Teaching & Training

The Campus hosts executive education and PhD trainings for professionals as well as summer schools and other short courses organised by UM faculties. It also offers the opportunity to deliver remote education by Belgium-based staff and guest lecturers as well as hosts and organises field trips for students to gain professional insights in their EU policy field of interest.

Research Community Hub

Campus Brussels also serves as a venue for UM researchers to organise activities and events in the framework of (EU-funded) research projects. These can be, for example, meetings to build international consortia; kick-off, mid-term, and dissemination conferences; policy dialogues; events to discuss progress ahead of a publication, etc. The logistical coordination of these events is taken care of by Campus Brussels staff. In addition, it offers working space for researchers to use while in Brussels – whether it is to carry out interviews or to wind down in a quiet space in between meetings.

UM Embassy

The Campus is also UM’s EU liaison office. It takes advantage of the myriad of EU institutions and stakeholders represented in Brussels to expand UM’s network as well as monitor EU policy developments and to position UM on key issues relevant to the university.

An important part of this function is engaging with selected European networks. Campus Brussels represents the UM in the Young European Research Universities Network (YERUN) EU Policy Working Group, and is an active member of UM’s European Alliance for Social Sciences and Humanity’s (EASSH) Working Group. Currently, it also co-manages the network of university EU liaison offices (UnILiON). These networks are the platforms through which the Campus gathers information (e.g. early-stage information on upcoming funding proposals ahead of publication) as well as lobbies for UM’s interests (e.g. by contributing to the networks’ position papers on key policy issues).

Campus Brussels also places great importance on alumni relations. In this spirit, it regularly hosts and organises events for UM alumni to meet up, ensuring that both old and new UM graduates continue to keep in contact both with UM and among themselves – providing a valuable network of professional contacts.

Why did you choose the part-time Ph.D. programme in European Studies at Maastricht University? 

I chose the programme because the university is a top-notch institution and the programme offered the flexibility of combining work and study simultaneously.

How did you choose the topic of your Ph.D. research? Was it directly linked to your job/professional activity at the time?

The topic of my Ph.D. research was directly linked to my professional activity.

Did the Ph.D. sessions at UM Campus Brussels contribute to your thesis progress?

Initially the Ph.D. sessions at UM Campus Brussels contributed to my thesis progress for it gave me a basic understanding of the analytical and theoretical skills required while providing opportunities for useful discussions and sessions for exploring my research topic in-depth and getting it on track.

What was the main finding of your Ph.D. research?

The main finding of my research is the key role that "naming and framing' (frame analytical processes) play in fostering the development of policies for the children affected by parental incarceration, once seen as an 'intractable issue'.

How would you explain the relevance of your Ph.D. to the person on the street, who is not familiar with EU politics/policy-making?

My Ph.D. helped refine and enhance advocacy on behalf of a group of vulnerable children, fostering greater awareness and recognition and the development of cross-sectoral support systems.

How did the part-time Ph.D. programme fit alongside your job/professional activity?

The programme fit very well alongside my professional activity as it was related to my job, although certain unforeseen circumstances on the job front made it difficult to focus on my research for an extended period of time. As a result completion of my dissertation required a longer period of time.

Did you see the benefits of attending your Ph.D. sessions at Campus Brussels?

As mentioned above, I really saw the benefits of the Campus Brussels sessions during the early stages of my research, but toward the latter phases, I preferred traveling to Maastricht to meet with my supervisors. As I am based in Paris, participation at either site required traveling.

Did the Ph.D. degree open new opportunities for you in your professional life?

Yes, it totally did. I was gradually able to integrate framing and agenda-setting theories into the European network that I run and to organize workshops with experts to raise awareness of the importance of language and of frame-reflective advocacy and how this awareness can maximize impact in promoting change.

Would you recommend the part-time Ph.D. programme in European Studies at Campus Brussels, Maastricht University?

I would highly recommend the part-time Ph.D. programme at Maastricht University Campus Brussels. It is carried out with an incredible degree of respect and consideration for the individual, offering in-depth personalized support where needed. Flexibility is a major aspect of the degree programme, which is vital to Ph.D. candidates with at-times unpredictable work schedules. 

What would be your one advice to the potential part-time Ph.D. candidates? (something you have discovered during your PhD studies)

If your Ph.D. subject is linked to your professional life, try to find links and ways to interweave the learning you gain into your professional work every step of the way. Take as much value in the process of obtaining your Ph.D. as in obtaining the end result itself.

