Milan Early Career Scholars Initiative (MECSI): Call for Expressions of Interests

The Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan invites young scholars to present the outcome of their doctoral research on any topic within the field of private international law, transnational law or the law of international arbitration, at a dedicated seminar to be held in Milan (the MECSI Seminar). Each MECSI Seminar will revolve around one scholar selected for this purpose.

Applicants may come from any country. They must have already discussed their PhD dissertation at the time when the application is submitted. However, no more than three years must have passed since the dissertation was discussed.

Applications must include a copy of the dissertation, an abstract of the dissertation in English and a CV of the author in English (dissertations written in a language other than English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese or Italian should preferably come with an abstract of no less than 3.500 words).

Applications must also include a proposal for the seminar presentation consisting of a title followed by an abstract of about 1.500 words. The subject matter of the presentation must relate to, but should not necessarily coincide with, the topic of the thesis. The applicant may choose, for instance, to concentrate on one particular issue, or discuss developments occurred after the dissertation was discussed.

All documents accompanying the application must be in pdf format. The selection process involves, for those shortlisted, a Zoom interview.

The Catholic University of the Sacred Heart will cover the travel expenses of the selected scholar up to 600 Euros, and will take care of his or her accommodation at one of the guest houses of the University for up to two nights. During their stay in Milan, the selected scholar will also be invited to give a 45-minute lecture in English to the students attending the course of Private International Law on a topic unrelated to their PhD research.

Those interested in presenting their doctoral research at the fifth MECSI Seminar, scheduled to take place in Fall 2026 or Winter 2027, are encouraged to send an e-mail to Pietro Franzina (pietro.franzina@unicatt.it) by 30 August 2026.