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Call for Applications

Research stay at the ENGAGE.EU Think Tank in Spring 2023

Topic: Tackling gender inequalities to build a more sustainable “new normal” in Europe

Date: 30 May-2 June 2023

Location: University of Toulouse 1 Capitole

Application deadline: 9 January 2023

About the ENGAGE.EU Think Tank

ENGAGE.EU is an alliance of leading European universities in business, economics, and social sciences, which aims to provide European citizens with the set of skills and competencies they need to face the challenges of the future. The ENGAGE.EU Think Tank is the Advanced Study Centre of our European University.

The ENGAGE.EU Think Tank provides a platform where you can focus on research and push your expertise forward together with fellow researchers and leading experts from industry and politics. This forum allows you to build new research collaborations, potentially launching new projects, papers or funding applications – away from everyday business.

The Think Tank brings together a small group of researchers from the 7+2 ENGAGE.EU universities* and aims to facilitate the interdisciplinary dialogue of ideas on subjects of societal relevance. It is a forum for intensive academic exchange where researchers address the critical societal challenges of our time, where boundaries of research and innovation are challenged, outstanding collaborations become possible, and space is given to original thinking.

The research theme in spring 2023 is:

Tackling gender inequalities to build a more sustainable “new normal” in Europe

In particular, we want to encourage research related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For example, a research project could explore how to reduce gender inequalities to promote access to education, equal career opportunities, and fair wages (SDGs 1, 4, 5, 8, 10). Similarly, projects may address psychological security and gender inequality, violence towards women, victimology, and trafficking of women (SDGs 3, 5, 10, 16), or justice and institutional gaps related to gender inequality (SDGs 5, 10, 16, 17).

* Since May 2022, the Hanken School of Economics and Ramon Llull University have been cooperation partners of ENGAGE.EU and are expected to become full partners in 2023.

Opportunities for participating researchers

At the ENGAGE.EU Think Tank, we seek to attract researchers from various levels of experience and disciplines specializing in the proposed research theme. We invite both junior (after PhD) and senior researchers to join the research group.

The heart of the Think Tank is a research stay in Toulouse, which will allow you to explore shared interests and build a research project with an international and interdisciplinary team of researchers specialised in similar research topics. You will also have the opportunity to gain new insights into current developments regarding gender inequalities in politics, academia, industry and society through exclusive lightning talks, round tables, and workshops.

The participants of the Think Tank will define their own collaboration goals. Typically, the Think Tank may not only be helpful in developing your professional network but should also lead to concrete outputs, such as joint publications or  joint funding proposals. 

Details of the program will be defined depending on the final group composition and precise research interests to ensure the program corresponds to your needs and expectations.

Your research stay includes access to the university facilities in Toulouse, travel to and from Toulouse, as well as an extensive academic and cultural program during the core Think Tank stay.

If you are interested in joining this research adventure, we invite you to come to Toulouse from 30 May to 2 June 2023. In addition to this core week, you will be expected to participate in online meetings with the research group prior to your stay to get to know each other, explore common interests, and jointly set project goals for your time in Toulouse and beyond. 


Application requirements

Your Profile

The ENGAGE.EU research stays are primarily tailored to excellent researchers from universities of the ENGAGE.EU alliance from all disciplines who:

  • explore topics related to gender inequality in or affecting Europe,
  • aim to foster their expertise in their field of research,
  • are interested in a collaborative interdisciplinary dialogue,
  • want to engage in a pioneer project of a European network.

Our Expectations

As part of the ENGAGE.EU research stay, researchers are invited to:

  • participate in preparation meetings with fellow participants in winter and spring 2023,
  • actively participate in ENGAGE.EU Think Tank activities, such as research
    colloquia, lunch meetings and other group events, 
  • present their research to the ENGAGE.EU audience,
  • be willing to exchange ideas and interact with relevant stakeholders about the project, 
  • be open to collaboration on research publications,
  • stay in Toulouse for the duration of the core week,
  • participate and present their work in two virtual group meetings after the research visit.

Application

Applications for a stay at the ENGAGE.EU Think Tank are open for individual researchers as well as research groups (max. 2-3 people), and should include:

  • the completed application questionnaire to express your interest, via this link (also see the link below),
  • a CV, including a list of publications (of each group member for group applications).

ENGAGE.EU strongly encourages scholars of all genders and scholars belonging to underrepresented groups to apply.

Please fill in the questionnaire and submit your CV electronically (in a PDF file) by 9 January 2023 to the point of contact at your university (see contact details below). Applications received after this date may not be considered.

Invitations to participate will be communicated no later than 31 January 2023.

Selection

Submitted applications are evaluated by each ENGAGE.EU partner according to the application requirements. The Think Tank’s selection committee, composed of academics specializing in multiple disciplines, will consider the best-rated applications for research stays following the preselection from ENGAGE.EU partners. 

Applications are evaluated on various dimensions:

  • established interest and research in the Think Tank topic,
  • potential contribution to the ENGAGE.EU’s mission.

Final decisions also consider a range of criteria for cohort composition, including but not limited to coherence and complementarity of research interests and experiences amongst group members, disciplinary balance, institutional diversity, and demographic diversity.

Please note that invitations for a research stay are not transferable to later years.

Application questionnaire

If you would like to apply, please fill out this questionnaire

Contacts

Pre-application information meeting

We would like to invite you to download the presentation from the online information session on 17 November 2022.

Two additional online sessions will be held on 15 December 2022 at 12:00 CET/13:00 EET and on 5 January 2023 at 13:00 CET/14:00 EET.

Link to join the information meeting

These events also offer the opportunity to meet interested researchers from other ENGAGE.EU universities.