the experts on this subject could get a chance to meet and exchange ideas. This also provided them with a great opportunity to network.

Professor Piers Ludlow, who joined the conference as a discussant, says: “Your best allies, your best friends as a PhD are in many ways your fellow researchers. It is good to have senior allies but getting to know your own generation that matters a lot not only for your PhD but also for your career.”

The researchers were also invited to attend a session dedicated to career development where they received practical advice on publishing and opportunities in an academic career.

Mechthild Herzog, member of the scientific committee, hopes younger researchers will be empowered by this event: “It was important for them [young researchers] to get a bit more confidence that what they are doing is really genuinely new and important to be done.”

Overall the participants and organizers believed that the event was a success and that they gained a lot from attending. Laurent Warlouzet, a discussant, says he welcomes the next conference: “I hope that there will be other instances of this type of conference each year or every other year.  This is useful to gather the young researchers that are working on European integration history and it is stimulating to see new people coming around and discussing this topic.”

Professor Federico Romero, co-organizer of the conference, says he believes the conference went very well: “My impression is that with this initiative – which will be repeated annually - the De Gasperi Centre, and the EUI more broadly, contribute in a most useful way to coalesce and structure a field that is intellectually lively but less organized than it could be”.

 

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