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
- 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.
- Andreea Tănasie is a 3rd-year PhD Researcher in the EUI’s department of Political and Social Sciences working within the field of international relations. Her thesis, titled Grievances in Global Governance: Transnational Coalitions and the Politics of Women’s Rights at the UN, examines how transnational feminist and conservative coalitions within the United Nations mobilize competing justice and grievance claims to shape the global governance of women’s rights.
- Karla Žeravčić is a 2nd-year PhD Researcher at the Department of Law from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her thesis, The Western Balkan Route to the EU Navigating the Intersection between EU Migration Management and EU Membership, researches the paradoxical relationship between the EU accession and EU migration management cooperation in the Western Balkans through a critical lens.
Other info sessions are held 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.