January 26-30, 2026
Call for applications: June 10 - September 30, 2025
The PhD Academy is led by:
- Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
- University of Milano-Bicocca
- Sabanci University
The purpose of this Academy, in cooperation with UNIRE network and OCEAN, is to provide the participants with an in depth and highly qualified legal, philosophical, sociological and political analysis of the content, interpretation, implementation and application of the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence more than ten years after its entry into force, and especially in aftermath of the EU accession. Participants will acquire knowledge on how the landscape concerning violence against women has changed with the adoption of the Convention and with the consequent accession by the EU.
Thanks to the knowledge of the professors, including the editors of the first commentary to the Istanbul Convention (Elgar Publishing, 2023), the academy will be the first to be focused to this fundamental legal instrument, which is considered as a comprehensive and gold standard in the field of preventing violence against women and domestic violence. They will also learn what a gender-sensitive approach and awareness campaigns mean and how they affect policies and decisions also at the judiciary level and in training in a continuous dialogue between institutions, experts and association of the civil society. The academy will be under the auspices of the Academic Network UN.I.RE. (UNiversità In REte contro la violenza di genere), composed of universities, research centres and researchers who share the goal of implementing the Istanbul Convention starting with the academic system, and OCEAN, the Open Council of Europe Academic Networks which aims at sharing and creating knowledge around the Council of Europe´s more than 200 conventions in European academia through teaching and research networks.
Faculty
Sara De Vido, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Marina Calloni, University of Milano-Bicocca
Zeynep Gülru Goker, Sabanci University
Sara Dal Monico, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Daniela Belliti, University of Milano-Bicocca, UNIRE network
Ayşe Betül Çelik, Sabanci University
Cenk Özbay, Sabanci University
Micaela Frulli, University of Florence
Olaf Köndgen, Council of Europe, OCEAN network
Learning outcomes for participants
- knowledge of the Istanbul Convention and the European system of protection of women, including at the intersection of different grounds of discrimination, from gender-based violence;
- use knowledge in the academia (for their PhD), but also in professional contexts such as NGOs, international organizations, European Union agencies, etc.), especially with reference to the protection of fundamental human rights;
- acquire the ability to identify and interpret relevant legal instruments (both hard law and soft law) in light of current challenges, so as to develop legal reasoning aimed at reflection on relevant legal and socio-political-cultural issues;
- critically analyse decisions and legal documents on countering violence against women and domestic violence;
- understand what it means to apply an intersectional perspective;
- communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences;
- lawyers, judges, and interested scholars will develop a gender sensitive approach that is crucial for eradicating stereotypes and prejudices that are commonly entrenched in the judiciary and court judgments;
- this PhD Academcy will be very helpful in providing tools for comparing different systems of protection of women from gender-based violence for participants coming from countries that are not party to the European system
Who can apply?
This international PhD Academy is offered to PhD students, post-docs, and junior researchers with background in Law, Social and Political Philosophy, Social Sciences, Sociology, Gender Studies. Open to candidates from all the VIU Member Institutions; applications from excellent candidates from non-member institutions will be also considered and evaluated.
Fees & grant support
Full fee waiver scholarships are available for students from VIU member institutions. In addition, grant support is available to support partially or fully the costs of international travel. Accommodation is provided free of charge.
The participation fee for students of non-member institutions is 1100.00 EUR (incl. VAT). The fee is inclusive of tuition, course materials, accommodation, lunches, social events, and taxes.
Students from non-member institutions are not eligible for VIU grant support.
VIU Alumni are eligible for a reduced fee.
Applicants must submit the (1) application form, (2) a letter of motivation – which should include a short bio and a brief description of the candidate’s research project, (3) a curriculum vitae, and (4) a photo.
For further information please download the brochure and the program or write to: phdacademy@univiu.org
