Eco-Cultural Heritage & Sustainable Futures: Doctoral Training Programme
The KreativEU Doctoral Training Programme in Eco-Cultural Heritage & Sustainable Futures invites PhD students from across Europe to explore the links between heritage, sustainability, culture, and society through international collaboration, fieldwork, and innovative research.
This is an interdisciplinary doctoral training initiative developed within the KreativEU Alliance. The programme brings together PhD advisors, doctoral students, researchers, heritage professionals, and partner institutions for one year in order to explore cultural heritage through theoretical, methodological, experiential, and collaborative approaches.
Please note: The programme does not constitute a full doctoral programme or an additional year of doctoral studies. Instead, it provides targeted training aimed at developing doctoral students’ knowledge, skills, and expertise in the specific topic covered.
The programme responds to contemporary challenges facing cultural heritage research and preservation, including environmental change, sustainability transitions, public engagement, heritage governance, and the need for innovative research methodologies capable of addressing increasingly complex cultural and societal questions.
Combining theoretical learning, international mobility, field-based experience, walking seminars, conferences, mentorship activities, and collaborative knowledge production, the programme enables doctoral candidates from KreativEU partner universities to connect conceptual reflection with practical experience and international academic exchange.
The program places special focus on cultural heritage as a dynamic and evolving process shaped through human interaction, storytelling, memory, environmental change, and professional practice. The programme approaches heritage not only as an object of research but also as a field of social and educational engagement, knowledge production, and future-oriented thinking.
Collaborative and Cumulative Learning
A distinctive feature of the programme is its emphasis on collaborative and cumulative learning.
Throughout the programme participants contribute to the development of the KreativEU Doctoral Heritage Handbook, a living resource documenting methodological innovations, mobility experiences, field observations, professional reflections, and heritage case studies generated by successive cohorts of doctoral students.
The programme combines two components:
- Theoretical Learning
- Experiential Practice
These two parts are organised to run in parallel.
Organised by the KreativEU Alliance
🇷🇴 Valahia University of Târgoviște
🇵🇹 Polytechnic University of Tomar
🇸🇪 Södertörn University
🇸🇰 Trnava University in Trnava
🇵🇱 Opole University of Technology
What You’ll Gain
✅ 10 ECTS (or 5 ECTS partial completion)
✅ International networking with PhD students and academics
✅ Field schools, walking seminars, conferences, and workshops
✅ Research, publishing, and career development support
✅ Mobility opportunities across Europe
✅ A joint KreativEU certificate
Programme Details
📅 Duration: November 2026 – October 2027
🌍 Format: Blended (online + mobility + field activities)
Who Can Apply?
Doctoral students who:
- are curious and open-minded
- enjoy working across disciplines
- want to address sustainability challenges
- value international collaboration
- are interested in heritage, culture, society, or environmental change
PhD students and personnel from all KreativEU universities and other higher education institutions are welcome to apply.
What Will You Do?
Choose from activities such as:
- Field Schools
- Walking Seminars
- International Conferences
- Collaborative Workshops
- Research Development Sessions
Create a personalised learning pathway linked to your PhD topic and interests.
Application
Step 1. Access the Application Platform
Go to:
Step 2. Notify Your Intention to Apply
Send an email from your university institutional email address to:
indicating your intention to apply.
Step 3. Wait for Confirmation and Submit Your Application
Once you receive the confirmation email, you will be able to complete and submit your application through the platform:
Complete the Online Application
Step 4. Upload Your CV
Upload your CV at:
Required
✓ Online application form
✓ CV
Important Dates
| Date |
Application Opening | 29 June 2026 |
Application Deadline | 15 October 2026 (23:59 CET) |
Results Notification | 22 October 2026 |
Appeals Period | 23–26 October 2026 |
Final Results | 2 November 2026 |
Programme Start | 15 November 2026 |
Ready to Join?
If you want to expand your research, build international connections, and create knowledge that matters, we invite you to become part of the KreativEU community.
