EMES has always sought to be a nurturing environment for those of us who start to navigate the waters of social science research. Well aware of the fact that academia can be very often a harsh place to enter, we strive to provide specific training, a supporting network and practical tools to undertake this journey.
For over 15 years, training and summer schools have offered a unique setting for these newcomers to meet other PhDs, early career researchers and established scholars, as well as practitioners and policymakers committed to research. Past editions of our training schools have been very well attended, and the level of satisfaction was really high: participants left the school feeling more knowledgeable and connected to a community of peers.
This year, we’re going back to Trento, home of our founding member Euricse, for the second time twelve years after the first one , which was a great success. We put our focus on the link between research and society, as always, but with the additional motivation of connecting with social and ecological movements that are fighting for just and fair transitions.
Remaining relevant to the interests of starting scholars and society represents a challenge EMES continues to accept. In our case, we count on incredible collaboration: our members and, particularly, the committed group of PhD students who constitute the EMES PhD network and early career students (ECR). Our PhD network continues to flourish as a vibrant self-organized group that knows the power of mutual support, peer learning and sharing experiences and strategies of their PhD journey.
Our ECRs are a source of shared joy, proving their commitment not only by remaining members upon graduation but also by becoming directly involved in our network’s governance. Our latest open elections show it perfectly: out of the five elected individual representatives on the Board, 4 are former members of the EMES PhD network who have been engaged in EMES since the beginning.
Moreover, our current president, Francesca Petrella, is the perfect example of this: she completed her PhD with Marthe Nyssens and Jacques Defourny as part of the PhD jury in 2003. She also participated in a few EMES research projects and led the unforgettable training school in Marseille.
She reminded us how important EMES was to her professional and personal development: “I owe a lot to EMES, and becoming president is a way of giving back in a logic of reciprocity.”
Our 88 applications feature a diverse mix, from early career researchers to PhDs and MA students looking to embark on a PhD journey. We have applications from all over the globe, proving that the interest in SE extends to every continent. The variety is simply astounding! All five continents are represented from North and South America, India, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines; Morocco, Kenya and South Africa; New Zealand; most European member states as well as Switzerland and Luxembourg. We are also trilled to see that more than half of the applicants are women!
The evaluation process has now started, and we would like to take this post to thank all the applicants and our wonderful faculty members, the ESIC project, and the Euricse team for their unwavering support and enthusiasm!
Here’s a shot that we took at the first Trento training school that summarizes a spirit in which we believe: “The perfect journey is circular. The joy of departing. The joy of returning.”