PhD Seminar Series

How to access an academic legal career at universities in Europe and beyond, through an in-depth examination of diverse legal and academic cultures.

Abstract

This PhD seminar explores how to access an academic legal career at universities in Europe and beyond, through an in-depth examination of diverse legal and academic cultures. Each session focuses on one or two jurisdictions, presented by experts active within the respective systems. The seminar addresses questions shaping academic careers, including hiring conditions and pathways to access, social expectations placed on early-career researchers, career progression, differences between public and private systems, as well as practical aspects such as working conditions, languages, publication expectations, academic networks, and support mechanisms. It also examines what these differences reveal about the highly diverse legal and academic cultures in Europe and compares European systems with those outside Europe. The course concludes with a comparative overview of the findings discussed throughout the seminar.

About the speakers

Simona Demková is an Assistant Professor in European law at the Europa Institute. She is leading a collaborative research project on the ‘EU’s human-centred digital transformation’ funded by a Leiden University starter grant. Her research expertise covers a broad range of European law, including European administrative and constitutional law, protecting fundamental rights and the digitalisation and regulation of novel technologies.

Lisette Mustert is an Assistant Professor of Administrative Law at Utrecht University, and a member of the Management Team of the Utrecht Centre for Regulation and Enforcement in Europe (RENFORCE). She is also a member of the Advisory Board of the NOVA Platform for European Administrative and Regulatory Law (NOVA PEARL) in Lisbon.

Rick Lawson has a chair in European Protection of Human Rights since 2001; he is part of the Europa Instituut of Leiden Law School. He was appointed, as of 1 September 2025, as the Chairperson of the College voor de Rechten van de Mens, the National Human Rights Institute of the Netherlands. As of this date his full-time position in Leiden was changed into a so-called 0-appointment and he no longer has a teaching assignment.