Past Summer/Winter schools

Third PROMEBI Summer School September 3-7 2018

SOCIAL RESEARCH ON EMPLOYMENT AND WELFARE INTERACTIONS

 Department of Sociology, University of Oviedo

Open for applications April 1 – May 15 2018

In recent years there has been a substantial increase in both quantity and quality of research analyzing tensions between work and welfare, with the aim of identifying trends, institutional arrangements and policies of both spheres that best interact among each other. At a European scale, the objective of improving theoretical, empirical and applied knowledge constitutes a substantial piece of the necessary renovation of the European integration project itself.

The main goal of this Summer School is to make participants familiar with recent and high quality research developments in the field of employment and welfare interactions. The School will allow a maximum of 15 M.A. students, Pre-Docs and early career researchers to present their work and receive constructive comments from experienced researchers in the field. The School offers an enjoyable program of interactive guest lectures by renowned international scholars, with prior reading assignments. The participants will be also required to present and discuss their research project (e.g. postgraduate research proposal, in-progress or finished paper). Papers should address relationships between employment and welfare. There is no prior specification for the type of outcome studied. There is also no restriction on the methodologies used to address the empirical questions.

The School is organised by the research team PROMEBI (Promoviendo el Empleo y el Bienestar en Europa/Promoting Employment and Welfare in Europe) at the University of Oviedo, in coordination with the Spanish Network of Social Policy (REPS, which is the Spanish ESPAnet).

Profs. Ana M. Guillen and Rodolfo Gutiérrez Palacios are the academic directors. Sergio González Begega is the academic secretary.

International guest lecturers include (pending confirmation): Lucio Baccaro (MPIfG), Fabrizio Bernardi (UNED/EUI), Matteo Jessoula (Università di Milano) and Eloisa del Pino (IPP-CSIC).

The working language of the School will be English.

The program of the School will be available by April 30 here: http://www.unioviedo.es/promebi/category/eventos/promebi-summer-school/

Who can apply?

The PROMEBI Summer School is mainly targeted at M.A., PhD students and early career researchers with a social science background and specific research interest in the field.

Participants will be granted a diploma after completing the School. ECTS recognition (3 credits) by the University of Oviedo is also expected.

How to apply?

Applicants must send a CV to promebi@uniovi.es, together with a short outline of the project/paper they would like to present in the School (up to 500 words on rationale for the topic, analytical framework, and research strategy/methods used).They will be selected on the basis of their general fit to the School topic and the quality of their project/paper.

Application period is between April 1 and May 15, 2018. Successful applicants will be notified by May 31.

Final papers will have to be submitted by July 30 as word or PDF-file. All papers will be electronically available to participants, at least two weeks in advance of the Summer School.

Funding and costs

The School is funded by a research grant from the University of Oviedo. Tuition fees, board and lodging costs (in university halls of residence) for participants will be covered by the School. Travel arrangements will have to be organized and paid individually.

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International Summer School July 4-8, 2016 Oviedo, Spain

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EDAC-ESPAnet Summer school on Social Policies and Social Outcomes

The Role of Social Policies in Cross-national and Longitudinal Differences in Levels and Distributions of Social Outcomes

14-18 September 2015, Centre for Sociological Research, University of Leuven, Belgium

Through their welfare arrangements societies aspire to improve the living standards of broad categories of their citizens, either directly by e.g. the provision of health care, education and income benefits, or indirectly by e.g. decreasing inequalities of various kinds, extending employment opportunities and stimulating general prosperity. Notwithstanding the good intentions that underlie the design and implementation of social policies, their intended social outcomes are rarely achieved to full effect. They may also result in unintended outcomes that might be unwanted. Therefore, one of the leading questions in comparative social policy analysis, with strong relevance for policy making, regards the issue whether the welfare efforts invested in society achieve their intended objectives, and if not, whether alternative designs would work out better or minimise unintended effects. Moreover, policy outcomes may be different for different groups in society. Quite often this is intended, where policies are expressly targeted at specific categories of citizens only. However, there may be unintended differences in the degree to which social categories are benefiting from social arrangements.  Thus, the question arises what effect do social policies have on levels of outcomes, and what is their effect on distributions of (inequalities in) outcomes?

