What can a week at the EUI offer? For early career researchers arriving through the Widening Europe Programme’s short-term mobility scheme, it’s a chance to dive into their work, connect with peers, and experience the Institute’s academic life up close. With support from the peer-to-peer initiative, visitors are matched with EUI researchers who support them in navigating the campus, in meeting relevant scholars, and in feeling part of the academic community from day one.
This spring, participants from across Europe joined the EUI, each bringing new ideas, diverse perspectives, and fresh questions. Among them were Benedita Sequeira and Nela Przetakova, whose week-long visits reflect the programme’s core aim: to foster meaningful academic exchange and build connections across institutions.
For Benedita Sequeira, a PhD candidate at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, the opportunity to spend a week immersed in the EUI Law Department was both timely and transformative. Focused on the intersection of law and sustainability, Benedita’s research topic explores how horizontal anti-competitive agreements might be exempted under competition law when serving broader sustainability goals.
“I really enjoyed my experience here. It was perfect for a one-week visit,” she shared. “During one of the workshops organised by the Competition Law Working Group, I had the opportunity to meet other researchers working in the same area. Even though not all of them were focused on sustainability, the overlapping themes led to meaningful and relevant discussion.”
Her peer during the visit was Tim Ellemann, a PhD researcher at the EUI Department of Law who embodies the spirit of peer-to-peer exchange the programme seeks to cultivate. For Tim, engaging with visiting scholars is more than an academic exercise—it's a chance to grow personally and intellectually.
“It’s a win-win for everyone involved,” he underlines. “One of the great strengths of the EUI is the culture of knowledge exchange. Over the last two years, I’ve spent time with many visiting scholars and learned so much from them—from their institutions, their research methods, and just from spending time together as peers. It helps build a network of early career scholars. That’s a huge asset: We can attract people here who enjoy their stay and form professional relationships that will last throughout our academic careers.”
Tim’s own research lies at the intersection of international economic law and EU external trade law, with a specific focus on how trade law operates as a form of border-making. He is currently investigating the European Economic Security Strategy, trying to answer a core question: What makes it truly ‘European’?
Visiting from Czech Republic, Nela Przetakova, a PhD researcher at Palacký University Olomouc exploring discrimination against skilled migrants in STEM sectors of the Czech labour market, also found her experience at the EUI deeply enriching.
“This is my first research visit, and it’s been amazing—both for my professional and personal development,” she said. “Being at the EUI gave me access to world-class seminars and allowed me to delve deeper into my academic interests and gain knowledge firsthand from leading academics from around the world. The EUI programme is also great for networking.”
She particularly valued a seminar on legal responses to executive orders during the Trump administration. “It connected strongly to my interest in how political discourse, especially in times of democratic backsliding, tends to label migrants—defining them as criminals or threats. It was eye-opening to see these parallels in different national contexts.”
Her peer, Alba Bosh, a PhD researcher at the Department of Political and Social Sciences, whose research deals with how time perception affects behaviour, sees the peer initiative as essential in supporting people connecting. “I think it makes deep sense to bring the EUI closer to visitors,” she said. “Making sure that this institution, which sometimes can be big, feels closer and easier to navigate for people who are here for a shorter time. I think is also a good way to build bridges between academia.”
More than just short-term research visits, these opportunities act as grounds for innovation and intellectual exchange. By bringing together emerging scholars across disciplines and national borders, the EUI Widening Europe Programme reaffirms its commitment to a more inclusive and collaborative European research landscape.
To enhance research opportunities, exchange knowledge, and access resources in social sciences and humanities, the EUI Widening Europe Programme offers opportunities of short-term mobility stay at the European University Institute in Florence for doctoral researchers in targeted Widening countries.