VSR x ELS Academy PhD Days 2026 – A recap

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.