From July 20-24, POLIN Museum is organizing a week-long program aimed at early-career scholars – doctoral students & post-docs – working in Jewish Studies or any other related field such as Jewish history, culture, literature, art, and so on.

The Summer School will bring together 12 participants to take part in workshops and field visits. The first component will allow participants to work on pre-circulated papers (e.g. a chapter from the PhD thesis) that they want to publish in a scholarly journal. Participants will be challenged to present their work, take constructive feedback, and give feedback to others.

Participants will also attend soft-skill workshops, including digital research tools, careers, networks, public speaking, as well as expert sessions with leading scholars in the field. The third component will be experiential: visiting exhibitions and collections in Warsaw (POLIN Museum, The Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute), Jewish sites in Warsaw and a day-long excursion to Łódź. The Summer Session will also include time dedicated to socialization and integration.

Participants will be immersed in the environment of museums and historical tourism that raise questions about presentation and preservation of important Jewish heritage sites, as well as bringing fundamental questions about memory politics to the fore.

Aims of the Summer School:

• Teach early-career scholars skills rarely acquired in their academic institutions, such as pedagogical skills, and preparing excellent and effective public lectures.
• Allow scholars to present new research and receive substantial feedback.
• Increase chances of young scholars to publish their work and receive funding for their research.
• Introduce early-career scholars to new perspectives on Jewish history and heritage.
• Create a cohort of scholars who are familiar with each other’s work.
• Show early-career scholars career paths available outside of academia, such as museums.
• Integration of doctoral students and recent PhDs in Jewish Studies from around the world.

Participants: max. 12 participants.

Applications:

Applications should be sent to [email protected] by 31 March 2026.

Admission will be based on submission of a sample text to ensure the quality of the research presented at the Summer School.

Application materials:

• Short (1 pg. max) cover letter
• CV
• Writing sample (max. 10,000 words)

Funding:

• There is no fee to participate and travel costs will be reimbursed up to particular limits.
• For participants coming from North America, we will provide up to 5000 PLN for economy class roundtrip airfare.
• For those from Israel, up to 1200 PLN for economy class roundtrip airfare.
• For those travelling from Europe, up to 800 PLN for economy class roundtrip airfare or train tickets.
• For those travelling within Poland, we will provide up to 300 PLN for roundtrip train or bus tickets.
• Accommodations will be left up to participants to organize and will also be reimbursed up to 2000 PLN per person for the duration of the Summer School.
• Lunches will also be provided.

Partners: