St Andrews students awarded prestigious Europaeum scholarship
The Global Office is pleased to announce that 3 St Andrews students have won places on the Europaeum Scholars programme, a two-year policy and leadership course taken alongside a PhD. Over two years and short courses in 7 or 8 countries, students work on a policy project which will improve the lives of people in Europe. Only 36 places are available to students from the 19 elite universities who make up the Europaeum network. Samantha Lister, Director of the Global Office, said,
“We were delighted to hear that three St Andrews students were successful in their applications to join the prestigious Europaeum programme in 2024. The programme offers students an excellent opportunity to work on a policy project alongside their PhD, enhancing their knowledge of the policy landscape, and developing their leadership skills and their European network. Many congratulations to Filip, Klaudia and Saoirse, and we look forward to hearing about their experiences on the programme.”
After this remarkable success, we caught up with the 3 scholars from St Andrews, Klaudia, Filip and Saoirse, who told us more about their fascinating research and their hopes for the future.
Klaudia is studying for a PhD in Social Anthropology, investigating Ukrainian migrant place-making practices in Warsaw, Poland. She has been involved in researching this community since 2017-2018, and supporting cultural and artistic projects. In addition to her research, Klaudia is involved in supporting the student community of St Andrews, as an Assistant Warden, Students’ Association officer, teacher and student ambassador. Klaudia said:
“As a doctoral researcher who comes from an activist background, I was looking into transferability of my Europe-focused PhD project for the world of policymaking. That is how I stumbled upon the Europaeum Scholars Programme. This multi-disciplinary programme focusing on contemporary European policy is a great opportunity for me to voice my concerns about current European migration policy, and to further enrich my knowledge about the European affairs.”
Filip investigates ethics in international relations, focussing on Russia and European security. Supported by the AD Links Foundation Scholarship and University funding, Filip’s interdisciplinary PhD topic is supervised by the School of Divinity and the School of International Relations. Filip is also an Associate Lecturer in Political Risk at Charles University, a fellow Europaeum member. Filip said:
“I am very happy to join the Europaeum Scholars programme. It is an opportunity to have an impact on European policy with my interdisciplinary research, and to engage with the current and the upcoming generations of Europe’s leading scholars and policymakers.
Saoirse’s PhD project explores identity formation and examines the relationship between identity tensions and their governances in Northern Ireland and Catalonia. Adopting a socio-legal analysis, it examines the politics of the everyday. During her time studying for an MLitt at St Andrews, Saoirse participated and gave papers at several Europaeum events, which are open to all postgraduate students at Europaeum member universities.
“I’m delighted to have been selected. My participation in previous Europaeum events, including the Spring School, helped me understand the necessity for collaborative research and opportunities to bring this into my own work. In particular, I’m really excited by the Programme’s emphasis on the interaction between academia and policymaking. This interdisciplinary focus will be invaluable to my doctoral project.”