Partner Organizations

>> Partner Organizations

The partner organizations to which the ESRs are seconded include:

• Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training), Germany
• Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid (Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy), the Netherlands
• Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek en Documentatiecentrum (Scientific Research Centre, Ministry of Security and Justice) WODC, the Netherlands
• Westfälische Wilhelms - Universität Münster, Institut für Niederländische Philologie (Westphalia Wilhelm University Münster, Institute of Dutch Philology), Germany 
• Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Konstanz, Germany
• Universität Duisburg-Essen, Institut für Germanistik (University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute for German Studies), Germany
• Sociaal Historisch Centrum voor Limburg (Social Historical Centre Limburg) SHCL, the Netherlands and Regionaal Historisch Centrum voor Limburg (Regional Historical Centre Limburg), the Netherlands
• Raad voor de Kinderbescherming (Child Welfare Council of the city of Maastricht), the Netherlands
• International Centre for Pension Management ICPM, Canada
• Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (Institute for Employment  Research), Germany
• European Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences (ECOLAS), Slovakia
• Roskilde University, Denmark
• European Policy Centre (EPC), Belgium

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♦ Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training), Germany
About
The work of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, based in Bonn, reaches from developing training curricula to administering programs financed by the Ministry for Education and Research or the European Union. BIBB is also responsible for research that strengthens the further development of initial and continuing vocational education and training in Germany. This makes research on VET a major priority for BIBB as a base for policy advice.
Over the past years, BIBB has continued to build on the foundations of thorough policy advice that is based on data and empirical evidence as well as pursuing the expansion and further development of official statistics (such as the Vocational education and training statistics and the Integrated Training Reporting System). Examples of individual- and firm-level surveys are the repeated cross-section surveys ‘BIBB-BAuA Employment Survey’ and the firm-level panel study ‘BIBB Qualification Panel’. Furthermore, BIBB has established access panels (‘RBS’, ‘Expert Monitor’, ‘Continuing Training Monitor’), which allow for the ad hoc survey of topics relevant for research and policy. Empirical surveys are the basis for systematic and indicator-driven VET reporting and lay the empirical foundation for a sound analysis of different research topics. Several of the data sets that are produced within and outside BIBB projects are made available via the BIBB Research Data Centre.
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Commitment
BIBB commits itself to access to data (firm-level and individual-level data provided for by the institutes Research Data Center), access to infrastructure (office space and IT-equipment as well as software for the analysis of data) and to provide support in the development and conduct of research ideas. 
Duration of secondment: 6 months (2021)

♦ Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid (Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy), the Netherlands
About
The Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) is an independent advisory body for government policy. Its position is governed by the Act Establishing a Scientific Council on Government Policy of 30 June 1976 (Instellingswet WRR). The task of the WRR is to advise the Dutch government and Parliament on strategic issues that are likely to have important political and societal consequences. The Chair of the council is prof. Corien Prins. One of the current advisory trajectories the council is working on is 'Europe's public functions'. This project aims to provide a useful framework for assessing the Netherlands' policy on Europe and the prospects of European integration in general. Such a framework does not basically model the European Union (EU) on the states from which it (partly) takes over tasks (''the superstate''), nor does it fall back on old models of intergovernmental cooperation that can become deadlocked at any time In the council prof. Ernst Hirsch Ballin is the chair of this project and prof. Huub Dijstelbloem is coordinating staff member. Prof. Mathieu Segers - Maastricht Universities Chair of Contemporary European History and European Integration - is external member of the research team.
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Commitment
The Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) commits itself to provide the candidate with research¬fellowship at The Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR). This fellowship will enable the researcher to connect his/her research to current policy advice and share insights, get feedback and realize valorisation impact in European and Dutch high level networks of policy and decision makers. The WRR will also make sure to integrate the PhD candidate/candidates in its community and participate in social activities. Like all research fellows at the WRR, the PhD candidate will be invited to present his/her research at the Council and participate in its activities. An office with phone and internet connection will be made available to him/her.
Duration of secondment: 6 months (2021)

