Academic event
ELS Academy Midseason Event 2026 – A recap
On 10 April, we organized a successful Midseason Event at Wageningen University & Research!
The programme, focused on Law & Interdisciplinarity, was centered around stimulating discussion on how law and other disciplines can meaningfully work together. The day started with a short opening by Edwin Alblas, Assistant Professor at WUR and ELS Academy Board member who was in charge of organizing this great event. We are happy and thankful that one of the universities newly joining our board and mission was able to organize this event. Much thanks therefore go out to the organising team in Wageningen.
Afterwards, a panel of scholars ranging from early-career to established academics reflected on the ‘art’ of collaboration, moderated by Vincent Latjes. These scholars consisted of:
- Lisette Velema: Assistant coordinator of ELS Academy, lecturer and student – Leiden University
- Louis Kotzé: Professor and Chair of the law group – Wageningen University
- Wendy Yan: Assistant Professor Law, Economics & Governance – Utrecht University
- Sonja Bekker: Professor European Social Policy – Utrecht University
After a delicious lunch, two further insightful sessions took place, consisting of presentations and discussions around law & disciplinarity in publishing:
- Law & Interdisciplinarity in research & publishing, chaired by Anja Eleveld, Professor Social-Legal Studies in Precarious Work and Poverty, Vrije Universiteit
- “Law & Interdisciplinarity: An Editor’s perspective” by Nadia Bernaz, Professor in Law & Corporate Justice, WUR; Editor in Chief Business & Human Rights Journal
- “Publishing interdisciplinary legal scholarship: challenges and opportunities” by Marin Coerts, Assistant Professor Constitutional & Administrative Law, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
- “Researching and publishing across borders” by Carolien Jacobs, Assistant Professor Law, Governance & International Development, Leiden University
- Law & Interdisciplinarity for impact, chaired by Hanna Schebesta, Associate Professor in Food law, WUR
- “Community-Engaged Research for Advancing Human Rights and Gender Justice” by Ashly Jossy, PhD Candidate, PERIODS Project & Erica Selznick, PhD Candidate, EUmetriosis project & Inga Winkler, Associate Professor in Human Rights
- “Navigating calls for practitioner recommendations” by Ben Grama, Postdoctoral Fellow Future Proofing Human Rights, Ghent University Teaching Law &
- “Ecology: From juridical fiction to ecological reality” by Simon Tans, Lecturer Environmental Law, Wageningen University
After this, we had some drinks and networked. A big thank you to everyone who contributed to making this Midseason event a resounding success: speakers, panelist, presenters and of course the organizing team at the WUR (Law Group of Wageningen University). Great work!
Academic event
VSR x ELS Academy PhD Days 2026: A recap
Over two days, 45 PhD candidates from 15 universities came together for the fifth edition of the VSR X ELS Academy PhD Days, themed Expanding Horizons. These days were all about learning from one another and connecting with fellow PhD researchers (interested in) empirical and socio-legal research.
We opened the PhD Days with welcoming words from Monika Glavina on behalf of the ELS Academy, followed by an open-hearted and inspiring keynote by Wibren van der Burg, who reflected on his own academic journey and shared valuable, honest advice for PhD candidates. The first day continued with two rounds of interactive workshops. These workshops consisted of:
- Workshop 1: Interviews on Sensitive Matters by Ruben Timmerman
- Workshop 2: Formulating Research Questions – Peter Mascini
- Workshop 3: Visualizing your Research – Merel Cornax
- Workshop 4: Designing Surveys – Aylin Aydin-Cakir
- Workshop 5: Making Sense of Interviews: Turning your Data into Research Findings – Anne Janssen
- Workshop 6: Presenting your Research – Ruben Timmerman
These workshops were followed by drinks and an informal dinner.
On day two, we started with a panel, moderated by Anne Janssen featuring Louis Visscher, Malouke Kuiper and Merel Driessen: three academics at different stages of their careers, each with distinct interdisciplinary backgrounds. Their reflections sparked an open, informal, and engaging dialogue with participants. We then wrapped up with two more rounds of workshops. These workshops consisted of:
- Workshop 1: Experimental Designs – Pieter Desmet
- Workshop 2: Presenting your Research – Robby Roks
- Workshop 3: Systematic Literature Review – Els Vyncke
- Workshop 4: Queer & Feminist Legal Methodology – Pieter Cannoot & Marie Spinoy
- Workshop 5: Employing Law and Political Economy and Critical Legal Studies in Legal Research – Federica Violi and Siobhan Airey
The PhD Days concluded with closing remarks by Paulien de Winter, together with Romy H. and Peter Mascini, on behalf of the VSR Recht en Samenleving and the organisation of the VSR main conference, which starts today.
