Are you…

• a university student who has almost graduated and is thinking about pursuing an academic career in the humanities or social sciences?
• fascinated by a research topic and want to dig deeper into it?
• certain that you want to pursue a PhD but do not know what the next steps are?
• wondering what a PhD thesis requires beyond formulating a research question, finding a supervisor, and ensuring funding?

If so, we would like to cordially invite you to our event

Getting started with your PhD-project in the Humanities or Social Sciences

This in-person meeting will bring together undergraduate and graduate students, as well as prospective PhD candidates, with PhD students who are nearing the completion of their dissertations. The latter will share their experiences, offer advice, and answer your questions. Our goal is to illustrate possible paths toward a dissertation by addressing topics such as:

• finding a research topic
• reaching out to a potential supervisor
• identifying formats and institutions where a PhD can be pursued (e.g., at a university, a research institute, or through third-party funding)
• common challenges and pitfalls (and how to avoid them)
• maintaining your overall wellbeing while working on a PhD

The exchange will be informal, peer-to-peer, and based on first-hand experiences. It will also provide space for the kinds of questions we are sometimes too shy to ask.

Since the meeting is organized within the framework of the research network Conflict and Cooperation in Eastern Europe (KonKoop – www.konkoop.de) and takes place at the Centre for Eastern and International Studies (ZOiS), all participants share an academic focus on Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, we believe that their experiences, stories, and advice will also be valuable for prospective PhD students with other research interests. The event is part of KonKoop’s closing conference, but can be attended separately.

• Nafisa Mirzojamshedzoda is a PhD-student at Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE), Faculty of Forest and Environment, and the University of Fribourg. She received a BA in Political Science and Anthropology from the University of Heidelberg and her MA in International Development Studies from the University of Marburg and Sogang University in Seoul.Nikola Gajić is a PhD-student at the Leibniz Institute for East and South East European Studies (IOS) in Regensburg. He did his BA in International Relations at the University of Belgrade and holds a MA in Southeast European Studies from the University of Graz and an MA in Nationalism Studies from the Central European University.
• Sebastian Hoppe completed a PhD on the political economy of state strategies and regional development projects in the Russian Far East at Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU) and is now a researcher at ZOiS. He studied Political Science, International Relations and History in Leipzig and Moscow.
• Sophia Winkler (tbc) is a PhD-student at ZOiS within the ERC-funded project MoveMeRu. She received her BA in Transcultural Communication from the University of Vienna and her MA from the Institute for European Global Studies in Basel.
• Valtentin Krüsmann (tbc) completed his PhD on Chinese economic and political engagement with Eastern Europe and Eurasia at Freie Universität Berlin and ZOiS He studied Economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and Yonsei University in Seoul, and earned an MSc in Development Studies from SOAS University of London.
• Veronika Pfeilschifter is about to complete her PhD at Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU), Institute for Caucasus Studies. She holds a MA from the University of Glasgow, University of Tartu & Ilia State University, Tbilisi, and a BA in Political Science and European Ethnology from the University of Regensburg and Jagiellonian University Kraków.

Registration till 18.01.2026
For more information or questions please contact: Kerstin.Bischl@zois-berlin.de

Registration