Target Group

This summer school will allow a maximum of 25 PhD, Post-Docs and early career researcher to present their work and to discuss it with colleagues, international scholars and experienced researchers in the field. It will provide them with a high quality platform for receiving constructive comments from peers and seniors. Papers should address relationships between social policy design and social outcomes from a theoretical and/or empirical, comparative perspective. There is no prior specification for the type of outcome studied. They can be objective (e.g. income inequality, educational achievements), subjective (e.g. job insecurity, welfare attitudes), intended (e.g. labour participation, decrease in poverty), or unintended (e.g. erosion of family values, loss of work ethic). There is also no restriction on the methodologies (quantitative or qualitative) used to study these empirical questions.

Format

As a part of the summer school, there will be an introduction and plenary lectures on selected issues of social policies and social outcomes delivered by senior researchers. Some of the lectures will deal with substantive issues, while others will focus on methodological and analytical aspects of cross-national and longitudinal analysis of social policy outcomes.
Additionally, there will be paper sessions of 2 groups, working in parallel and each group will meet 3 times for two hours. For each PhD or post-doc paper 60 minutes will be available. A paper is not presented by the author(s), but by one of their peers. (S)he will start the discussion of the paper with a brief summary and comments. This is followed by a first reaction from the author(s) and then by group discussion where senior researchers act as co-commentator and moderator.

Finance

PhD and post-doc students are charged a fee of 300.00 EUR. This pays for organisational costs and facilities, a welcome reception, and a farewell diner. Hotel (a list of hotels to choose from will be made available in due course) and travel arrangements will have to be organised and paid individually.

Application procedure

Participants will be selected on the basis of the quality of the plans for their papers and their general fit to the theme. Paper plans should include: the title of the paper and a short outline (up to 600 words on rationale for the topic, analytical framework, and research strategy/methods used).

Please send your application to summerschool.edac@gmail.com until 1 March 2015.

Successful applicants will be notified by 1 April 2015.

Final paper will have to be submitted by 30 August 2015 as word or PDF-file.

All papers will be electronically pre-circulated to participants, at least three weeks in advance of the summer school.

For more information, please write an email to summerschool.edac@gmail.com or have a look at the Call for Participation and www.edac.eu

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Summer school: “Flexicurity in Today’s Labour Market: A Transition From Securing Jobs to Ensuring Employment”, Tilburg University, The Netherlands, 6-10 July 2015

 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS – ReflecT Summer School

It is a major challenge for European labour markets to overcome the inherent tension between the increasing flexibility, dynamism, and efficiency requirements on the one hand, and the pressing need for social protection and social order on the other.

This course deals with recent labour market developments regarding flexibility and security: we will present and discuss the effects of structural changes (such as flexibilization and rising inequality) and relevant interventions by drawing on empirical research and policy analysis.

Within the debate on flexicurity, special attention will be paid to the precarious position of youth and disadvantaged groups which, in the face of the economic crisis, are experiencing increased difficulties in obtaining and maintaining (secure) employment. During this course, we would like to engage in discussions on the concept of employment security and place it alongside this traditional view of job security. Several topics will be covered, including the interplay between flexibility and security, European best-practices and policy lessons related to various labour market transitions (unemployment-work; work-work; education-work), and the response of such practices and policies to market dynamism. The course leaders use examples from theory and everyday practice to lead the discussion on those questions.

The participants are required to prepare a presentation of their PhD research (e.g. research proposal, finished paper or paper proposal).

Structured (peer-)review sessions will be incorporated in the program and participants will provide other PhD students with feedback on their research.

The Summer School offers lectures with discussions, assignments and workshops, all presented and supervised by renowned scholars from various disciplines including sociology, social policy, economics, organisation studies, HRM and labour law.

 The deadline for applications is the 24th of May.

