The HCAS Winter School 2026 will explore various forms of communication as an integral part of academic work. Communication shapes every aspect of research, from collaboration in teams and projects to formal and informal exchanges across scholarly communities and institutional settings. The Winter School examines the full spectrum of academic practices through the lens of communication, with particular attention to the social dimensions of research – writing, publishing, evaluating, responding to reviews and feedback, building networks, and working in research groups. Its aim is to help early-career researchers develop effective strategies to strengthen their skills in these areas.
Our discussions will focus on themes including:
- Why communication matters: Understanding the role of communication and collaboration in research and scholarship.
- Teamwork and research groups: Considering the benefits and challenges of working in teams and building research groups.
- Writing and publishing as communication: Exploring the process of writing academic texts as a communicative act, examining communicative strategies and practices across disciplines, and engaging with publishers and editors.
- Collegial relationships and networks: Viewing academic life through relationships with peers, supervisors, and colleagues, and developing networking skills in diverse academic contexts.
- Reviewing and evaluating: Learning to communicate effectively in the contexts of academic evaluation, deal with negative feedback, and react strategically to peer review.
HCAS Winter Schools are organized annually and give doctoral researchers a chance to learn essential skills and practices related to academic research and career building and to discuss their work with more experienced researchers in an interdisciplinary and international setting. The Winter School lasts three days and takes place in the Collegium building at Fabianinkatu 24 A, 3rd floor.
The Winter School is organized and taught by Collegium fellows. The fellows are experts in different fields of the humanities and social sciences, including law, behavioral sciences, and theology. The participants of the HCAS Winter School should be affiliated with the University of Helsinki, and their doctoral work should focus on fields represented at the Collegium.
The Winter School consists of plenaries and workshops, in which participants are divided into small groups. In the thematic plenaries, current Collegium Fellows and experts from outside the Collegium share their knowledge of different facets of academic career-building. The workshops offer doctoral researchers the opportunity to receive personal feedback from HCAS Fellows and other doctoral candidates in a relaxed environment. The Winter School sessions begin at 9:15 am or later and end by 4:30 pm; in addition, the Collegium hosts social events in the evenings.
The Winter School yields 3 ECTS. The registration of the credits will be administered by the doctoral school. The language of the Winter School is English. A detailed program will be sent to the registered participants before the Winter School.
Doctoral researchers wishing to participate in the Winter School are requested to
All participants must submit a written pre-assignment by February 11, 2026. This text will form the basis for small-group work during the Winter School.
Instructions for the written task
Please write three different versions of an abstract (approximately 200 words each) based on your dissertation topic. Each version should target a different audience:
- readers in your discipline (e.g., a paper proposal for a conference or journal within your field);
- a multidisciplinary academic audience (e.g., a funding application reviewed by scholars from various disciplines);
- the general public (e.g., an article for a major newspaper).
Preparation for group work
Before the Winter School begins, please:
- Prepare a brief oral introduction of your research (max. 3 minutes): explain your research interests and why they matter.
- Reflect on positive and negative feedback you have received on your work and what you learned from it.
- Read your group members’ abstracts.
Registered course participants will receive an email with instructions on submitting the pre-assignment and accessing the submissions of their group members.
Elina Helosvuori, Core Fellow, HCAS
Roope Kaaronen, Core Fellow, HCAS
Iuliia Pavlova, Kone Foundation Fellow, HCAS
Emma Polyakov, Core Fellow, HCAS
Svetlana Vetchinnikova, Deputy Director, HCAS
Juhana Toivanen, Research Coordinator, HCAS