“Out of the comfort zone" – Scholarships and Research Week support ERUA researchers

“ERUA offers invaluable opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange, networking and professional growth for young researchers”, says Maria Carmen Staiano, who is on a one-month research stay at the Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) as a scholarship holder of the Visiting Programme for Early Career Researchers. The scholarship programme has been announced by Viadrina in cooperation with the DAAD and is aimed at doctoral and postdoctoral researchers from universities that are members of the ERUA university alliance. The goal of the short-term scholarships is to support early-career researchers in the development of their academic careers and to promote international collaboration.

Maria Carmen Staiano is a PhD candidate at the University of Macerata, Italy, pursuing a doctorate in Humanities and Technology on the topic of machine translation for emergency communication in Italy. At Viadrina, she is working with Prof. Dr. Britta Schneider, Chair of the Department of Language Use and Migration. Maria Carmen Staiano is convinced that “her expertise will guide me in refining the human and social factors, essential for effective multilingual communication in emergency contexts”.

Luca Torelli, also a PhD Candidate at the University of Macerata, has come to the Viadrina as part of the ERUA network too. Currently enrolled in the second year of the doctoral course in Education and Inclusion for Cultural Heritage and Tourism, he is working on the topic ‘Active ageing and museums: analysing accessibility and inclusivity in museums in Italy, Japan and other countries’. During his research, he has already investigated the current state of accessibility and inclusivity of the Italian and Japanese museums. “The European University Viadrina has given me the opportunity to further expand this study by also including the museums from Germany and Poland.”, says Luca Torelli. The PhD candidate is affiliated with the Faculty of Cultural Sciences and is supervised there by PD Dr. Izabella Parowicz, Chair of Monument Studies. Luca Torelli greatly values the opportunity provided by the scholarship: get out of his comfort zone and broadening his horizons.

During their research stay, both also benefited from the ERUA-Viadrina Research Week, which took place from November 11 to 15. Early-career researchers from all ERUA partner universities had the opportunity to network and strengthen their international careers through targeted workshops. The programme included a keynote on Open Science, a poster session to present research projects, as well as specialized offerings on publishing, writing grant proposals, coaching and a presentation training. Social activities such as a city tour, a visit to the transVOCALE festival, and shared dinners provided ample opportunities for networking. Researchers from all eight ERUA partner universities participated in the programme – either online or in person in Frankfurt (Oder).

For Maria Carmen Staiano, her attendance “represents a great opportunity to connect with experts, present my research, join working groups, and become part of Viadrina’s academic community, which truly fosters collaboration and the exchange of new ideas”. Luca Torelli summarises: “The university alliance ERUA facilitates academic mobility for young researchers, and this provides unique opportunities.“

The Visiting Programme for Early Career Researchers, as well as the ERUA-Viadrina Research Week, were funded through a grant from the DAAD, with funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the European University Networks (EUN) funding program. The DAAD-ERUA project has been running since the beginning of 2024 and will continue until the end of 2027.

Text: Sophia Grigull; Pictures: Heide Fest