Interviews with PhD graduates
A part-time Ph.D. programme for professionals in European Studies was launched in 2010 at Maastricht University Campus Brussels. It offers an extraordinary opportunity for professionals to work towards their doctoral degree alongside their full-time job. The programme aims to equip the Ph.D. candidates with all the necessary skills to conduct their projects by offering individual supervision by Maastricht University professors and group training sessions focused on research techniques and writing skills.
To find out about the experience of those Fellows who have completed their Ph.D. thesis, we sat down with the three graduates to ask them about their research, the challenges they encountered, and the lessons learned. Meet the three Ph.D. graduates of the part-time Ph.D. programme at Campus Brussels and learn what motivated them to apply, how they experienced the research process, and what new opportunities their Maastricht University doctorate has brought them.
Interview with Dr. Emmy Ruiter
Meet Dr. Emmy Ruiter, Managing Director Pathways to Sustainability at Utrecht University, who in 2018 obtained her Ph.D. in Political Science from Maastricht University. When Emmy enrolled in the programme back in 2011, she was living and working in Brussels, and the part-time Ph.D. programme offered at Maastricht University Campus Brussels presented itself as an excellent opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree alongside a full-time job.
Interview with Paulina Bury
Meet Dr. Paulina Bury, currently employed as a Legal Research Assistant at the Legal Service of the Council of the European Union. In 2011 Paulina enrolled as a Fellow on the Part-time Ph.D. programme in European Studies, which Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS) of Maastricht University offers at the Campus Brussels. Paulina graduated in 2018 and is the first Ph.D. to graduate from the programme since it was set up.
We are very grateful to Paulina for taking the time to share her experience on the journey to Ph.D. degree.
Interview with Elizabeth Ayre
Elizabeth (Liz) Ayre is an Executive Director of the Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE Network, formerly Eurochips), a Paris-based organisation working to develop meaningful action, support and policy initiatives for children separated from a parent in prison. Since 2012 she is a Research Fellow in European Studies at Maastricht University (part-time Ph.D. programme at Campus Brussels) where she has been conducting research on understanding the policy gap for children affected by parental incarceration from a frame analytical perspective.
Liz is on track to obtaining her Ph.D. degree this year and we asked her a few questions on her experience and lessons learned during this lengthy research process.