Why did you choose the part-time Ph.D. programme in European Studies at Maastricht University? 

When I started working for the Council of the EU, in an assistant position, I knew that in order to develop intellectually, I had to pursue my previous dream of doing a Ph.D. In the past, I was thinking of doing a full-time Ph.D., but with time and the 2009 financial crisis, I realised that the best choice would be to do a part-time Ph.D. programme. Out of the programmes proposed in Brussels, where I lived, the Maastricht University offer was the most appealing. An important selling point for me was that one of the professors at the faculty (in fact the Director of the Programme at the time) was Maarten Vink, whom I have first met at a public hearing at the European Parliament and was highly impressed by his presentation there.

How did you choose the topic of your Ph.D. research? Was it directly linked to your job/professional activity at the time?

My initial topic of the Ph.D. project was loosely linked to my second Master thesis topic and my general interests which, from time to time, intertwined with my professional activities. As a matter of fact, it was more of a hobby to brighten up my life and save me from drowning in my mundane office job.

Did the Ph.D. sessions at UM Campus Brussels contribute to your thesis progress?

At the time I started the programme, the schedule of the sessions was very intense, to the point that it was almost impossible to keep up with the pace and work at the same time. This was later tweaked by the management of the programme. As I did not have time to fully digest the content of the sessions as they went on, I was later very surprised what a great impact they had on me and my way of thinking that became more structured, coherent and purposeful. In fact, many of the sessions were instrumental for the development of the thesis and its main arguments.

What was the main finding of your Ph.D. research?

I researched the relations between the policies of the EU member states and the EU itself, through the lens of the coopetition theory. The main finding of my PhD was that coopetition, so simultaneous cooperation and competition, is fruitful for the development of the EU migration policies in general, no matter whether on the EU or the national level.

How would you explain the relevance of your Ph.D. to the person on the street, who is not familiar with EU politics/policy-making?

Policy makers are often concentrated solely on their area of interest, missing out on the bigger picture. My Ph.D can help those who are designing policies to see how their decisions impact lives of people in different member states. In fact, during the time I was writing my thesis, there were ongoing negotiations on a similar migration directive. I was in place to indicate to colleagues assisting at the negotiations that some positions of member states were incoherent with the previous implementation of the Blue Card directive that I was researching. I do not know whether it changed anything in the ongoing negotiations, but the mere realisation that directive negotiations, its transposition and implementation, are not linked in the eyes of policy-makers, made me appreciate the role of comprehensive longitudinal research even more than ever before.

How did the part-time Ph.D. programme fit alongside your job/professional activity?

Thanks to the Ph.D. programme I got promoted to a much more challenging and interesting job than I was initially hired for. However, this also meant that I was much busier job-wise than I have assumed in the beginning of the programme. Additionally, during the studies, I have experienced substantial changes in my private life (essentially from being single in year 1 to having a husband and two kids in year 6), so it became much more difficult to work on my thesis in the final stretch than at the outset. However, my supervisors and the programme managers were flexible enough to accommodate my needs with regard to the quantity of work (both in terms of input and output, as well as the timing).

Did you see the benefits of attending your Ph.D. sessions at Campus Brussels?

To be honest, the most interesting meetings with colleagues from Maastricht University were at external conferences.

Did the Ph.D. degree open new opportunities for you in your professional life?

Yes and no. As I work in the EU institutions, it is very rare to see dramatic changes in one’s career. However, I owe my current job thanks to the fact that I did study for a Ph.D. and this was discovered by colleagues who let me do more than what fitted my previous job description. I still hope that I will continue to reap the benefits of my Ph.D. studies in the near future.

Would you recommend the part-time Ph.D. programme in European Studies at Campus Brussels, Maastricht University?

Yes and no. I think it’s a very particular programme where a mere recommendation does not do good for the candidate nor for the programme. I always tell people thinking of doing advanced research to have a look at the website of the Brussels Campus of Maastricht University, but the decision to apply should be very carefully weighted.

What would be your one advice to the potential part-time Ph.D. candidates? (something you have discovered during your Ph.D. studies)

Five years is a lot of time when you are under 30. You should be very careful in assessing what you want from life and whether writing a Ph.D. as a part-time activity is what is best suited for your purposes. The part-time Ph.D. has a lot of advantages: it is flexible, you can work alongside doing research… However, it is also a very lonesome exercise as the research community in Campus Brussels is really limited. In order to fully take advantage of the life in academia, you should be able to take holidays for conferences, field trips, days of writing up. This is important to consider when you have limited holidays and numerous obligations.

