Join a peer-to-peer conversation with EUI researchers about their PhD journeys!
As part of its Widening Europe Programme, the European University Institute will host a series of PhD Prep Talks online aimed at prospective applicants from targeted EUI Widening Europe Programme countries*. This initiative reflects the EUI’s commitment to broadening participation in European academic life and ensuring that talented scholars from underrepresented countries can access opportunities to pursue advanced research training.
The activity will consist of five online sessions (one hour each), with small groups of participants to encourage open discussion and direct exchange. The sessions will focus on peer-to-peer experience-sharing and practical guidance on the EUI PhD application. Current EUI researchers will reflect on their own journeys and on what made their applications successful. Each session will also include time for questions and discussion.
During these sessions, participants will be able to:
- Hear first-hand perspectives on the academic culture at the EUI and its PhD programmes.
- Learn from researchers’ reflections on preparing their own proposals and interviews and what influenced their applications.
- Engage in peer-to-peer conversations with current doctoral researchers about both the challenges and opportunities of academic life.
- Find motivation and encouragement, especially for those who may have fewer opportunities to connect with international academic networks.
Through this activity, the EUI Widening Europe Programme continues to advance its mission of sharing knowledge, building networks, and strengthening academic capacity across Europe.
Please note that the number of available places for each session is limited to ten prospective applicants, on a first-come, first-served basis and each participant can attend only one session. Please register for the relevant info session you wish to attend.
About the speakers
- Tim Ellemann is a 3rd-year PhD Researcher at the EUI Law Department. For his research on borders in international trade law, he joined the University of Tokyo as visiting researcher. Before, Tim studied law at the University of Passau, Germany.
- John Morten Michaelis is a 2nd-year PhD Researcher in Political Science at the European University Institute. His work focuses on European comparative politics, with expertise in party system change, issue uptake, and the underlying role of identities. His dissertation examines how national political contexts shape the climate policy stances and discourse of populist far-right parties, and the broader implications for party competition across Europe.
- Zsófia Veszely (she/her) is a 4th-year PhD History Researcher at the European University Institute. Her dissertation title is Sex Education in State-Socialist Hungary in Transnational Perspective: Diversity and Change Over Time. Previously, she received a BA degree in Sociology at ELTE University (Hungary) and an MA degree in European Women’s and Gender History at the Central European University (Austria).
Other info sessions will take place on:
* List of targeted countries in the Widening region
Inside the European Union: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Outside the European Union: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo(1), Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine.
(1) This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244(1999) and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.