More information on the course and the application procedure can be found here:

https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/students/show/item-flexicurity-1/

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EDAC-ESPAnet Winter SCHOOL (for pre- AND post-docs) Centre for Sociological Research CESO

The Social Legitimacy of the Welfare State: Welfare, work and care attitudes in cross-national and longitudinal perspective

3-7 February 2014, University of Leuven, Belgium

Extended dealdine for application: 1 October 2013

The social legitimacy of many welfare states is challenged by economic and social processes that imply pressures to retrench, re-design, and in some areas, to newly develop welfare provisions. In all cases, redistributive questions will be central as to who should be entitled to what kind of provisions and under what conditions. Policy-makers of the new welfare setups will have to reckon with the social legitimacy of their proposals and decisions, since work, care and welfare related attitudes form a socio-political context with a conditioning effect on social policy making, either by ex-ante agenda-setting or by ex-post legitimation. How the public feels about redistributive questions may thus importantly affect the future of welfare.

While traditionally the social legitimacy of welfare tends to be studied with opinions on social rights provision for ‘old social risk’ categories by the state, the emergence of ‘new social risks’, the overall shift from ‘welfare to work’, and the increasing importance of activation and work-care reconciliation policies asks for studies that also analyse opinions in these fields. In addition, with the (neo-liberal) shift from collective to individual/familial responsibility, social policies nowadays increasingly emphasize people’s social obligations, instead of their social rights, which means that welfare legitimacy progressively depends on the public’s acceptance of the new approach to citizen’s accountability.

This winter school seeks to address theoretical, empirical and methodological ideas, insights and challenges relating to research on work, care and welfare attitudes. It invites Ph.D. students and Post-docs to submit and present papers in the field.

Organizers

Prof. Wim van Oorschot, Centre for Sociological Research CESO, Leuven University, BE

Prof. Bart Meuleman, Centre for Sociological Research CESO, Leuven University, BE

Speakers and commentators

Prof. Stefan Svallfors, University of Stockholm SE

Prof. Olli Kangas, KELA Helsinki, FI

Prof. Helena Blomberg, University of Helsinki, FI

Prof. Christian Staerklé, University of Lausanne

Prof. Christian Albrekt Larsen, Aalborg University, DK

Dr. Staffan Kumlin, Goteborg University, SW

Dr. Tim Reeskens, University of Amsterdam / Leuven University

Dr. Ferry Koster, Erasmus University Rotterdam, NL

Dr. Koen Abts, Leuven University, BE

Prof. Bart Meuleman, Leuven University, BE

Prof. Wim van Oorschot, Leuven University, BE

Organizational coordination and contact person

Marie-Sophie Callens, CEPS, Luxembourg

Please send your application to Marie-Sophie Callens (PhD-researcher) at the Winterschool’s e-mail address: edacwinterschool2014@gmail.com

Format of the winter school

Aim

This winter school will allow a maximum of 25 PhD and post-doctoral researchers to present their work to colleagues and experienced researchers. It will provide them with a high quality platform for receiving constructive comments from peers and seniors. In addition, there will be presentations by experienced researchers on their latest work in the field.

Lectures

As a part of the winter school, there will be an introduction and plenary lectures on selected issues of welfare and work related attitudes delivered by the senior researchers. Some of the lectures will deal with substantive issues, while others will focus on methodological and analytical aspects of cross-national and longitudinal analysis of work, care and welfare opinions.

Paper sessions

There will be 4/5 groups, working in parallel and each group will meet 3 times for two hours. For each PhD or post-doc paper 60 minutes will be available. A paper is not presented by the author(s), but by one of their peers. (S)he will start the discussion of the paper with a brief summary and comments. This is followed by a first reaction from the author(s) and than by group discussion where senior researchers act as co-commentator and moderator.

Distribution of papers

All papers will be electronically pre-circulated to all participants, at least 3 weeks in advance of the winter school.

Finance

Ph.D. and post-doc students are charged a fee of 300,- euro. This pays for organizational costs and facilities, a welcome reception, and a farewell diner.

They will have to arrange their own hotel (a list of hotels to choose from will be made available in due course), and pay their travel and additional meals.

Location

Leuven is well connected to Brussels Airport Zaventem and Charleroi Airport. Direct connections with Brussels train stations are manifold.