Why did you choose the part-time Ph.D. programme in European Studies at Maastricht University? 

I was familiar with Maastricht University Campus in Brussels. As I lived and worked in Brussels at the time, the attraction to the programme was a combination of location, part-time set-up, and last but not least, the expertise within UM on the topic of my interest, i.e., European administration.

How did you choose the topic of your Ph.D. research? Was it directly linked to your job/professional activity at the time?

My inspiration for the topic was drawn directly from my previous professional experience. My years living in Brussels and working in EU public affairs are what inspired me to investigate the role of advisors in decision-making processes of the European Parliament. As a lobbyist, I often encountered the different types of EP supporting staff and became intrigued with the special position of political group advisors.

Did the Ph.D. sessions at UM Campus Brussels contribute to your thesis progress?

Definitely, I found them really useful and inspiring. Working on a Ph.D. project is a very autonomous activity. I felt that the sessions keep you motivated, on track, and provide you with the opportunity to share experiences (and frustrations) with fellow Ph.D. students. In fact, I would recommend having more sessions, also after the first year.

What was the main finding of your Ph.D. research?

One of the objectives was to show how advice works in practice, connecting theoretical discussions on the functioning of the European Parliament to insights into how advisors deal with delegated responsibilities. My research provided two key contributions in this sense. First, a link was made between the theoretical and practical perspectives by providing an analytical tool to enable the separate assessment of the political and technical dimensions. Second, the large-scale empirical study of EP group advisors shed light on how advisors generally operate in EP compromise building.

My research has demonstrated that political advisors participate extensively in the intra-EP compromise-building process preceding trilogues. Without specific instructions from MEPs, they contribute to building the broad agreement that is needed in Parliament. In that way, they can shape the processes through which the EP’s trilogue mandate is constructed and pro-actively contribute to the direction of a compromise. By exploring the conditions under which such pro-active involvement is tolerated or restricted by MEPs, my research revealed two patterns that explain the discretionary power of political group advisors (PGAs). First, PGAs base their actions on what they deem to be in line with the group’s agenda. This means that they have considerable room for interpretation since there generally are multiple interests to consider within a group, depending on the number and diversity of (national) delegations. It also means that the role, and room for manoeuvre, differs per group. Second, PGAs’ opportunity for pro-active involvement is highest during the early stages of co-ordination, ahead of group and shadows meetings. However, their ability to exert a pro-active role depends on trust. In fact, trust is identified as an indispensable condition since only those PGAs considered trustworthy will be allocated work by (shadow) rapporteurs. Furthermore, PGAs’ autonomy is conditioned by their political sensitivity and informal networks, which enable them to accurately represent political positions and formulate strategies acceptable to MEPs.

How would you explain the relevance of your Ph.D. to the person on the street, who is not familiar with EU politics/policy-making?

My research is about gaining a better understanding of how political decisions are prepared. We know that elected representatives cannot do everything themselves. However, informal preparations, taking place behind the scenes by staff members, remain obscure. To fully grasp EU negotiations, we need to understand how EU institutions internally prepare for these negotiations and what the involvement of staff actors is in this process. The findings of my Ph.D. project shed light on these informal processes and contribute to explaining the discretion of political advisors in building compromises.

How did the part-time Ph.D. programme fit alongside your job/professional activity?

At the start of the programme, I lived and worked in Brussels, which made it easy to attend sessions. During my Ph.D., I moved to Amsterdam which slightly complicated things. Although, it will surely be hard and complicated combining work and research regardless of where you live or work. Personally, I found it particularly hard to find the time, quiet and concentration to write. The interview and survey work could relatively easily be combined with my day-to-day job. I would schedule interviews somewhere in between, or at the end of a workday. The analysis, writing, and especially tying everything together was really challenging. In the end, I decided to take a six-month sabbatical in order to finish writing my thesis.

Did the Ph.D. degree open new opportunities for you in your professional life?

Not yet. Although I work within a university administration and when working with and for researchers, it is appreciated that you have completed a Ph.D.

Would you recommend the part-time Ph.D. programme in European Studies at Campus Brussels, Maastricht University?

Yes! On the condition that you are intrinsically motivated, doing it out of intellectual curiosity and drive. I believe that that is truly the only way that you can get through the tough times and carry on.

What would be your one advice to the potential part-time Ph.D. candidates? (something you have discovered during your PhD studies)

Create some time (1-2 months) off from work, both in the first year and towards the end, to really dive into the work with as little distractions as possible.