♦ Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek en Documentatiecentrum (Scientific Research Centre, Ministry of Security and Justice) WODC, the Netherlands
About
The WODC is an international knowledge centre on security, criminal, civil and administrative justice and migration issues. It is based within the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice but operates independently. Its work is organised in research groups. Within the research group RWI (Justice Administration, Legislation, International and Aliens Affairs Division) issues related to Asylum and Migration are a leading theme. Migration motives, migration policy, and return migration, are some of the main topics of interest within this group. Research results are published in reports available to the public and in scientific journals.
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Commitment
The WODC commits itself to help the PhD candidate in granting access to official data and files for research purposes; and helping to arrange meetings/interviews with policy makers and migration officials. The centre will also make sure to integrate the PhD candidate in its community. Like all the research fellows, the PhD candidate will be invited to present his/her research at various research symposia organized within the Ministry of Security and Justice and to participate in its research group activities such as Asylum and Migration portfolio meetings and brown bag lunches.
The WODC will provide a flexible workspace.
Duration of secondment: 6 months (2021)

♦ Westfälische Wilhelms - Universität Münster, Institut für Niederländische Philologie (Westphalia Wilhelm University Münster, Institute of Dutch Philology), Germany
About
The linguistic research at the Institute of Dutch Philology mostly centers on themes within the wider fields of Dutch morpho-syntax, (perceptual) dialectology and sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics. Prof. Dr. Gunther De Vogelaer, who will co-supervise the ESR. has a strong research focus on how children and adolescents handle sociolinguistic variation and as such sits at the interface of psycho- and sociolinguistics. Further psycholinguistic expertise, esp. in the domain of language acquisition, is available via Dr. Dietha Koster. A substantial part of the institute's research zooms in on the German-Dutch border area.
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Commitment
The University of Munster's Institute of Dutch Philology commits itself to provide access to all the institute's research databases, usage of their research facilities (corpora, web server space, audio/video recording devices, eye tracker) and access to the university's ICT and library facilities. The secondment will be hosted by the Institute of Dutch Philology under the supervision of Prof. De Vogelaer.  The institute will also make sure to integrate the PhD candidate in its community and encourage him/her to participate in social activities at the level of the institute but also in the context of the Graduate School 'empirical and applied linguistics' (which organizes workshops, colloquia,...).
In addition to access to the institute's research infrastructure and the university's ICT and library facilities (as described above), an office with phone, computer and internet connection will be made available to him/her.
Duration of secondment: 6 months (2021)

♦ Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Konstanz, Germany
About
The University of Konstanz is a research-oriented reform university that meets its responsibility to society by providing high-quality fundamental research and educational opportunities. The Department of Politics and Public Administration has been consistently ranked as one of the leading departments in the social sciences in Europe such. The Department is widely known for its high-quality research on decision-making, social conflict and political violence and organisational studies. Professor Florian Kunze, who will co-supervise the ESR is a distinguished researcher and full professor of organisational studies. His group is currently working on projects temporal dynamics of work team diversity, the management of demographic change in organisations, consequences and management of diversity in teams and enterprises, effective leadership for individuals and organisations, and evidence-based human resource management.
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Commitment
The University of Konstanz is committed to encourage PhD candidates and help them build a successful career. At the Department for Politics and Public Administration, the Graduate School of Decision Sciences and a doctoral programme in Politics and Public Administration offer a unique research environment. Additionally, the university has established a support system that provides guidance and training for early stage researchers well beyond their academic training. All these services and the necessary infrastructure will be available for the LIMES PhD candidate during the secondment period.
Duration of secondment: 6 months (2021)

