VICES supports researchers at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam by providing funding for events and research-related activities that contribute to the study of Europe, the European Union and European integration.

We particularly welcome proposals that bring together researchers from different disciplines, strengthen existing research networks or create opportunities for new collaborations. Funding may be used for conferences, workshops, seminars, lectures and other research-related events. 

Researchers from other VU faculties are encouraged to collaborate with colleagues from the Faculty of Law or the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. VICES may co-fund such initiatives alongside financial or in-kind support from the applicant's own faculty or research project, provided that the initiative contributes a European policy-dimension.

Eligibility and criteria

• Applicants must be affiliated with the faculties of Law or Social Sciences and Humanities at VU Amsterdam.
• The activity should contribute to research, visibility and/or network building in European Studies, broadly understood, within VU.

VICES particularly welcomes cooperation across VU faculties, or within the three schools of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, and proposals contributing to grant acquisition, research output or the public visibility of research.

Application procedure

• VICES circulates funding calls at least twice a year. Rolling applications may be considered when funding remains available.
• Grants are available up to a maximum of €1,500; awards are usually smaller. Funding cannot cover salaries or student assistants.
• Send a brief description of the proposed event or activity, addressing the criteria above, together with a simple budget.
• Send applications and questions to BOTH co-directors: Özlem Terzi (o.terzi@vu.nl) and Dion Kramer (dion.kramer@vu.nl).
• The activity must take place within the calendar year of application.

European integration is a uniquely radical experiment in governance, which can only be understood by drawing on insights from the humanities and social sciences beyond those traditionally associated with European Studies.

The study of Europe needs to become less introspective and more exploratory. We therefore advocate a turn to the outside: looking beyond established disciplinary boundaries to reinvigorate the field and develop new ways of understanding Europe.

In sum, VICES aims to: 

• Raise the visibility of Europe-oriented research conducted at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
• Bring together researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds.
• Contribute to European Studies by encouraging distinctive perspectives and approaches.
• Facilitate new research projects, funding opportunities and collaborations.

European Studies does not stop at the boundaries of traditional European Studies. 

VICES is interested in questions of complexity and governance, technology and power, identity politics, feminism and diversity, illiberal democracy, globalization and militarisation, redistribution and sharing, and constitutional resistance and civil disobedience, all within a European context.

These themes are not exhaustive. Rather, they illustrate how contemporary Europe can be understood and enriched through different disciplines, approaches and perspectives.

Researchers from across VU, as well as colleagues from other institutions, are welcome to contribute their expertise, share ideas and participate in VICES activities.

VICES is led by an interdisciplinary management team representing the participating faculties at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Directors
Prof. Gareth Davies - Faculty of Law
Prof. Bastiaan van Apeldoorn - Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities

Co-directors
Dr. Dion Kramer - Faculty of Law - dion.kramer@vu.nl
Dr. Özlem Terzi - Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities - o.terzi@vu.nl 

Coordinator
Dr. Alberto López Ortega – Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities - a.lopez.ortega@vu.nl

Please contact co-directors Dion Kramer and Özlem Terzi for any questions.

VICES brings researchers together through lectures, seminars, workshops and other academic events that encourage interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration. This section will highlight selected VICES events, activities and research projects, providing opportunities to learn more about ongoing initiatives across our interdisciplinary community.

VICES Annual Lecture 2026 by Mikael Rask Madsen | 18 February 2026

On 18 February 2026, Professor Mikael Rask Madsen (University of Copenhagen) delivered the VICES Annual Lecture, entitled Backlash, Pushback and the Future of the European Convention of Human Rights. In his lecture, Rask Madsen discussed contemporary challenges to the authority of the European Convention on Human Rights and situated these developments within their historical context. Following the lecture, Dilek Kurban (University of Amsterdam) and Alberto López Ortega (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) opened the plenary discussion. 

Legal Sightseeing Festival | 2 July 2026

VICES supported the first edition of the Legal Sightseeing Festival, which took place on 2 July 2026 at the TMC Asser Institute in The Hague. During the festival, Sofia Stolk and Renske Vos celebrated a decade of legal sightseeing scholarship and projects. The event also marked the publication of their book, Legal Sightseeing and International Law (Routledge, 2026). The programme featured speakers, pop-up talks, music and ice cream, alongside a photo exhibition on EU legal sightseeing, a project that Stolk and Vos hope to develop further. 

Jean Monnet Chair JUDILL | 2023-2026

In the period 2023-2026, a Jean Monnet Chair on the theme Judges vs Illiberalism: Legal Mobilization for the Rule of Law (JUDILL) was held by Pola Cebulak, Associate Professor at the Transnational Legal Studies Department of the VU Faculty of Law. The JUDILL Jean Monnet Chair supported the VU Interdisciplinary Centre for European Studies (VICES) in strengthening teaching and research in European Studies at the VU Amsterdam.

Jean Monnet Module REPAIR | 2022–2025

Between 2022 and 2025, VU Amsterdam hosted the EU-funded Jean Monnet Module REPAIR (“Re-focusing the European Green Deal on the protection of the environment, security and Indigenous Peoples’ rights in the Arctic”).

In collaboration with the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, Finland, the project brought together teachers, Master’s students and PhD researchers to explore the implications of the European Green Deal for the European Arctic. The programme offered 40 contact hours per academic year.

Contributors from VU included Özlem Terzi, Wolfgang Wagner, Tanja Aalberts, Gareth Davies and Oscar Widerberg; University of Lapland contributors included Monica Tennberg and Marjo Lindroth. REPAIR organised six public events involving policymakers and produced student policy papers and research articles.