All in all, we look back on two engaging and enriching days! A big thank you to all speakers (see below) for their inspiring and thought-provoking contributions, the participants for their enthusiasm and engagement, student assistants Lisette Velema and Inde Yuen for their help, the VSR & ELS Academy for their (financial) support and last but not least Erasmus School of Law and their team for welcoming us!
Are you a PhD candidate and interested in helping organise the next edition? Feel free to reach out to one the organisers of this edition: Raoul Rombouts, Kaat Overmeire, Romy H., Vladimir Belev, LLM, EMLE, Egemen Dogan or Sofia De Jong.
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Practical information
If you’re a PhD candidate interested in law in action—whether you already use empirical methods or want to add them to your toolkit—join the VSR × ELS Academy PhD Days. Over two concentrated days you’ll sharpen your research design, pressure-test your research questions, and learn to communicate findings with impact, guided by experienced scholars and a cohort of peers and senior researchers. We open with a keynote by Prof. Wibren van der Burg, reflecting on what interdisciplinary and empirical legal research demands in practice and how it can reshape your project’s trajectory.
Across the programme you’ll encounter interactive sessions that cover the full arc of the PhD: from framing problems and designing studies to collecting and analysing data (qualitative and quantitative), navigating ethics and reflexivity, and presenting your work inside and outside academia. The emphasis is practical, actionable, and immediately usable—so you leave with tools you can apply the next day, plus an expanded network for feedback and collaboration.
For more information about the programme, click here. To register, click here.
Academic event
Kick-Off Event 2025: A Recap
On 26 September 2025, we proudly kicked off the new academic year together with our community. The programme, focused on (early-stage) research, revolved around two central themes:
- The use of empirical methods in legal research
- The interplay between empirical and normative dimensions in research
We are pleased to share a brief recap of this inspiring day.
The day began with a warm welcome from Prof. Frank van Ommeren, Dean of the Faculty of Law at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. This was followed by a keynote lecture by Prof. Sanne Taekema (Erasmus University), who addressed the challenges of conducting empirical research in combination with a legal-normative perspective. She also highlighted her co-authored book with prof. dr. mr. Wibren van der Burg, Contextualising Legal Research: A Methodological Guide, which offers further insights into this subject.
Next, Prof. Marc Hertogh and Dr. Paulien de Winter presented their newly published book, Empirical Legal Studies in the Netherlands: Towards a Jurisprudence of Consequences? This volume, developed within the framework of the Law Sector Plan (2020–2025), features contributions from various Dutch universities and applies both qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the effects of court rulings and legislation across various areas of law. This book is already the third book in the ELS Academy series published by Boom Juridisch, after the Encyclopedia and Catrien Bijleveld’s research methods book.
After a coffee break, a panel of early-career VU ELS scholars shared their personal experiences—both challenges and successes—in pursuing empirical legal studies. The panelists, Tasniem Anwar, mr. Marin Coerts, mr. Loran Kostense, and mr. Rick Maas, engaged in discussion under the guidance of chair Prof. Jill Coster van Voorhout.
The programme then moved into the first round of parallel sessions, which ranged from qualitative research methods to the discussion of the empirical-normative divide. We then shared lunch together while reflecting on the insights gained from the panels before. After this delicious lunch, we moved onto the second round of panels, consisting of more panels on empirical methods and the empirical-normative divide.
To close off the day, Helen Pluut delivered closing remarks. As she will be stepping down as director of the ELS Academy at the end of the year, her fellow board members surprised her with a heartfelt thank-you gift and speech. The day ended on a festive note with well-deserved drinks.
A big thank you to everyone who contributed to making this kick-off a resounding success: speakers, panelist, presenters, and of course the organizing team at the VU. Great work!
Apply now!