♦ Universität Duisburg-Essen, Institut für Germanistik (University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute for German Studies), Germany
About
Located in the heart of the Ruhr Metropolis, the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) is one of the youngest and largest universities in Germany. The profile of the UDE is based on four key research areas including the research area "Transformation of contemporary societies". This research area is essentially a reaction to the phenomena surrounding the dissolution of boundaries. In virtually all areas of community life, it is clear that social processes extend beyond the boundaries imposed by the spheres of established social institutions, whose social constructs, norms and behavioral patterns successfully regulated these processes in the 19th century. This research area promotes collaborative and inter-disciplinary research about the transformation of contemporary societies. It builds on a strong Social Science infrastructure to integrate research in sociology, education, economics and business, political science, the humanities and other related disciplines.
The Institute for German Studies (which also includes Dutch Philology) collaborates with the Institute for the history of Low-Rhenish culture and regional development (lnstitut für niederrheinische Kulturgeschichte und Regionalentwicklung, lnKuR/UDE).  lnKuR fosters interdisciplinary and interregional research cooperation concerning the Rhine-Maas-Region and especially supports early-stage-researchers.
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Commitment
The secondment will take place under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Evelyn Ziegler, who will be co-supervising the PhD candidate and who has a strong research focus on themes such as the convergence and divergence of the German standard language at the German/Luxembourgish border as well as on the dynamics of dialect-standard constellations.
The Institute for German Studies commits itself to access to relevant linguistic and related data. It will also make sure to integrate the PhD candidate in their community and participate in social activities (e.g. Tutoring Service Centre, International "Stammtisch", Language Acquisition Tandems). Like all of the research fellows, the PhD candidate will be invited to present his/her research at the linguistics colloquium of the Institute for German Studies and to participate in our Graduate Center plus, a qualification programme addressing doctoral and postdoctoral candidates. An office with phone and internet connection will be made available, as well as access to the University Library, providing the PhD candidate with the infrastructure he/she needs for this research.
Duration of secondment: 6 months (2021)

♦ Sociaal Historisch Centrum voor Limburg (Social Historical Centre Limburg) SHCL, the Netherlands and Regionaal Historisch Centrum voor Limburg (Regional Historical Centre Limburg), the Netherlands
About
The Sociaal Historisch Centrum voor Limburg (SHCL) [Centre for the Social History of Limburg] provides a research infrastructure for comparative regional history by giving access to historical sources, maintenance of a library collection, developing research, and publications. SHCL tries to stimulate and to develop research in the field of historical border studies and the comparative social history of border regions, more specifically of the Meuse-Rhine border region. Its director is also a professor of comparative regional history at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Maastricht University. SHCL has recently completed the catalogue of the glass painting atelier NV Glasschilderkunst F. Nicolas en zonen.
The Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (RHCL) [Centre for the Regional History of Limburg], director Lita Wiggers, manages, cares for and develops records and collections of state, provincial, municipal and private institutions and personalities in the Dutch province of Limburg. Recently, it completed the catalogue of the oldest coal mining company in the Netherlands, the Domaniale Mijn, covering the period from 1797 to 1980, which provides an important research base for the PhD-project. Both organizations are housed in the same building in Maastricht.
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Commitment
SHCL and RHCL are committed to give access to data and historical sources available at SHCL and RHCL, to share their expertise on mining history and wide knowledge of the history of the Euregional borderlands, and to encourage the PhD candidates to participate in their regional, national and international research network.
They will also integrate the PhD candidates in their community and invite him/her to participate in social activities. It is likely that by 1 January 2020 SHCL and RHCL will be fully integrated, which creates an even better research infrastructure for the PhD candidates. They will participate in a national postgraduate training center of their choice, as well as in seminars and meetings on the interregional history of the Meuse-Rhine area. An office with phone and internet connection will be made available.
Duration of secondment: 6 months (2021)

♦ Raad voor de Kinderbescherming (Child Welfare Council of the city of Maastricht), the Netherlands
About
Parents are primarily responsible for their children’s safety and development. In case this is jeopardized when parents cannot or do not act to their responsibility, the Child Welfare Council steps in to protect the child concerned. For instance, the Council investigates into the situation of youth who have come into contact with the law and give advice to court and public prosecutor on the appropriate sanction. The Child Welfare Council of the city of Maastricht deals with cases of youth living in Limburg, but also with youth living in Belgium or Germany who commit an offense in The Netherlands. They meet and work with partners in Germany and Belgium to develop ways to best serve these youth.
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Commitment
The Raad voor de Kinderbescherming commits itself to access to expertise and to the premise that no personal data is being revealed. They are committed to introduce the PhD candidate in their community and in the meetings they have with their partners in Belgium and Germany.
Duration of secondment: 6 months (2021)

