LERU Doctoral Summer School, 28 June - 3 July 2020, Trinity College Dublin
Reasserting the Value of the Expert
The 11th LERU Doctoral Summer School will be held at the Trinity College Dublin from 28 June until 3 July 2020.
What is the LERU Doctoral Summer School?
The University of Helsinki is a member of the League of European Research Universities (LERU), an association of 23 leading research-intensive universities that share the values of high-quality teaching within an environment of internationally competitive research. Each year, LERU organizes a Doctoral Summer School on a specific topic. All member universities of LERU are invited to send one doctoral candidate to participate in the meeting.
Theme and objectives of the 2020 LERU Doctoral Summer School
The theme of the 2020 LERU Doctoral Summer School is "Reasserting the Value of the Expert". The focus of the course is on the role of doctoral research and researchers in promoting the importance of the ‘expert’ in Europe.
The Summer School explores both the current and emerging threats to the role and value of the expert in Europe, and also the ways in which researchers, and especially early-stage researchers can respond to this. How, in other words, can the next generation of researchers reclaim the role of the expert and convince people (including the suspicious and the cynical) as to the value of expertise and thus of research and researchers?
The programme includes keynote lectures delivered by ‘expert’ speakers, facilitated group discussions about the issues raised, and a cultural event, including meeting with significant Irish politicians and other policy makers.
During the Summer School, the participants will collaborate in constructing a position paper, "LERU Doctoral Students Position Paper on Strategies to Reclaim the Importance of the Expert", to be submitted to LERU for publication.
Why should you participate?
”The best parts of the Summer School were the multidisciplinary team work and the opportunity to learn from the other participants. The Summer School offered great experience and skills on leadership, facilitation, project work, and science communication. The Summer School teachers and hosts were absolutely devoted to their subject, and the course was so intense that much was left to re-live and reflect for the weeks that followed. I met fantastic people and grew my network with a bunch of new, wonderful colleagues from different fields and cultures all over the world.” - Mariella Aalto-Araneda, Doctoral Programme in Food Chain and Health, participant to the LERU Summer School 2018
"The LERU summer school was an enriching experience where besides creating the collaboration guide, we also lived the experience." - Shishir Pant, Doctoral Programme in Biomedicine, participant to the LERU Summer School 2019. Read Shishir's full account of the 2019 Summer School here.
Who can apply?
Doctoral candidates from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. The applicants should be well advanced in their doctoral project and keenly motivated to work intensively and contribute to the production of the position paper over the course of the week in Dublin. Candidates must be available for the entire duration of the Summer School, and must be prepared to participate in all activities. All sessions will be conducted in English, and therefore fluency in both spoken and written English is essential.
Selection process
Each LERU university conducts its own selection procedure and provides a list of ranked candidates to LERU Office. The first-ranked candidate from each university is automatically accepted. Second places (and any further places, based on availability) are decided by the local organisers after consideration of all applications, aiming to achieve a balanced representation with regard to disciplines, gender and university affiliation with due consideration of rank order and merit.
Participation fee
The participation fee (including accommodation) and travel expenses (Economy) of the selected participants from the University of Helsinki are covered by the Doctoral Schools.
Please submit your application by 6 March 2020 by filling in the electronic form and include your cv as an attachment. The University of Helsinki candidates will be selected and sent out for consideration by the LERU Office by 27 March 2020.
For additional inquiries, please contact studentexchange@helsinki.fi.
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