The next round of the Scholars’ Programme is now open for admissions. Find out more on the admission pages.
Intense involvement in the programme and enthusiastic support for it
From mid-December 2025 to mid-January 2026, we conducted a survey of all 126 of the alumni of the Europaeum Scholars Programme. The response rate was an exceptional 78.6%.
The dropout rate from the Programme across all four cohorts, including Covid, is a mere 3 percent.
If starting over again, 90% of the scholars would choose to participate. Only 4% felt that their participation in the programme was, on balance, not worthwhile.
The effect on the doctorate – highly beneficial
- Not one of the Scholars’ Programme participants has withdrawn from their doctoral programme – equivalent to the best anywhere in the world. [The average European dropout rate is estimated to be 30-40%.]
- Despite the significant extra work, well over half of those on the Scholars’ Programme said it helped them with their doctorate; and out of 99 respondents only one said it had substantially hindered their doctoral work.
- More than 2/3 of the Scholars said that the programme had either no effect or their completion time or had even accelerated it.
- Well over half of the Scholars said that the programme improved their ability to manage their time and their priorities.
- On average, Scholars experienced a reduction in stress. Scholars whose stress level decreased outnumbered by 2 to 1 those for whom it increased.
- Far from being distracted from their doctoral research, two out of every three Scholars said it increased their interest in their doctoral work.
Significant skill acquisition and development
- 95% agreed or strongly agreed that they had acquired new skills.
- Amongst the skills which Scholars felt had been most increased were teamwork, including leading a team and building a consensus within a team.
- Significant majorities of them saw substantial gains in self-confidence, policy writing, analytical techniques, public speaking and soft negotiation skills.
- 85% said the programme had increased their ability to communicate their research with non-academic audiences.
Leadership
- 86% of the scholars felt the programme had increased their knowledge and understanding of leadership.
- 80% felt it had significantly improved their ability to lead a team.
Beneficial impact on careers
- 94% considered the programme contributed positively to their career outcomes.
- Nearly a quarter felt that it had contributed to a “large extent”; and more than 1 in 10 felt that had it had been “crucial” (the highest rating available).
- 75% of respondents (excluding a few unable to judge) believed that the programme improved their career prospects compared to their peers not on the programme.
- 70% of respondents believed that their participation in the programme had led to other opportunities (grants, employment, speaking invitations, etc.).
The four “take-aways” most mentioned
- learning to listen to those with whom they disagreed
- learning about the policy process
- learning new skills
- making new friends.
Qualitative feedback – just a few out of a great many
Loved it! And still feel nostalgic about it, years after.
It is challenging, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.
The best experience of my doctoral years.
I’m beyond grateful! The Europaeum programme most definitely changed my life for the better. 🙂
The Europaeum gave me something rare during the PhD: a community that, eight years later, I still rely on. I was humbled by the Europaeum team’s work ethic and by the seriousness, generosity, and ambition of my colleagues’ work. The Europaeum aims to shape Europe’s leaders of the future, and that is possible only if there is a Europe worth fighting for and worth believing in. For me, the Europaeum has embodied this … Put simply, it helps strengthen, renew, and expand the conditions that make the European project viable. It builds trust across borders, sustains intellectual exchange, and trains scholars to bring rigorous knowledge into public life with clarity and responsibility. I believed in this program as a scholar in 2018-19, and in 2026 it has only become more necessary than ever.
Europaeum is a rare space where intellectual rigour, European responsibility and human complexity coexist.
Its greatest strength lies not only in the excellence it cultivates, but in the ethical questions it raises about leadership, care and purpose. As such, it is not merely a programme one completes, but an experience that continues to shape how participants think, act and contribute long after it formally ends.
The programme is amazing!
This was the most important and enjoyable part of my PhD, which saved the whole project at a time when isolation was rampant and despite my extraordinary efforts, I was in immense need of intellectual companions. The Europaeum was my family and intellectual trampoline to my academic career. A heartfelt thank you!
February 2026