♦ International Centre for Pension Management ICPM, Canada
About
ICPM is a global, research-based network of pension organizations that stimulates leading-edge thinking and practice about pension design and management. Founded in 2005, ICPM has grown to a select network of 42 world-leading pension delivery organizations. ICPM is an important resource for pension organizations worldwide on cutting-edge pension research and global best practices that support effective pension and investment management. It organizes interactive Discussion Forums involving practitioners and researchers pursuing pension-related research and provides funding for objective and transformative research on pension system design, governance and pension investment management. ICPM fosters dialogue and interactions among Research Partners and leading academic researchers around the world, and shares research across the ICPM network to facilitate thought leadership on major issues facing pension systems and organizations.
With its partner, the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, ICPM delivers the globe’s leading Pension Governance Education Program (PGEP) for board members of international pension and other long-horizon investment institutions. Beyond its strategic partnership with the Rotman School of Management, ICPM collaborates with leading centres of pension research around the world, such as OECD (Paris), the Centre for Retirement Research (Boston), Netspar (Netherlands) and the Global Risk Institute (Toronto).
ICPM has an office in Toronto, Canada, while its executive director — Dr. Rob Bauer, a globally-renowned pension academic and Professor of Finance — is based at the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics in the Netherlands.
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Commitment
The internship will be hosted under the supervision of Prof. Rob Bauer, Executive Director of ICPM, whose expertise lies in pensions, investments and active ownership, and Prof Mike Simutin, Associate Professor of Finance at Rotman School of Management, and Associate Director of Research at ICPM. ICPM is committed to integrate the PhD candidate in their (global) community and invite him/her to participate in social activities such as their signature networking event, the ICPM Discussion Forums (twice a year). The PhD candidate will be invited to present his/her research at Rotman and ICPM events (and their partners) and participate in other activities such as the ICPM Global Research Scanning Service, webinars, and others. An office with phone and internet connection will be made available.
Duration of secondment: 6 months (2021)

♦ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (Institute for Employment  Research), Germany
About
The Institute for Employment Research (IAB) is the research institute of the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit/BA), based in Nuremberg. The IAB conducts research on the labour market in order to advise political actors at all levels in a competent manner. Economists, sociologists and researchers from other social science and methodological disciplines create the base for empirically well-informed labour market policy by way of excellently linked research, both nationally and internationally.
The research conducted by IAB spans a wide range of topics in the following research areas: 

• developments on the labour market from a macroeconomic perspective
• international and regional dimensions of changes in the labour markets
• the effectivity of labour market policy
• demand for labour by establishments and occupational labour markets
• connections between education and employment
• living conditions, chances of participation and labour market perspectives of persons receiving basic income support
• international and regional labour markets

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Commitment
IAB commits itself to assure a flexible workplace for the PhD candidate, including free access to the available data bases.
IAB will also integrate the PhD candidate in their community and encourage him/her participating in IAB activities. Examples of these are two regular IAB seminar series as well as internal workshops and conferences. Like all of their research fellows, the PhD candidate will be invited to present his/her research at IAB. They will ensure that senior research staff will be available for supervision and guidance during the PhD candidate’s research visit.
Duration of secondment: 6 months (2021)

♦ European Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences (ECOLAS), Slovakia
About
The consortium of European Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences (ECOLAS) is a non-governmental educational network that proposes to address the central issues surrounding the development of undergraduate (first-level degree) education for 21st century Europe within the context of the liberal arts and sciences tradition. lt is based in Slovakia at the Bratislava lnternational School of Liberal Arts (BISLA). Established by three partners, Samuel Abraham (Bratislava lnternational School for Liberal Arts, Slovakia), Hans P.M. Adriaansens (founding Dean of University College Roosevelt, Netherlands), and Laurent Boetsch (President Emeritus, ECLA, Berlin) all of whom are experienced; senior leaders in higher education, the group is designed as the first European network to implement and promote undergraduate liberal arts and sciences education as an expression of the Bologna reforms for European Higher Education.
A key to the ECOLAS approach is the consideration of the importance of developing the quality of the undergraduate (bachelor) cycle as both a stand-alone preparation for the workplace and as fundamental preparation for advanced degree work. By promoting the liberal arts and sciences tradition, ECOLAS seeks to cultivate and nurture programs which, in addition to providing the specific discipline-based knowledge necessary for subsequent specialization, also allow students to acquire the soft as well as leadership skills that are vital not only to the global workplace but to the exercise of democratic civic responsibilities within an increasingly diverse European Union.
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Commitment
ECOLAS commits itself to provide the candidate with access to its network of European liberal arts educators. It will also make sure to integrate the PhD candidate in their community and allow the candidate to participate in social activities. Like all of its research fellows, the PhD candidate will be invited to present his/her research at ECOLAS events. An office with phone and internet connection will be made available, as well as access to the resources of BISLA.
Duration of secondment: 6 months (2021)

