What do you do on an international mobility as a PhD candidate?

In France, and other countries, PhD candidates have the possibility to apply for scholarship for an international mobility in a country they choose. In my case it’s Belgium, and I had the opportunity to integrate Prof. Michel Vandembroeck’s team at the Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy, at Ghent University. Besides the nice people and the good working environment in this Faculty, the great part is that here I have enriching exchanges with professors and colleagues related to the subject of my thesis – early childhood education and cultural diversity.

Photo by Carmen C. Draghici, Library of Ghent University

If the main objective of this mobility is to have insights on my research topic from an international point of view and a comparative one, there are also other tasks and activities I have to complete. These are part of the « socialization » inside the host university and they can consist in formal or informal activities such as:

• conference
• group meeting on publication
• migration group discussion
• exchanges with colleagues on similar topics or methods
• meeting with the promoter on issues related to your project
• borrowing books from the Faculty’s library
• reading papers written by your colleagues
• learning how to recharge the coffee machine of the department’s kitchen (still not able to!) and other practicalities in the daily life of a PhD candidate in Ghent