2026

We are pleased to announce our fourth Doctoral Research Forum, organised in collaboration with Maastricht University Law School. The Forum will take place on Friday, 30th of January 2026 at Maastricht University. The deadline to submit an abstract is Saturday, 1st of November 2025.

At the Doctoral Research Forum, PhD members of the Network have the opportunity to present their human rights research in a collaborative setting. They will receive feedback from senior NNHRR members, and take part in a group Q&A session. The forum promotes peer-to-peer exchange and encourages interaction and mentorship between junior and senior members of the Network.

Eligibility

We accept submissions from PhD members at any stage of their doctoral project and particularly encourage applications from those who are currently in the first and second years of their PhD programme.

Please note that only NNHRR members who are PhD candidates at the time of the Forum are eligible to participate. If you are currently in the process of becoming a member, please feel free to submit your abstract, but membership is required to participate in the Forum. More information on how to join the the NNHRR is available here.

Abstracts (max. 500 words) can outline the candidate’s overall research project, a chapter of their thesis, or an article in progress. Final presentations should be 10 minutes long and will be followed by a feedback and discussion round. Selected presenters have the opportunity to publish a post on the Network’s Human Rights Here blog subject to editorial decision and review.

Registration

Please register your attendance here.

Through the form, you can also submit your abstract and a bio (100 words max.) If you have a senior member of the Network in mind who you believe would be a suitable discussant, please feel free to mention them in your submission. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is the 1st of November 2025. We aim to notify applicants in which panel they are scheduled to present by the 5th of December 2025.

If you have any questions about the event or if you encounter any problems with the registration form, please contact the organizers of the Forum at this email address: NNHRR2025@gmail.com.