On 22 and 23 February, the Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research (NNHRR) successfully organised its first online Doctoral Research Forum, in close cooperation with Erasmus School of Law. The specially designed peer-to-peer forum turned out to be a constructive place for PhD candidates to share their research while receiving feedback and valuable guidance from senior members of the NNHRR.
The online Forum included presentations on a wide range of topics and participants had the opportunity to outline their research project or present a chapter or article they were working on. In her opening remarks, Professor Sanne Taekema of Erasmus School of Law kicked off the Forum in the presence of several PhD candidates from Erasmus School of Law, who participated and presented their research, alongside fourteen other participants from nine Dutch universities.
Welcome exchange of ideas in times of isolation
Co-organiser and PhD candidate Stephanie Triefus is happy with the positive feedback on the online event: ‘Part of the mission of the Doctoral Research Forum was to provide early-stage PhD candidates with an opportunity to present their research in a conference setting within a safe and constructive atmosphere. Participants have shared that they found that the Forum facilitated the lively exchange of ideas, feedback and support during what has been an isolating time for many PhD candidates.’
Jolanda Andela, who presented on “A legal framework of rights and prohibitions against conflict-driven starvation”, says: ‘The great expertise of all participants involved made this Doctoral Research Forum a unique opportunity to present both structural and substantive matters of our PhD projects.’
Abdurrahman Erol presented preliminary results of his empirical study “Foreign investors as subjects of business and human rights: Mapping the universe of investment agreements in pursuit of investors’ human rights obligations”. He states: ‘The Doctoral Research Forum provided me with a unique experience to share my research outcomes with brilliant fellow human rights researchers and receive their constructive comments. The Forum offered an extraordinary opportunity, especially for first- and second-year PhD candidates, to present and reflect on their work and get to know researchers with similar interests.’
Last but not least, Maurits Helmich contributed with his presentation on “S.A.S. v. France: A Moralist Account of the ECtHR's Deference" and says: ‘The NHHRR forum had everything you could hope for in a meeting between junior scholars: academic excellence, constructiveness, and interdisciplinarity.’
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For more information, please contact Ronald de Groot, Communications Officer at Erasmus School of Law: rdegroot@ese.eur.nl and mobile: +31 6 53 64 18 46.