EDUC – for Ph.D. Candidates

Are you ready to join an international community of researchers and boost your skills in your academic and work life?

Are you ready to take the next step in your academic career? Join an international community of researchers and academics and share your passion.

Explore the opportunities and discover how you can contribute to groundbreaking research.

Summer Schools

We offer four summer schools with blended formats for Ph.D. candidates in 2025. The application deadline for all of these have now passed. 

1. Critical Methodologies – Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge

This summer school engages and problematizes global approaches in social sciences, humanities, and cultural studies, dialoguing with perspectives from the margins on research practice across disciplines and in cross-cultural contexts. Students gain insights into critical methodologies, aiming for dialogue across structural, physical, and disciplinary boundaries, challenging binary thinking. We reflect critically on the politics and ethics of knowledge, research design and impact, inequalities, power relations, coloniality, intersectionality, positionality, reflexivity, and the unforeseen and failure in research. 

  • Training calendar 
    • Online: 28 April + 5 May + 8 May + 12 May + 19 May – Classes held 15:15-17:00 every day 
    • In-presence: 2-7 June: 09:00-15:00 
  • More information available soon in EDUC Course Catalogue

  • Application deadline: 17 March 2025

  • Application form: EDUC Blended Research Summer School at USN: Critical Methodologies (nettskjema.no)

2. Creative Product Design: Towards a More Sustainable Society Through Research – Universitetet Jaume I (Spania)

Explore the field of product design and engineering, with a focus on sustainability and creativity to develop new product or system solutions for society and individuals. Gain confidence in various research phases, such as understanding existing literature and background, improving writing skills, delivering oral presentations, and enhancing communication abilities. The summer school will also provide participants with English language skills, focusing on research and aspects of product design and engineering.

  • Training calendar 
    • Online: May 2025 (specific dates will follow)
    • In-presence: 9-13 June 2025 
  • More information available soon in EDUC Course Catalogue
  • Application Deadline: 17 March 2025
  • Application form: Application for Blended Research Summer School (nettskjema.no)
     

3. PaleoGeography: Reconstructing the Earth System through geological times – Universitetet i Rennes (Frankrike)

The ability to reconstruct the evolution of environmental conditions and geographic features through geological times in so-called "paleogeographies" is essential for our future.  

For the developing green industry, paleogeographic reconstructions are fundamental assets to assess potential sources and locations of key geo-resources that are now vital for the energy transition (e.g. raw materials, rare earth elements, subsurface storage, geothermal sites). Scientists of tomorrow working on environmental changes require detailed paleogeographic maps and numerical tools to validate models of past and future life and environmental evolutions.  

  • Training calendar 
    • Online: 13 May 2025 from 09:00 to 16:45 and 14 May 2025 from 09:00 to 12:00 
    • In-presence: From 30 June to 4 July 2025, from 09:00 to 17:30
  • More information available soon in EDUC Course Catalogue
  • Application Deadline: 17 March 2025
  • Application form: Application for Blended Research Summer School (nettskjema.no)

4. Intercultural Sensitivity – Universitetet i Pécs (Ungarn)

The summer school examines questions of identity, culture and globalization with a focus on understanding different cultures and diverse populations. Students interact with students from different cultures and reflect on their own cultures. In addition to understanding cultural diversity, students improve their intercultural competencies through communication workshops, self-reflection and empirical research. 

  • Training calendar:
    • Online: April 7 – 11, classes held between 16.00-17.30 every day 
    • In-presence: July 13 – 19, in Pécs ​​
  • Apllication Deadline: 17 March 2025
  • More information available soon in EDUC Course Catalogue
  • Application form: Application for Blended Research Summer School (nettskjema.no)
Retreats 

EDUC offers a range of PhD and postdoc Retreats, designed to promote professional engagement and networking among young researchers at our eight partner universities: Enhancing Professional Engagement: Upcoming PhD & Postdoc Retreats in the EDUC Alliance (educalliance.eu)

This provides a unique opportunity to connect with colleagues, share insights, and enhance your research journey.

