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 info sessions 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
- Alba Bosch is a 3rd-year PhD Researcher in the SPS department. She is investigating how perceptions of the future change life trajectories, focusing on shocks that make the future appear more constrained (such as natural disasters) or extended (female egg-freezing).
- Estela Lopes is a 3rd-year Portuguese PhD Researcher in law at the European University Institute in Italy. Her research examines how governments outsource AI development to private companies, focusing on power dynamics, delegation, and the legal implications for democratic oversight and accountability. She holds an LL.M. from the Catholic University of Portugal and a law degree from NOVA School of Law. A qualified lawyer and a former teaching assistant, she brings both academic and practical experience.
- 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.
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.