Application

Participants will be selected on the basis of the quality of their plans for their papers and the fit to the winter school theme. Please send the plan, including: title of paper and outline (up to 600 words on rationale for the topic, analytical framework, and research strategy/methods used), and if PhD student also: the name of supervisor(s) and brief description of current state of thesis project (e.g. when did you start and when do you aim to finish).

Send your application to: edacwinterschool2014@gmail.com

Deadline for application:  1 October 2013

Successful applicants will be notified by 1 October 2013 (second round by 8 October).

Final papers

The final paper will have to be submitted by 10 January 2014 as word or PDF-file.

ESPAnet-ReFlect-EDAC

Summer School 2012

Flexibility and Security: Challenges to Modern Labour Markets and Social Protection in Europe

Tilburg University, The Netherlands, 1-6 July

Theme of the Summer School

The future of European societies will strongly depend on the realisation of dynamic and inclusive labour markets, with access of all to decent and productive jobs, avoiding segmentation and dualisation. At the same time, collective arrangements for social security, pensions, and welfare are necessary vehicles for social participation and cohesion.

At societal level, the challenge is to overcome the inherent tension and possible zero sum game between on the one hand the increasing flexibility, dynamism and efficiency orientation of present day labour markets, and on the other hand the pressing need for social protection and social order. At the level of the labour market the challenge is to deal with possible tensions between various groups: insiders versus outsiders, old versus new generations, higher and lower educated, and domestic workers versus migrant workers. Moreover, current labour markets still display a gender bias with respect to terms of employment and employment opportunities. At the  level of  work organisations, with the employment contract at its core, a tension exists between the need for added value, performance and productivity,  and the need for legitimate and fair arrangements for income and employment security. At the level of individual workers and their families, tensions regard the reconciliation of work and care as a basic requierement for citizens’ well-being.

At all levels, the balance between flexibility and security, between modern labour markets and welfare arrangements, is among the most pressing challenges for the EU and its member states.

Participants

We invite PhD students with projects that deal with issues on or related to the Summer School theme to apply for participation. We value a multi-disciplinary setting and welcome students from a range of academic disciplines, like sociology, economy, law, political science and (European) social policy. National, as well as cross-national projects are welcomed, theoretical as well as empirical projects, and projects may be based on quantitative or qualitative methodologies.

What’s on offer

The Summer School offers lectures with discussions, assignments and workshops, all presented and supervised by renowned scholars from various disciplines such as sociology, social policy, economics, organisation studies, HRM and labour law. In addition, participating students will have the opportunity to present their PhD-projects and to discuss them in small groups with other participants and scholars. PhD students thus get individual feedback to their projects. The maximum number of participants is 25.

Lecturers

Ton Wilthagen, Ruud Muffels, Jan van Ours, Wim van Oorschot, René Schalk, Heejung Chung, Janine Leschke, Charissa Freese, Sonja Bekker and others.

All lectures will be held in English.

Venue Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands
Date 1-6 July 2012 (1 July arrival day)
Credits Certificate of participation
Fee The course Fee is 250 Euro. This includes: welcome drink, social  program, goodbye dinner and excursion. Travelling expenses and accommodation is not included, but at one’s own expense.

Applications for admission must include

§  A current resume/curriculum vitae;

§  A statement of academic interests and professional goals;

§  An abstract of your research (before 1 April 2012) and, once accepted to the Summer School, a research paper (before 1 June 2012).

Contact person: Ms. Chantal Dohmen at ReFlecT (c.c.dohmen@uvt.nl)

Website: www.tilburguniversity.edu/reflect

Send your application to c.c.dohmen@uvt.nl (before 1 April 2012)

Supporting organisations

ReflecT, EDAC and ESPAnet

Summer School ESPAnet Italia 2011

Family and Care Policies in Changing Societies

Politecnico di Milano, 23-28 September 2011

The Summer School is dedicated to the analysis and close examination of Family and Care Policies in contemporary Europe in a comparative perspective. Specific attention will be devoted  to the relationship between social and demographic shifts,  families structures and labour market transformations and public policies adjustment processes.
The Summer School is organized and supervised by Prof. Costanzo Ranci (Politecnico di Milano) and Prof. Manuela Naldini (University of Turin) and will take place in Milan, Politecnico di Milano, Campus Leonardo, from 23-28 Sepember 2011.
The Politecnico di Milano will host the Italian Espanet Conference 2011 that will take place at the same venue from 29 September to 1 October 2011.