In 2025 we invite you two two gatherings; in the Czech Republic and France

1. University of Rennes (Frankrike)

  • Theme: «AI for Research and Eduction»
  • Date: 3 - 7. November 2025
  • Application deadline: Available soon

2. The application deadline has passed. Masaryk University 

  • Theme: «Refocus, and Rediscover Balance»

  • Description: Take a break from the pressures of academia and explore important topics such as well-being, work-life balance, resilience, and mindfulness. This is a unique opportunity to reconnect with yourself, gain practical tools to manage stress, and find a supportive community of like-minded young colleagues from diverse backgrounds. Invest in your mental health and return to your research with renewed clarity, motivation, and energy.

  • Target audience: Young researchers from across Europe

  • ​​​​Date: 1 - 5 June 2025
  • Application form: Application for EDUC PhD-retreat Masaryk (nettskjema.no)
  • Application deadline: 2 March at 23.59

In 2026 we have only one Retreat, this time in Spain:

1. Universitety Jaume I (Spania)

  • Theme: «New Ethical Challenges in Research»
  • Date: Spring 2026
  • Application deadline: Available soon
TESE DAYS: EDUC Talents and Entrepreneurial Skills Days 

TESE Days 2025:

  • When? 10.-12. juni, 2025
  • Where? Universitety of Rennes, IGR-IAE School of Management, France
  • Registration: Application form (nettskjema.no)
  • Deadline: March 25 (23.59)
  • EDUC Grant: 1350 EUR

This is an annual event that focuses on skill development and career building. The event gathers PhD candidates from all our universities and is supported by EDUC's entrepreneurship experts.

TESE Days emphasise the importance of internationalisation and multicultural exchange, promoting a European perspective among the participants. By bringing together PhD students and experts from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds across Europe, TESE Days create a vibrant environment for cross-border collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Workshops and other meeting points provide excellent opportunities to showcase your entrepreneurial mindset.

Seize the opportunity to discover and further develop your talents, and help lay the foundation for your future career.

Career Learning Development

Sign up for online courses:

1. Introduction to Science Communication

Are you interested in communicating research but need help figuring out how and where to start? Then the asynchronous online course "Introduction to Science Communication" is a perfect start, especially for scientific staff and Ph.D. candidates.

2. Female Empowerment in Academia

Are you ready to tackle gender inequality and help shape the future? Our asynchronous, self-paced online course is tailored for academic staff and Ph.D. candidates of all genders.

This interdisciplinary course addresses gender inequality in academia. Participants interested in better understanding gender relations in their work environment will gain insights into the key issues hindering gender equality in academia and receive practical tips on how to address them.

 

3. Career Diversification in Research

This course consists of 4 modules. Each module contains content in the form of video(s) and is followed by a short assessment.

  1. Overview of Career diversification (compulsory)
  2. Capacity self-assessment (compulsory)
  3. Capacity building: Soft Skills to improve your career opportunities (optional)
  4. From academia to practice and back (optional)

4. International Entrepreneurial Mindset

This is a comprehensive, 27-hour programme developed by 25 educators from the EDUC alliance. It is designed to provide PhD students with essential transversal skills necessary for successful career transitions.

Whether you are leaving academia or entering the professional job market, this course will equip you with the tools you need to succeed in today's dynamic job landscape.

Digital Courses Available for PhD Candidates

The EDUC Course Catalogue (courses.educalliance.eu)  is continually updated. Here, you can filter your search by selecting "PhD" as the "Target Group" and find the available offerings at any given time.

Improve Your Foreign Language

1) E-tandem Language Programme

This is an informal way to learn and practice foreign languages. It is open to students and PhD Candidates.

Once you sign up by choosing the preferred EDUC-language you would like to improve, we connect you with another PhD Candidate that fits your profile to speak the foreign language of preference together.

There are still vacant spots for the EDUC E-tandem Language Programme of Spring 2025.

Read more here: Improve your language skills together with another EDUC-student - USN Intranett

Remember: You have to have at least a B1-level in English + your language of choice)

What is a B1-level in language?

The B1 level in language learning is part of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which is a widely recognized standard for assessing language proficiency.

At the B1 level, learners are considered to be at the "intermediate" stage.

Overall, at the B1 level, you can communicate in a basic yet effective way, express opinions, and describe experiences, and you can manage everyday situations in the language quite effectively.

2) Digital Language Courses

Level up with one of our free and digital courses. Find the language course that's right for you in the EDUC course catalog: EDUC Alliance - Course Catalogue

The course catalog is continuously updated with new offers, so please check back if you don't find what you're after.