Funded by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange

„Next Generation Global PhDs”, STER R Programme – Internationalisation of doctoral schools, no. BPI/STE/2021/1/00010/DEC/1, funded: 1 236 553,20 zł, 2022–2024, leader: Dr Olga Linkiewicz. “Next Generation Global PhDs is the first systematic attempt to internationalize the Anthropos Doctoral School and establish a long-term cooperation between the School and institutions abroad. This will have significant impact on the situation of the School, the Applicant and the other 8 Anthropos Institutes at the Polish Academy of Sciences, and contribute to more open, dynamic, and diverse postgraduate educational system in humanities and social sciences in Poland. We will organize the NextGenPhDs project around 6 major tasks:

1. NextGenPhDs Recruitment Strategies and Targeting International Candidates (activities related to the acquisition of foreign doctoral students). We plan to reach to the best candidates in East Central Europe (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Slovakia, Hungary), South-East and Southern Europe (Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, Portugal), Georgia, Turkey, and Brazil. We also plan to reach to candidates of Polish origin who graduated from the best universities worldwide. During the first 2 years of its existence, the School acquired 10 foreign students out of 31 (32%). At the end of the project, we would like to have at least 18 foreign students. The Anthropos will continue to prepare students for jobs within and beyond academia in cross- and interdisciplinary ways. Our students will be highly trained professionals in archeology, geography, linguistics, history, history of art, literary studies, and religious and cultural studies. They will pursue careers as scholars and experts in academia, politics and diplomacy, administration, governmental, educational, and cultural institutions (agencies, archives, museums, schools, and think-tanks).

2. NAWA STER Dissertation Scholarship (payment of NAWA scholarships for the best foreign and Polish doctoral students). At the end of the project, we plan to have at least 6 doctoral students who aim to achieve joint degrees (currently 2). We also plan to have more students who have a supervisor affiliated with an institution abroad or trained abroad (currently 7; planned 10). The NAWA STER scholarships will attract more international students and make easier signing cotutelle agreements with institutions abroad. Currently the Anthropos has such agreements with Université de Lyon II and Université de Strasbourg.

3. NAWA STER Dissertation Fellowship (support of foreign mobility) will support our best students to pursue their research abroad and present their findings before international audiences. In this respect, we will continue the School’s and the Anthropos Institutes ongoing collaboration with institutions in Europe and the United States such as: Complutense Uni. of Madrid, EHESS in Paris, The Uni. of Granada, NOVA Uni. Lisbon, Université de Lyon II, Université de Strasbourg, The Niccolò Cusano Uni., Humboldt Uni. of Berlin, LMU in Munich, the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe, Herder Institute in Marburg, Ukrainian Catholic Uni. in Lviv, Hoover Institution at Stanford Uni. Out of our 31 students, 15 have participated in the exchange abroad. These include stays funded by NAWA PROM, NCN Preludium, NCN Preludium-BIS (NAWA), NAWA Historical Ontology of Urban Space, Erasmus+, and Fulbright. We plan to raise this number at least to 26 at the end of the project (likely higher).

4. NextGenPhDs Training Sessions (developing activities related to internationalization “at home”) are designed to improve competences of the School’s students, supervisors, and assistant supervisors. They aim to develop transferable skills such as communication, leadership, and team working which can be used within and beyond academia in Poland and abroad.

5. NextGenPhDs Curriculum and Networks (activities related to the development of international cooperation of doctoral schools) are meant to facilitate networks with the global community of scholars and experts. Within this task we plan to design a joint cross-disciplinary doctoral program and prepare further collaborative projects (including writing project proposals). This will strengthen our collaboration with partnership institutions, increase brand presence of the School among scholars abroad, and allow us to establish new networks. Our partners in this task include Complutense Uni. of Madrid, the Institute for Studies on the Mediterranean in Naples, EHESS in Paris, National Uni. of Kharkiv, Oxford Uni., Ukrainian Catholic Uni., and Université Libre de Bruxelles.

6. NextGenPhDs Labs (activities related to the development of international cooperation of doctoral schools), a series of lecture seminars, workshops, and panel discussions, offer our students knowledge of the most significant international affairs to understand our complex world. They also assist them to engage publicly to become scholars, teachers, and leaders in a global community. They will be launched as a part of the joint curriculum. Our major partner here is Complutense.

“Next Generation PhDs – Innovations”, STER Programme – Internationalisation of Doctoral Schools, project no. BPI/STE/2024/1/00016/DEC/1, awarded funding: PLN 1,447,025.50, 2025–2027, project leader: Dr Olga Linkiewicz. The NextGenPhDs – Innovations project is part of the internationalisation strategy of the JRP (Joint Doctoral Programme), which has been consistently implemented since 2019, i.e. since the establishment of the Anthropos Doctoral School of the Institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences. It also forms a key element of the internationalisation strategy of the applicant, the Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences, of which the JRP is a structural part.

The internationalisation strategy of the JRP, titled Anthropos Goes Global, includes a set of actions aimed at enhancing the quality of doctoral education in the humanities and social sciences in Poland, increasing the competitiveness of education within the Polish Academy of Sciences (including the international competitiveness and recognition of the JRP and the Institutes involved), and enabling doctoral students from various disciplines within the humanities and social sciences to pursue career development along both academic and expert paths.

These efforts include, among others:

• enhancing the doctoral programme, including cooperation with foreign institutions,
• establishing long-term partnerships with selected international partners,
• enabling doctoral students and faculty within the JRP to gain experience and conduct research in international collaboration, including in grant-funded projects,
• attracting international PhD students and candidates of Polish descent who have graduated from top universities worldwide,
• organising lectures, workshops, and panel discussions in cooperation with international partners.

The NextGenPhDs – Innovations project builds upon the systemic internationalisation of the JRP initiated within the framework of the NAWA STER Next Generation Global PhDs project (BPI/STE/2021/1/00010). The current project will allow the continuation and further development of key areas of activity while placing special emphasis on innovation – both in terms of innovative approaches to doctoral education and the promotion of innovative thinking.