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Summer schools for doctoral students

The networks LERU and U21 organise summer schools for doctoral students. Current doctoral students at Lund University apply through Lund University, which then nominates a limited number of candidates. Accepted doctoral students are partly supported by Lund University.

LERU Doctoral Summer School

Each year, one or more members of LERU, the League of European Research Universities, organise and host the LERU Doctoral Summer School. The aim of the summer school is to provide doctoral students with opportunities for professional and personal development. 

The theme of the summer school is of general interest for the professional development of doctoral students. By creating an international, intercultural and inter­disciplinary environment, the summer school will provide a highly stimu­lating learning experience that will be of value to participants' future careers. 

The summer school aims to further strengthen links within the network and to contribute to the network's reputation and influence in European higher education policy-making. It is also a way of demonstrating that LERU universities are at the forefront of innovative practices in the training of new researchers.

LERU Doctoral Summer School 2025

The application should be submitted to leru [at] er [dot] lu [dot] se, at the latest by 15 January 2025.

The theme of the LERU Doctoral Summer School 22-27 June 2025 is “Artificial Intelligence across University Disciplines – Perspectives and Hands-on Experience”.

The LERU Doctoral Summer School at University of Copenhagen aims at furnishing PhD students from a multitude of subjects with both theoretical perspectives on Artificial Intelligence and group-based hands-on experience.

The summer school will cover critical perspectives from technical AI experts, ethical and legal implications and pitfalls, and practical exercises.

The take-away from the summer school will be to dream big and use AI, but to cut hype away and use AI as a tool to improve research, and applications of research, for the good of humanity.

All morning sections feature a selection of renowned speakers.

All afternoon sections feature hands-on group work in AI and data science tools requiring a sharp mind, but no prior programming experience. Group work will be facilitated by a professor and teaching assistants.

The preliminary programme includes sessions about:

  • AI – the view from Olympus (non-technical overview by top computer scientist
  • Legal conundrums and political issues in AI
  • Large language models and ChatGPT – how do they work, and what are the problems
  • AI in the life sciences – the story of AlphaFold and other things
  • AI in the human and social sciences
  • Cognitive limitation of current AI implementations
  • AI and the news media
  • Complexities and physical limitations of AI
  • Work on presentations for group project

The course is aimed at corresponding to approximately 2,5 ECTS.

You must be registered as a doctoral student at Lund University.

  • You should be about halfway through or at a later stage of your doctoral studies.
  • You must be highly motivated to work on the LERU Doctoral Summer School topic as described in the programme and description.
  • You must be able to participate in all the activities of the programme.
  • You must be fluent in written and spoken English.

The application, written in English, must include:

  • A statement of purpose of one A4 page. The statement of purpose, you should motivate your interest in the topic of the summer school and describe what makes you a suitable representative of Lund University and what you can contribute to the conference. It should also include the topic and title of your own research project
  • A letter of recommendation from the Head of Department, supervisor or equivalent person
  • A CV
  • An excerpt from Ladok showing your admission date and achievements

The selection criteria are:

  • the quality of the statement of purpose
  • your arguments for participation and their relevance to the conference theme, and
  • an overall assessment of your application, grades and CV.

The maximum number of participants in the summer school is to be decided.

Lund University will conduct a selection process and nominate two or more candidates (if applicable) to LERU. The highest ranked candidate from each university will be accepted in any case.

After considering all applications, the host university of the summer school and the steering group of the LERU Doctoral Studies Community decide which candidates will receive the second places (and any further places, depending on availability). The aim to achieve a balanced representation in terms of disciplines, gender and university affiliation, with due regard to rank order and merit.

Participants are expected to be well advanced in their doctoral project and highly motivated. Candidates must also be available for the entire duration of the summer school and be willing to participate in all activities.

The participant fee is 600 EUR per participants. This includes course materials, accommodation, some of the meals and course participation. Lund University will cover the participation cost. Participants will need to arrange their own travel and travel insurance. Participants are expected to cover the cost of any additional activity undertaken.

U21 summer activities for doctoral students

Information for 2025 to be announced.

Contact

Elisabeth Axell
International coordinator
leru [at] er [dot] lu [dot] se