A growing Europe Hub: research and collaboration network continues to attract scholars
The Europe Hub connects researchers across various faculties, facilitating knowledge exchange and collaborative projects. This expanding research community is developing a new minor and also offers opportunities for research funding.
If you have an idea for a research topic related to Europe, send an email to the Europe Hub and you’ll soon find colleagues who are keen to help. Via europehub@leidenuniv.nl you’ll be put in touch with one of the four network coordinators. One of them is Vincent Delhomme, the Europe Hub contact for research staff at Leiden Law School.
‘It's for all scholars at Leiden University and beyond, doing research on European integration and related social challenges,’ says Delhomme. For instance, social welfare, climate change and artificial intelligence, as well as the transition to a multipolar world and the need for consistency with Europe’s interests and values. ‘We approach Europe from a broad and inclusive perspective. Meaning the entire continent, its history, people, culture and its political and legal systems. But we focus on the European Union. It is, after all, the dominant theme of Leiden University's research and teaching on Europe.’
Building a research community
The Europe Hub was launched back in September 2023. Today, more than 60 researchers are part of this community, including staff from the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, Leiden Law School, the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. Delhomme emphasises that every scholar can become a member, including people from outside of Leiden University. The Europe Hub acts as a database of information on researchers and their activities. It offers members practical tools to help them build contacts. The Europe Hub's coordinators are Leiden University ‘insiders’ who know how and who you can work with to get projects off the ground that are beyond the scope of your own expertise.
The more members we have, the greater the impact. Do get in touch and use our tools!
Vincent says: ‘We’re happy to receive more requests and help put people in touch with each other. Our aim is to support researchers, help them set up interdisciplinary projects and move their projects forward. The Europe Hub can also be useful for finding grants and funding.’
Making a mark with European expertise
The motives to establish the Europe Hub were both internal and external. Researchers with expert knowledge of European topics would be able to share this with university colleagues. Vincent: ‘This is not a given, considering we have seven relatively independent faculties and everyone acknowledges that this can create obstacles. We needed a platform to help with interdisciplinary conversations and initiatives.’ Going beyond the university, we can show the expertise of Leiden University researchers on European issues to administrative authorities and politicians in the Netherlands and Brussels.
Vincent stresses that the success of the Europe Hub depends on input from researchers. ‘The more members we have, the greater the impact. So if you’ve got an event to organise with a European focus and you’d like to promote it, or you're looking for someone to help or who can offer certain expertise – a colleague focusing on a specific area of research on Europe – do get in touch and use our tools.’
Four clusters
If you decide to join the Europe Hub, you can join one of the four network clusters: ‘Europe in the world’, ‘Markets, trade and digitalisation’, ‘Energy, environment, and health’ and ‘The foundations of European integration’. These are the general themes of the initial research agenda. You can find out who else is conducting research in these fields and at which participating faculties. If you have a question concerning your research project or you want to set up a project or apply for a grant, use the clusters to find out who you can contact.
The Europe Hub is a great way to get to know people from other faculties who I might not have met otherwise.
Initial successes
One initial success of the Europe Hub is that the four faculties are collaborating to launch a new multidisciplinary minor on the Europe’s main societal challenges. ‘Starting that process took a lot of time,’ explains Vincent. ‘We had to bring together professors from different faculties to decide how to address all the issues in one programme. We hope to launch the minor in 2026.’ As the coordinator, Vincent helped colleagues create the courses, draw up course descriptions, select teaching staff and decide on locations.
Vincent’s own research explores how the law can help citizens achieve a healthier lifestyle, and he’s already benefitted from being part of the Europe Hub. ‘You can’t understand the role of the legal system without viewing it from a broader, social science perspective. Collaborating with academics from other fields is essential in my work. The Europe Hub is a great way to get to know people from other faculties who I might not have met otherwise.’
Jan-Willem Oomen
Photo: Yunus Tuğ through Unsplash+
If you’d like to join the Europe Hub and make new contacts, please send an email to europehub@leidenuniv.nl or the coordinator of the cluster you’re interested in. For Leiden Law School, this is Vincent Delhomme.