The working language is English.

For more information, please visit http://www.espanet-italia.net/summerschool2011/

7th ESPAnet Summer School (Organised jointly with RECWOWE – Reconciling Work and Welfare in Europe)

Welfare states of Eastern and Western Europe

Central European University, Budapest, 27 June – 8 July 2011

CALL OPEN — DEADLINE 20 March — A pdf version of the call can be downloaded here.

The school targets PhD-students who have started or are about to start a project related to welfare and social policy in Eastern and Western Europe. Topics that will be addressed are the comparative analysis of welfare state and social policy reform, role of social actors, policies for work and welfare reconciliation, social protection, immigrant integration, welfare regimes and labor markets. The course also aims to address methodological issues of comparative research in East and West European welfare and social policy.

The Summer School offers lectures with discussion, assignments and workshops given by European scholars from various disciplines such as sociology, social policy, political science and economics. In addition, students will have the opportunity to present their PhD-projects and to discuss them in small groups with other participants and scholars. Participants obtain 3 ECTS for the Summer School.

This summer school encourages applications from graduate students and researchers at departments of political science, sociology, social policy, economics, and any related disciplines. Undergraduates without a university degree will not be considered. Some familiarity with the topic is required, such as the completion of an undergraduate degree in the relevant fields. The course will be most suitable for participants who have pursued or intend to pursue independent research on some aspect of the subject.

There is no fee for the participation in the summer school and the organizers will cover the accommodation and lunches.  The participants need to fund their travel costs and secure own health insurance for the duration of the stay.
Application deadline: 20 March 2011
For further academic information on the course and on eligibility criteria and funding options please visit the web site http://www.summer.ceu.hu/

Course Director:

Anil Duman, Department of Political Science, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

Additional Faculty:

• Jochen Clasen, Department of Social Policy, University of Edinburgh, UK;
• Caroline de La Porte, Department of Political Science and Public Management, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark;
• Paolo Graziano, Department of Institutional Analysis and Public Management, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy;
• Evelyne Hübscher, Department of Public Policy, Central European University, Hungary;
• Martin Kahanec, Department of Public Policy, Central European University, Hungary;
• Achim Kemmerling, Department of Public Policy, Central European University, Hungary;
• Wim van Oorschot, Department of Sociology, Tilburg University, the Netherlands;
• Michal Polakowski, International Centre for Research and Analysis, Warsaw, Poland;
• Dorota Szelewa, Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences, Germany;
• Pieter Vanhuysse, European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, Austria

Contact:
CEU Summer University
P.O. Box: Budapest 5, P.f.: 1082, H-1245,
(36 1) 327 3811, Fax: (36-1) 327-3124
E-mail: summeru@ceu.hu
Skype: ceu-sun
Apply online at http://apply.embark.com/nondegree/ceu

6th ESPAnet Summer School (Organised jointly with RECWOWE – Reconciling Work and Welfare in Europe)

Tensions between work and welfare: Balance and future prospects at the dusk of the Lisbon Strategy

University of Oviedo, 20-28 July 2010

The school targets PhD-students who have started or are about to start a project related to welfare and labour policies in Europe and/or the renewal of the Lisbon Strategy. Topics that will be addressed are the comparative analysis of welfare state and labour market reform/adjustment, EU activities in the social policy field, tensions between work and family life, quality vs. quantity of jobs issues, current challenges for pensions and health care systems, social and labour integration of migrants, income mobility and economic inequality, the role of collective bargaining in reconciling work and welfare, and the impact of the financial crisis.

The Summer School offers lectures with discussion, assignments and workshops given by European scholars from various disciplines such as sociology, social policy, political science and economics. In addition, students will have the opportunity to present their PhD-projects and to discuss them in small groups with other participants and scholars. In sum, students take part in lectures, excursions and discussions.