♦ Roskilde University, Denmark
About
ISE conducts interdisciplinary, collaborative and socially engaged research based on political science, economics, anthropology, sociology, legal studies, business studies, and development studies. It is an innovative and interdisciplinary university environment characterized by academic and methodological diversity in research and education. Our research focuses on societal changes, business economics and the impact of such developments on different societies around the world. We aim at generating novel scientific insights into the on-going societal changes, confrontations and conflicts. The department's researchers put emphasis on research methodologies and they share a commitment to understanding businesses and society in diverse contexts of change and global engagement. We produce research at the highest international level that feeds into our educational programmes, while simultaneously leveraging our research to impact social, economic and political change. 

The Doctoral School of Social Sciences & Business provides PhD training and research within an interdisciplinary, international, and professional environment. The Doctoral School is part of a dynamic community of researchers who share a commitment to understanding society in diverse contexts of change and global engagement. Researchers come from all over the world and engage in topics that are geographically, theoretically and methodologically diverse. 
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Commitment
The department will make sure to integrate the PhD candidate in our community and participate in social activities. Like all of our research fellows, the PhD candidate will be invited to present his/her research at the Department's research groups, and be a full member of the Doctoral school, its events and seminars and participate in our research activities. At ISE, we will do our utmost to facilitate the PhD candidate. An office desk with phone and internet connection will be made available to him/her as well as access to the University Library and photo copying facilities. 
Duration of secondment: 12 months (2021)

♦ European Policy Centre (EPC), Belgium
About
Based in Brussels, the European Policy Centre (EPC) is an independent, not-for-profit think tank dedicated to fostering European integration through analysis and debate, supporting and challenging decision-makers at all levels to make informed decisions based on evidence and analysis, and providing a platform for engaging partners, stakeholders and citizens in EU policy-making.
The EPC works with partners throughout Europe and beyond which share similar objectives. We engage with other think tanks and policy institutes in the member states, as well as with universities, exchanging ideas and producing joint policy recommendations.
Our analysts connect policy agendas through a multi-disciplinary approach. Each of our seven analytical programmes builds on solid expertise and forward-thinking research to provide insight into EU politics and develop practical policy proposals. 
Our publications address the major challenges facing the European Union and look at the long-term trends underpinning EU policy-making. They include recommendations that contribute to the debate, help to inform the policy agenda and take European integration forward.
The EPC also organises stimulating and timely policy debates on the issues that matter, with the people who matter. By connecting our research programmes to these multi-stakeholder events, we help to raise awareness, ensure policy relevance and foster innovative thinking. 
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Commitment
The seconded PhD researcher will be supervised by Dr. Marie De Somer and would become part of EPC’s multinational Migration and Diversity team. He/she will be tasked with contributing to a diverse range of activities in EPC’s migration programme. This will include analysis on concrete and timely policy issues that are marking EU debates. Special attention will go out to ensuring that the PhD researcher complements his/her academic analytical skills with new expertise and experiences in the context of policy-oriented analysis. This includes translating complex ideas and questions into a non-technical and accessible language, and gearing research and research findings towards tangible policy recommendations.
The PhD researcher would also be expected to contribute to the policy-oriented events the migration programme regularly organises around topical policy issues in the area of migration, asylum and borders. Tasks in this context would include liaising with relevant EU stakeholders, civil society and possible event partners (e.g., other think tanks, foundations,..), as well as supporting internal EPC coordination in the context of setting up the event.
Duration of secondment: 6 months (2022)

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