The time I was a PhD student in Florence was the beginning of an international career

Hanna Ecklund is one of the recipients of a PhD from EUI. She says the time she spent as a PhD student has had a huge impact on her life, both professionally and privately.

It was very important both for my way of thinking and on a social level. Some of the people I met at EUI are my best friends and I’m still in touch with my supervisor. Plus, I met my husband, who came from Ireland, at EUI and now we have a baby together, she says.

The fact that she had heard about her and applied to a PhD program at EUI was mostly due to chance and the fact that she had spent a semester in law as an Erasmus student in Tuscany, Italy.

– Someone told me that Carl Bildt was going to visit EUI and I went there. The whole place felt surreal with the beautiful ambiance and the international and intellectual vibe. If I had stayed in Sweden, Hanna Eklund says, I would not have heard of it before.

Someone told me that Carl Bildt was going to visit EUI and I went there. The whole place felt surreal with the beautiful ambiance and the international and intellectual vibe.

Combined courses for all PhD students

What distinguishes EUI is that all PhD students begin by attending joint courses and seminars, regardless of the topic they are looking for. It becomes natural to think interdisciplinary.

You have been trained in a certain way of thinking and being more multidisciplinary. When I joined EUI, I had just graduated from Uppsala Law School and was a “typical Swede”, but I had to ask myself and gained entirely new perspectives. EUI is also an attractive place for researchers, and as a PhD student, you have access to the greatest thinkers of the time, without having to put in much effort.

EUI opened the door to an international career for Hanna Eklund. In 2016, she completed her thesis in European Law, after which she obtained a postdoctoral position in Paris through a professor at EUI. During her time at EUI, she also did an exchange class at Columbia University in New York.

Today, she conducts research and teaches in Center for European and Comparative Legal Studies in Copenhagen.

– I have access to a great network of people who are sitting in different universities in Marseille or Rome. On the other hand, I don’t know many people in Sweden. It would be a different kind of career, but going out into the world was what I personally found attractive in an academic career, says Hannah Eklund.

Gives a broader perspective

A former PhD student is also Juhu Harkonen, Professor of Sociology, now Dean at EUI and in charge of the Max Weber Postdoctoral Program in the Humanities and Social Sciences. He says that what’s special about EUI is precisely the flow of people and the international atmosphere.

It gives a broader perspective as you look at your own research a little differently. I studied in Finland while on vacation from Stockholm University, and it became easy to look at the world through Nordic glasses. He says it’s important to be able to question one’s ideas and gain new perspectives, especially in history and sociology.

… Researchers from the most prestigious universities in the USA, Great Britain and Japan apply for a post-doctoral programme. We only accept about five percent of applicants.

However, EUI is relatively unknown in Sweden and throughout the Nordic countries, which is reflected in the fact that there are relatively few Nordic applicants for a PhD programme. Juho Härkönen believes that one of the reasons is that it is a small university with a strong focus on research and doctoral teaching.

There is a stronger relationship between EUI and older EU member states such as Germany. It may be more stable and higher interest than the Nordic countries, says Juhu Harkonen, but it also means you have a higher chance of getting in, and adds:

Within the academy, EUI is a heavy name. One such example is that researchers from the most prestigious universities in the USA, Great Britain and Japan are applying for a post-doctoral programme. We only accept about five percent of applicants.

Application on the EU web portal

For those who wish to apply for a PhD, the deadline is the end of January 2023. Applications are submitted on the EU web portal, Swedish master’s degree holders are eligible to apply.

You write an application and a project plan, then the selection is made in cooperation with the funders in the home country. In Sweden, we discuss applications with the Swedish Research Council before calling for interviews. When you consider the internationalization of research careers and perhaps a need for broader expertise in the future, EUI plays an important role, concludes Juhu Harkonen.