ECREA is opening a call for proposals for the hosting of the 2027 and 2028 edition of the European Media and Communication Summer School.

ECREA European Media and Communication Doctoral Summer School is established to support integration of PhD students within Europe and beyond into an academic culture in constructive and supportive manner, respectful towards disciplinary differences, inclusive across different aspects of media and communication fields and methodologies. They are intended to facilitate network-building that will last across academic career paths and to promote inclusive intellectual and organisational culture that ECREA stands for.

GENERAL CONDITIONS

• The host institution must be a university, HE institution or other suitable organisation working in the field of communication research and education, have experience with PhD education, and have sufficient experience in organising academic events and sufficient capacity (staff and support) to prepare and run the event.

• The host institution must be an institutional member of ECREA.

• The Summer School must have broadly speaking a European location, though potential host institutions are by no means limited to those from EU-member states. The location should be affordable and accessible.

The host institution will be selected to organise the 2027 and 2028 editions of the Summer School with an option to extend the collaboration for an additional year.

HOW TO APPLY

The Executive Board of ECREA has developed a framework document which defines the format and gives guidelines for the organisation of the Summer School. You can access the document here.

Interested institutions are asked to submit proposals for hosting the 2027-2028 Summer School, which must take the form of a document where candidate host institutions will:

1.     Describe their general vision of the event (including the location, timing, duration and their organisational capacity) and provide the basic information regarding the way their proposal will meet ECREA's requirements.

2.     Propose a draft financial plan.

3.     Sketch out the strengths and weaknesses associated with the proposal.

The proposed draft financial plan can be made using following figures:

Total duration of the summer school should be between 7-9 full working days and is attended by up to 70 students and up to 22 lecturers. For details on costs of the programme please see Summary report on 2024 Summer School. 

We ask the candidates to offer accommodation to all participants of the summer school in single-rooms. When planning the room allocation, we ask to envision one larger room (hosting up to 80 people), two parallel rooms for workshops (hosting up to 40 people) and six parallel smaller rooms for feedback sessions (hosting up to 15 people each). 

In the past, summer school fees for the participants (ECREA members) have been 990 Euros. The candidates are advised to consider this number in their initial calculations. We expect all doctoral students applying for the ECREA summer school to be or be willing to become ECREA members (either through individual or institutional membership) however finding more budget-friendly options is much encouraged. Candidates are invited to consult on budgetary issues prior to submitting the proposal.

FURTHER INFORMATION AND CONTACTS

Interested institutions should contact Andra Siibak (andra.siibak@ut.ee) the International Director of the ECREA Doctoral Summer Schools (info@ecrea.eu) for additional information regarding the Summer School programme and guidelines on budget.

Links to documents:

• ECREA European Media and Communication Doctoral Summer School Host Guidelines

• Summary report on 2024 Summer School

• Summary report on 2023 Summer School 

• Summary report on 2022 Summer School

DEADLINE AND SUBMISSION

Proposals must be submitted by 10 January  2026. The proposals must be sent by e-mail (attachment in MS Word or .pdf format) to the International Director of the ECREA Doctoral Summer School Andra Siibak (andra.siibak@ut.ee).

The ECREA Executive Board will then select one institution to act as local host, and possibly one runner-up to step in, in case the selected host encounters unforeseen difficulties.

At least one representative of the selected local host is invited to attend the Summer School a year before the organisation of their event (4-12 August 2026).

TIMELINE

The timeline of the selection process will be as follows:

• 10 January 2026 : the call is closed. ECREA Executive Board considers applications and selects the ones invited further to the interview round Interviews with the best candidates will be organized to clarify all the details.

• 31 March 2026: The Executive Board announces the selected host institution to all institutional members that have applied. If appropriate, the Executive Board also selects a runner-up institution to host the conference should the selected institution be unable to deliver. The selected institution is asked to develop a full organisational plan in close cooperation with the International Director of the ECREA Doctoral Summer School and the members of the ECREA Governing Body.

• August 2026: Selected host institution sends at least one representative to 2026 ECREA Summer School

• October 2026: The host institution develops a full organisational plan by 12. October 2026 at the latest. An Agreement for organising ECREA Summer School is drafted and signed by the end of November 2026 at the latest. 

• Call for participants is announced December 2026.