Further details can be found here

Organizers: Ana M. GuillÉn, Rodolfo GutiÉrrez, MarÍa GonzÁlez
Secretary: Sergio GonzÁlez Begega and RocÍo MillÁn

5th ESPAnet Summer School (Organised jointly with RECWOWE – Reconciling Work and Welfare in Europe)

Social Inclusion and Exclusion in a Changing Europe

University of Bremen, 2-11 July 2009

Centre for Social Policy Research (CeS) in cooperation with Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS)
The Summer School is targeted at PhD-students who have started, or are about to start, a project which is related to social inclusion and exclusion in Europe. Topics addressed are: contested paradigms of justice, (social) citizenship and migration, income distribution and poverty, shifting borders of financial and social policy, activation policies and risks of exclusion across different fields (i.e. employment, family, health and pensions). Students will learn and discuss causes of social exclusion, the production of exclusion/inclusion through institutional settings and the effects of social exclusion on individuals, groups and society, as well as policies of inclusion in comparative perspective.
The Summer School offers lectures with discussion, assignments and workshops given by European scholars from various disciplines such as sociology, social policy, political science, and economics. The programme will include a methods workshop on measuring social  Inclusion/exclusion. In addition, students will have the opportunity to present their personal PhD-project and to discuss it in smaller groups with other participants and scholars. Participants obtain 3 ECTS for the Summer School.

Organizers: Karin Gottschall and Karl Hinrichs
Contact and application: Jan-Ocko Heuer and Philine Weyrauch

ESPAnet ITALY Summer School 2009 (in cooperation with Political Science and Sociology Dept. DISPO at University of Florence)

Comparative Research on Social Policies in Europe. Concepts and Methods

University of Florence,  13-21 July 2009

Local organizer: Valeria Fargion

The Summer School is targeted at  post-doc researchers and PhD students who are involved in a research project on European Social Policies. In addition, the Summer School is open to students (second level degree) in their last year that feel a need to broaden and deepen their understanding of comparative socials policy research.

Topics addressed are:

   1. methodological problems of comparative research in European social policies with particular reference to the following areas: pensions, healthcare, work-family conciliation policies, new social risks and poverty;

   2. how social policy developments are affected by the interplay between sub-national, national and supra-national levels of government;

   3. overall reconfiguration of European Welfare States: extent and limits of Europeanization processes.

These issues will be addressed from both theoretically and empirically diversified approaches which aim at providing  the participants with an overview of methods, designs and pitfalls of comparative European social policy research.

The Summer School offers lectures with discussion, assignments and workshops given by European Scholars from various disciplines such as political science, sociology and  social policy. Teaching staff includes: Jens Alber, Jean-Claude Barbier, Valeria Fargion, Ellen Immergut, Manuela Naldini, David Natali, Costanzo Ranci, Rossana Trifiletti.

In addition, students will have the opportunity to present their personal PhD-project to students and staff, and discuss it in smaller groups with other participants and scholars.

All courses are held in English.

The deadline for applying is 30 April 2009.

For further information, including the provisional program and the application form, please refer to the summer school website.

4th ESPAnet Summer School (Jointly organised with RECWOWE – Reconciling Work and Welfare in Europe)

New Risks and New Governance in Europe

University of Utrecht, 8-18 July 2008

The Summer School was targeted at PhD-students who have started, or were about to start, a project on a topic which is related to new social risks resulting from the demographic turn, fluid family relations and flexible labour markets on the one hand and the way these risks are governed on the other hand. Students who felt a need to learn more broadly about: Welfare regimes and social and family policies; Social protection and activation policies in Europe; privatisation of risks and privatised interventions; New governance and decentralisation policies; The role of the EU activities in these fields.

The Summer School offers lectures with discussion, assignments and workshops. In addition, students will have the opportunity to present their personal PhD-project to students and staff. Students take part in lectures, excursions and discussions. Aim of the course is introducing students to the origins and developments of social policy, in principles and practices of benefit systems and social services, in European social policy, in methods of comparative research, and in available quantitative and qualitative data sets. Participants obtain 3 ECTS for the Summer School.

Further details can be found here.

Organizer: Trudie Knijn (G.C.M.Knijn@uu.nl)
Contact and applications: Judith Raven (raven@fsw.eur.nl)

Fee: EUR 300 which includes accomodation.

3rd ESPAnet Summer School