Each year, Circle U., the European alliance, of which Université Paris Cité is a member organises the Circle U. Sandpits. The aim of this two-session workshop is to develop inter- and transdisciplinary projects. In 2025 the Sandpits will have democracy as an overarching theme. Phd students from the université Paris Cité are invited to apply before the 31th of March.

Circle U., the European alliance brings together Université Paris Cité, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, King’s College London, UCLouvain, the University of Oslo, the University of Aarhus, the University of Belgrade, the University of Pisa and the University of Vienna.

A two-session Circle U. workshop

This year’s meeting will be divided into two parts:

  • 27 May 2025 – An initial online session will be organised to present the event and its main objectives. This first meeting will enable participants to meet each other and assess their different areas of expertise.
  • From 9 to 11 September 2025 – A second face-to-face session will be held in Louvain-la-Neuve, in Belgium. Over the course of these few days, participants will develop their research projects based on the results of the first session.

At the end of this second session, participants will have the opportunity to apply for the Circle U. seed funding. They will also receive administrative support from the Research Support Working Group to identify and apply for other funding opportunities.

The application procedure

Would you like to develop your network and build cross-disciplinary projects on the theme of democracy?
Apply before 31 March.

Université Paris Cité will only be able to fund PhD students who meet the conditions for the university’s mobility grants. The link and procedure for obtaining the mobility grant will be sent by the Circle U. team once the application has been submitted.

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