Call for Doctoral Students:Join the EC2U Staff Week on Mental Health and Well-being

Call for Interest 

Doctoral Students at the EC2U Staff Week
Mental Health and Well-being in Doctoral Education
1–3 December 2026 at Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria 

Are you a doctoral candidate interested in making doctoral education more supportive, inclusive, and sustainable? 

The EC2U University Alliance invites doctoral candidates from its nine member universities and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv to participate in the Staff Week “Mental Health and Well-being in Doctoral Education”, hosted by Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU) from 1 to 3 December 2026. 

The event will bring together staff members who shape doctoral education at their universities and across the EC2U Alliance and doctoral candidates will play an important role in the programme by sharing perspectives on the challenging realities of doctoral life. 

We are looking for doctoral candidates who: 

• Are currently enrolled at one of the nine EC2U universities and IFNUL in Lviv. 

• Would like to contribute actively to improving doctoral education. 

• Have personal experience, are research-active on the topic, or have gathered insights through representative roles (e.g., councils, doctoral schools, labs, surveys, or similar initiatives) related to doctoral researchers’ mental health and well-being. 

• Are interested in constructive exchange with doctoral-education staff, peers, and university representatives. 

• Can participate in the full event in Linz from 1 to 3 December 2026. 

Dedicated sessions will bring doctoral candidates and staff together to discuss issues affecting doctoral education, including supervision, motivation, mental-health challenges, isolation, workload, work–life balance, doctoral dropout, and access to support. Participants may contribute through a short presentation, a research-based input, an example of a support initiative, or a facilitated discussion of shared experiences and possible solutions. 

The aim is not only to identify challenges, but also to develop practical ideas that may be implemented at participating universities or jointly within the EC2U Alliance. 

Selected participants will receive mobility support through EC2U funding, subject to the applicable funding rules and procedures. 

How to apply 

Please submit a short expression of interest including: 

• Your name, doctoral programme, department, and home university. 

• A brief motivation statement and either
A) A short description of the perspective, experience, research, or initiative you would like to contribute, or 

B) A short statement or brief action plan describing how you will use and/or share the knowledge and experiences gained to support doctoral researchers at your home institution, including any ideas for sharing lessons learned, raising awareness, or contributing to initiatives related to doctoral researchers’ mental health and well-being. 

We welcome applications from doctoral candidates across all disciplines, career stages, and backgrounds. 

Please send your application to career.mentoring@jku.at by 11 October 2026 at midnight.