“It isn’t at all like other conferences.”
This was the common refrain among both the junior and senior scholars involved in the 2024 Alcide De Gasperi Research Centre’s Annual Graduate Conference, which took place at Villa Salviati on 5-6 September. The annual interdisciplinary conference focuses broadly on the history of European integration and is designed to advance the research of early career academics through constructive, in-depth discussion of their work-in-progress.
Emmanuel Mourlon-Druol, EUI Professor of History of European Cooperation and Integration and co-Director of the Alcide Gasperi Centre explains “The whole point of these two days is to give ample room for discussion and debate, whether during the panels themselves or over coffee breaks and dinner — social occasions that we so dearly missed during the pandemic. The combination of senior scholars and early career researchers allows for a fruitful exchange.’’
An effective format
As in previous years, the organisers had the 12 selected conference presenters share their papers well in advance of the on-site panel discussions, in which each early career academic was paired up with a more senior expert.
“The format is most useful for participants because everyone reads what is presented. We really concentrate on the texts, which allows the researchers to receive meaningful feedback from the discussants and other participants,” explains Professor Krisztina Arató , a political scientist from Loránd Eötvös University in Budapest whose co-authored volume (with Boglárka Koller) on European integration, Európa utazása - Integrációtörténet will soon be published in English by Palgrave Macmillan.
“Being face-to-face is also important,” she added. “There is time to provide real feedback during the conference, but also the opportunity to continue with good discussion during the breaks.”
From a researcher’s point of view, Dominika Furtak, a PhD candidate in Political and Public Administration Sciences at Jagiellonian University in Poland, also mentioned the value of having plenty of time to present work and hear feedback. “It is less hurried than other conferences. We get more attention in a supportive environment.”
A multidisciplinary network of scholars
An additional hallmark of the Annual Graduate Conference is its multidisciplinarity. This year’s event, for example, featured dissertation work from fields such as history, political science, and international relations.
“It’s really interesting to follow such a diverse group of topics that all overlap with respect to European integration. It gives you new ideas and helps you think about your topic in a different way,” explained Jana Müller, a first-year PhD student in contemporary history at the University of Luxembourg.
Dominika Furtak was also enthusiastic. “I am in international relations, and it was really good to hear what the historians had to say about my thesis. Despite the different topics and disciplines, we found a common language to talk about the papers.”
EUI Widening Europe Programme
In addition to renewed support from the Historical Archives of the European Union, the Florence School of Transnational Governance, and the Robert Schuman Centre, the 2024 Graduate Conference also enjoyed support from the EUI’s Widening Europe Programme, which aims to build a bridge between the EUI and national higher education institutions in central and eastern Europe and the Balkans.
For Dieter Schlenker, Director of the Historical Archives of the European Union, the support from the Widening Europe Programme fostered a long-standing objective of the Alcide De Gasperi Centre.
“For the past several years, we have been striving to engage with the scholarly community from the Central and Eastern European countries to increase their involvement in the Annual Graduate Conference. This year we were really happy to see such a rich set of presentations and discussion by the junior and senior academics joining us from these countries. We are grateful that the EUI supported this effort and hope to continue working with the Programme in the coming years.”
About the Annual Graduate Conference
The Annual Graduate Conference on the History of European Integration is the flagship event of the Alcide De Gasperi Centre (ADG). Held each September, the Conference permits selected PhD students and early career researchers to present their work, receive feedback, and engage with senior scholars on historiographical and methodological approaches to European integration. The ADG opens a call for applications to participate in the conference each March.