5th Master Class on EU Cohesion Policy for PhD students and Early Career researchers

15th European Week of Regions and Cities 2017: Regions and cities working for a better future

5th Master Class on EU Cohesion Policy for PhD students and Early Career researchers

Background

As part of the 15th European Week of Regions and Cities (EWRC), the biggest event world-wide on regional and urban development, the Master Class on EU Cohesion Policy will be held for PhD students and early-career researchers for the fifth time between 8 and 12 October 2017. The Master Class is a unique format to connect young researchers and will include presentations of papers by the participants as well as lectures and panel debates with policy makers, EU officials and senior academics to improve understanding of and research on EU Cohesion Policy. In particular, it will serve to

• discuss recent research on European regional and urban development and EU Cohesion Policy;
• enable PhD students and early career researchers to exchange views and network with policy makers, EU officials and senior academics;
• raise awareness and understanding of the research potential in the field of EU Cohesion Policy.

This year, the Master Class will focus on EU Cohesion Policy’s implementation, the debate about its future post-2020 and EU and international research programmes and projects.

Organisers

The Master Class will be organised and led by the European Commission, DG for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), the EU Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the Regional Studies Association (RSA) in cooperation with the European Regional Science Association (ERSA) and the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP). A selection panel composed by these organisations will be responsible for reviewing the applications and selecting participants.

Participants

30 students from the EU Member States and non-EU countries will be invited to attend the Master Class based on

1. their academic background and achievements;
2. the quality of their application and the abstract they submit; and
3. the broadest possible geographical and gender balance.

Interested PhD students and early career researchers are requested to submit applications to daniela.carl@regionalstudies.org by the deadline of 9 May 2017, 3pm BST. Applicants must present the necessary documents, their research interests and the contribution that participation would make to their career. Applications must be accompanied by abstracts of papers to be developed on one of these themes:

1. Resilient regions and cities: What local and regional strategies have proved successful in addressing the economic crisis and providing resilience? What lessons have regional and local authorities learned from the crisis and how has EU Cohesion Policy contributed to these lessons?
2. Governance of regional local development: How does EU Cohesion Policy influence “good governance” and innovation in the public sector?
3. Sharing knowledge across borders: How does EU Cohesion Policy facilitate learning between regions and cities and what are future directions in this respect?

Additionally to the application form, the following elements are needed: a CV; a certificate proving the PhD student status or a copy of the PhD certificate; a portrait photo (separate file); and a passport or ID card number.

Please note that candidates who have participated in a previous edition of the Master Class are not eligible to apply.

The successful applicants will be notified by 30 May 2017 and invited to submit their full paper with a maximum of 3,000 words to the RSA by 11 September 2017.

The organisers will cover travel and accommodation expenses of all participants. Participants are expected to attend the full programme and to engage actively in all aspects of the Master Class.