Last Friday, on 18 July, the TED4LAT Doctoral Summer School concluded with an inspiring excursion to the De Woldemer Museum. The summer school took place from 14 to 18 July at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (ViA), gathering PhD students from various European countries. This final event served as a symbolic "cherry on top," offering participants a chance to better understand Latvian culture and foster informal international networking.
The most valuable activities of the summer school, according to the PhD students, included the colloquium—an opportunity to present their doctoral research progress and receive constructive feedback from professors and fellow participants. Attendees especially emphasized that this activity helped them develop presentation skills, prepare for their defenses, and receive practical suggestions for further work. Another highlight was the open data hackathon—teamwork focused on developing data-driven business ideas to address societal issues. Its structured format, where each thematic part was followed by a three-minute pitch presentation, helped participants not only refine their ideas but also learn principles of research project development. The guest speaker presentations—contrary to expectations, even the classic lecture format received high praise. Participants noted that listening to some of Europe’s top experts in their fields provided them with both new knowledge and inspiration for their research.
“The TED4LAT Summer School proved that PhD student development is best supported through a diverse format—from academic colloquia to creative hackathons and cultural experiences. It is becoming an important platform for strengthening collaboration and developing new ideas among future researchers,” said lead researcher and doctoral school organizer Ph.D. Oskars Java.
Event gallery available here
The doctoral school is implemented by project partners: Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (Latvia), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (France), Politecnico di Torino (Italy), Riga Technical University (Latvia), and the Baltic Open Solutions Center (Latvia).
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe programme under grant agreement no. 101079206.
