Summer School with Anthropos, 2026
In late June and early July 2026, doctoral students hailing from countries around the world gathered in Poland’s scenic Mazury lake region for the Doctoral Summer School 2026, an intensive academic retreat dedicated to methodological development, archival research, and essential professional skills.
The event was organized through a collaboration between the Anthropos Doctoral School, the Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History at the Polish Academy of Sciences, Liverpool University, Leipzig University, and the Leibniz Institute–GWZO. These students are working on a diverse set of projects in the humanities and social sciences.
Over the course of five days, PhD students participated in a balanced program combining hands-on soft skills training with deep-dive thematic seminars:
- Elevator Pitches & Public Speaking: Prof. Harald Braun (Liverpool) led opening sessions on condensing complex research into compelling pitches, followed later by Dr. Zachary Mazur (POLIN, IH PAN) on mastering public speaking and structural job talks.
- Interdisciplinary Methodologies: Prof. Megan Maruschke (Leipzig) and Prof. Katja Castryck-Naumann (Leibniz Institute–GWZO) facilitated discussions on integrating interdisciplinary research practices into doctoral projects.
- Recording & Transformation Seminar: Across three dedicated modules, Dr. Izabela Mrzygłód (DHI, IH PAN) and Dr. Zachary Mazur (POLIN, IH PAN) guided participants through the “Archival Turn,” revisions, archives in periods of transformation, and translating archival sources into PhD research.
- Academic Writing Workshop: Dr. Nuala Caomhanach (Graduate Institute, Geneva) capped off the academic program with a workshop titled “Arguments and Actors: Creating Writing Space for your Academic Voice.”
In addition to intensive workshop sessions, participants enjoyed a half-day excursion exploring the natural and historical setting of the Mazury region, building professional networks and cross-institutional connections before returning to Warsaw.
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This Summer School for doctoral students was financed as part of the “Next Generation PhDs – Innovations” project, implemented under the STER programme of the National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA).