Writing retreat organized by ELS Academy, VSR and SLSA
ELS Academy, VSR and SLSA would like to invite you to a writing retreat for PhD students who are in the process of writing substantial parts of their thesis. During this retreat, participants will have the opportunity to completely focus on writing their thesis, away from all distractions, in a picturesque monastery near Ghent. It is available to members of the SLSA or VSR, or attendees of ELS’ previous events (the ELS Academy community) This writing retreat will be from Tuesday 18/11, 12:00h until Thursday 21/11, 12:30h, at the monastery Oude Abdij in Drongen (Belgium). The venue is a 20-minute bus ride away from the centre of Ghent, which is well connected by train. Costs of accommodation and food will be covered; travel expenses have to be covered by participants themselves. The venue will be accessible to wheelchair users and dietary options are available.
- Who it’s for:
Late-stage PhD researchers (year 3+ FT / year 5+ PT) with limited access to external/institutional funding. Applicants must be current members of SLSA/VSR or regular ELS participants. - What’s included:
Accommodation & meals, £100 travel bursary (for 5 SLSA participants), guest speaker session (TBC), walking seminars, networking. - To apply:
Fill out the form by 12 Sep 2025: https://forms.gle/rt2s2B4RSq1UNUYu9. You’ll need:
A 300-word statement on how the retreat supports your research and a brief declaration of funding access. - If oversubscribed, selection will be by lottery (SLSA), with a waitlist in place.Refundable deposit (£35) due by 30 Sep if selected.
If you have any questions, please contact raoul.rombouts@ugent.be or diksha.sanyal.23@ucl.ac.uk.
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Registrations open
Registrations for the ELS Kick-off event on 26 September 2025 are now open and closes on 15 September. More information and the form can be found by clicking the button below.
We want to highlight you!
ELS Summer Readings on LinkedIn
Are you working on empirical-legal research or have a recent publication, blog post, or article you’d like to share? We’re spotlighting the work of ELS researchers this summer!
Submit your piece to be featured on the ELS LinkedIn — a great opportunity to boost your visibility, share your insights, and connect with a broader academic and professional audience. Publications will be grouped based on similar topics, offering an amazing opportunity to get in touch with scholars from other universities in your same niche.
Filling in the form only takes a few minutes. We take care of the rest!
PhD Event
ELS Midseason Event 2025: A Recap
On the 20th of March, ELS Academy organized a successful Midseason Event themed around funding grants at Leiden University.
The event began in a relaxed manner with an informal lunch, providing participants with an opportunity to mingle and get ready for the day. The event was named Funding Forward, and that is what the panel discussion was all about. Panelists Matthew Canfield, Jaroslaw Kantorowicz, Vanessa Mak and Jekaterina Savicka delved into the challenges of funding, gave tips and tricks, and shared their personal experiences, including rejections. The audience had plenty of time to question them about subjects such as the challenge of securing a position post PhD, selling the empirical component in your research, collaboration in grant writing, developments in the funding landscape, and the types of grants and funding bodies out there.
After some coffee and tea, presentations were given by grant receivers on their projects which received funding from the ELS Academy. These included Aylin Aydin Cakir (How does Court-Curbing affect Public Attitudes Towards the Judicial Institutions?); Loran Kostense and Sofia de Jong (Comparing Legal Research Methods); Marie-Therese Sekwenz (Empirical Systemic Risk Evaluation in Political Advertising under the Digital Services Act) and Sarah Vahed (The Neuroscience of Digital Justice).
Afterwards, we finished up with drinks and a borrel. We were happy to see so many scholars from Leiden University and other universities present and are thankful to our speakers!
Midseason Event 2025
Programme & Registration
On March 20, 2025, we’re bringing together researchers and experts for another engaging edition of the ELS Academy’s midseason event, this time on the topic of research funding. This is your opportunity to gain valuable insights into securing grants, navigating funding opportunities, and learning from other’s experiences, including rejections. Because let’s be real—funding success doesn’t come without setbacks. That’s why we’ll also discuss the challenges of rejections, what we can learn from them, and how to turn them into future opportunities.
This event is free of charge. More information and sign up here.
News
Small grants scheme closed, budget has been allocated fully
The entire budget allocated to the Small Grants Scheme has now been awarded, reflecting the high demand and strong interest in this initiative. We wish all grant recipients the best of success in the coming months as they carry out their empirical-legal studies!
For more updates and information, you can check out the small grants scheme page and keep up to date through our newsletter and LinkedIn.