Deadline for Applications

February 23. 2007

Interested PhD students should contact Matthias Freise (freisem@uni-muenster.de) at Muenster University.

About the Network

The goal of the seminar is to bring together Phd students doing research on the third sector and civil society. From the outset, the seminar has been enthusiastically received by the PhD students involved. In 2006 the annual seminar was organised in Vienna after Rolduc (2005), Stockholm (2004), Dublin (2003) and Windsor (2002 and 2001). In 2007, it will be organised by Muenster University in Germany. The programme has scheduled to four days, starting Thursday evening, ending Sunday at lunchtime. These days are partially filled with lectures from renowned scholars in the field, addressing both scientific themes (e.g. the governance of non-profits, social capital and volunteering) and practical issues (e.g. supervisor-student relationships, the writing process, the borderline between academic and applied research).

However, the core of the seminar is the discussion of the work of individual students, who are obliged to hand in papers on their research and to reflect on the work of fellow students. This happens in groups of 6-7 students, facilitated by both a senior researcher and a recently graduated Phd student (usually one who attended the network in previous years). Meetings include both regulars and newcomers.

The seminar has two main benefits. First, it helps students in their Phd research, both through the lectures and the intensive group discussions. Second, it puts people in touch on a cross-disciplinary and cross-national basis. Earlier meetings have been successful thanks to the diversity of students and projects brought together, but also as a result of the limited scale of the arrangements, with no more than 30-45 participants. Another important outcome of the meetings has been to help the students become part of an emerging network of young European scholars working on similar themes.

Where

Department for Political Science at Muenster University.

Muenster is located close to the German-Dutch border and hosts one of the largest German Universities. The city is easily accessible by train or plane. The local airport (Muenster/Osnabrück) offers may connections to European cities.

When

May 17. - 20. 2007

We will start on Thursday (Ascension Day) with a key note speech and finish on Sunday after lunch.

Participation

Everyone will be notified by April 2. whether they will be able to participate in the meeting or not. The organizers will strive to compose a balance among the participants regarding countries as well as disciplines and issues represented. It will be also ensured that at least each of the sexes must stay between 33.3% and 66.7%.

All students should in their e-mail communication include information on:

• Full name
• Contact details (including e-mail address)
• Disciplinary background
• Institutional affiliation and supervisor(s)
• Working title of PhD project and formal start/end dates
• Abstract of PhD research (300-600 words)

Costs

The costs of accommodation during the seminar will be paid for directly by the organisation. The same applies to meals. Travel costs will be refunded afterwards. Since our budget is limited, we can only refund the costs of the cheapest available flights and public transport to Muenster. For further information please visit the network’s website which will be online in November this year (Link: nez.uni-muenster.de) .