The Spring Seminar took place in Brescia from March 31 to April 4. Our Autumn 2025 Seminar will be held 1 - 5 September in Milan.
The 2026 dates have already been set as well.
Application process
The application process for March 2026 will open in October 2025. Further information to follow.
We are organising our first international writing retreat week open to all doctoral students in June 2025. See below for further information
This writing retreat will take place from 30th June to 4th July 2025 at the Cremona Campus of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.
Cremona is a charming town with a rich cultural heritage 80 km south of Milan.
The Cremona Campus is located in the town centre and is in easy walking distance from major attractions and services. Since it is housed in an ex-monastery it provides the ideal location for a writing retreat. The writing retreat will take place from Monday to Friday from 0900 to 1730. It is planned as a residential retreat but participants who live locally may choose to travel daily to the retreat.
The retreat is open to doctoral students at any stage of their programme, in any subject or discipline, and any type of doctoral programme (PhD, DBA, etc) who wish to focus on their writing in an international context. Students in the application stages of a doctoral programme are not excluded, but need to be currently working on a writing project. It is advisable to contact the Centre if in doubt about your suitability for the week. The week is organised in English, and participants should be able and willing to conduct all interactions in English. Writing can be in any language.
Writing can be challenging for many reasons: lack of time, difficulty in getting ideas on paper, knowing where to start, structuring thoughts, or critically engaging with one's own writing. This retreat offers a supportive environment to help you overcome these barriers and develop new writing habits. It will make writing more enjoyable and productive, supporting you on your research journey.
The retreat provides dedicated writing time to progress your research projects and enhance your academic productivity. You'll write together in a group setting, with support from two academic writing coaches and with opportunities for peer interaction and learning. Each day starts with a planning session and ends with a review of the day's work. Writing will take place in assigned time slots, divided by breaks for reflection and peer review. There will also be sessions aimed at improving writing strategies and becoming familiar with different writing tools, including AI. Socializing opportunities for those staying in Cremona during the retreat will keep you energized.
You'll receive instructions before the retreat on how to prepare. It's important to come ready to write.
Fiona Hunter is Associate Director at the Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy, Faculty Member for the DBA in Higher Education Leadership and Management at LUISS, Rome, Italy, and Visiting Tutor for the DBA in Higher Education Management at Bath University, United Kingdom.
Jeanine Gregersen-Hermans is Academic Board member at the Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy, senior researcher and principal investigator at centre Sustainable International Business at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, and member of the Supervisory Board of Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands.
Fiona and Jeanine have worked together for several years developing the PhD Programme at CHEI, supervising, coaching and tutoring doctoral students.
The early bird rate for the retreat is €600 and is available between Friday 9th May and Monday 2nd June. The enrolment rate between Tuesday 3rd June and Sunday 15th June is €750.
The cost includes participation in the writing retreat only. It does not include travel, accommodation or any other costs.
UCSC students may apply for reimbursement of the writing retreat using the available annual research fund assigned to individual students. Other students should contact their own university about funding opportunities.
Participants should make their own travel and accommodation arrangements. There are regular trains from Milan Central Station to Cremona and the train station is within easy walking distance of the campus.
Registration will open on Friday 9th May 2025 and close on Sunday 15th June 2025. By 4th June, confirmation will be sent to registered participants that there are sufficient numbers for the writing retreat to take place. Participants who register before 4th June are advised not to make any non-refundable travel or accommodation arrangements until they have received confirmation of the event.
Enrol for the writing retreat here.
Further information
For any further information please contact us.