Applications close 15 October 2026
Access the Application Platform →
Info also on KreativEU Webpage: https://kreativeu.org/en/news/520/
2nd KreativEU Student Conference and International Student Festival
5 October to 9 October, 2026
Dear colleagues,
We are happy to invite students from your university to join our upcoming 2nd KreativEU Student Conference and International Student Festival, which will take place from 5 October to 9 October, 2026.
The event consists of two connected activities – the conference and festival. We are planning the programme as one combined experience, meaning that students who join the conference are welcomed to stay and participate in the festival as well. Together, the two events will create an exciting 5-day programme full of learning, networking, cultural exchange, and fun activities.
We are sharing promotional posters with you, which you are welcome to use for promoting the event among your students. Since some students are already starting their summer holidays, we would greatly appreciate it if you could also continue sharing the information in September, when students return.
The registration deadline is 27 September (registration here), and the maximum number of participants per university is 6 students. Of course, if you have more interested students, please let Maria or Alena know, and we will do our best to find a solution.
It would also be very helpful if you could keep a list of potential additional participants as substitutes, in case we need to fill places from universities that are not able to send their full group of 6 students.
We are very grateful for your support in promoting the event and believe that the programme will offer an exciting and valuable experience for students – both during the conference and the festival activities.
We are looking forward to welcoming your students and having them with us!
Wishing you a wonderful summer and a relaxing break.
Best regards,
Trnava team
Summer School in Tomar: Art & Heritage in Motion: from theory to practice
29.06.2026 – 10.07.2026
From 29 June to 10 July 2026, a summer school on the theme of ‘Art & Heritage in Motion: from theory to practice’ will take place at the Polytechnic University in Tomar.
The Summer School aims to provide participants with a cultural and creative learning experience that bridges theoretical knowledge and hands-on practice in the fields of heritage and arts, while integrating digital technologies and sustainable perspectives. By bringing together participants from different European institutions, the Summer School promotes cultural awareness, interdisciplinary approaches, and multicultural collaboration in an international academic setting.
The programme is structured in two phases:
- 29 June to 3 July– online sessions
- 6 to 10 July– in-person activities in Tomar, Portugal
Registration is open until 27 May 2026 via our registration form.
KreativEU Walking Seminar at Opole University of Technology: „Let’s Talk About Accessibility”
13 Sep 2026 – 19 Sep 2026
Opole University of Technology is honored to invite you to participate in an innovative scientific event: „Let’s Talk About Accessibility”. This seminar is conducted using the unique Walking Seminar formula, where the process of learning and knowledge exchange occurs during organized walks, utilizing movement as an integral part of the research methodology.The primary goal is to develop competencies in diagnosing and designing spaces accessible to individuals with special needs and to promote the idea of universal design. This methodology is particularly valuable in interdisciplinary research, where the direct experience of space serves as a crucial element of the investigative process.
We kindly ask you to reserve the following dates in your calendars: September 13–19, 2026. (Consisting of 5 days of substantive stay and 2 days for travel).
Please be advised that there is an opportunity to utilize incoming mobility grants available at Opole University of Technology – the „OUTech@KreativEU” project supports internationalization and the building of lasting partnerships within the alliance.
Participation offers a tangible impact on the accessibility of public spaces in Europe and results in a certificate confirming the acquisition of professional competencies.
For any additional questions, please contact Małgorzata Nowicka-Zając at M.Nowicka-Zajac@po.edu.pl
Join us in Opole to collaboratively design a future without barriers!
Contacts at Valahia University of Targoviste:
Project Coordinator at Valahia University of Targoviste: Silviu Miloiu: silviu.miloiu@valahia.ro
WP3 Research Responsible at Valahia University of Targoviste: Cristiana Rădulescu: cristiana.radulescu@valahia.ro
WP7 Mobilities Research Responsible at Valahia University of Targoviste: Doina Bucur, doina.bucur@valahia.ro
Link: https://kreativeu.org/en/news/415/
The project OUTech@KreativEU: Development of Competencies, Mobility, and Synergy within a European University is financed by the European Union under the European Funds for Social Development 2021-2027 (FERS) as part of the NAWA project „Support for European University Alliances”, project number FERS.01.05-IP.08-0219/23
