ESIL Early-Career Mentoring Programme 2026-27 at the European Society of International Law (Online; Mentees and Mentors; Apply by 12 October)

The ESIL Early-Career Network Co-ordinating Committee, with the support of the ESIL Board, has announced a new edition of the ESIL Early-Career Mentoring Program for the 2026-2027 academic year. The European Society of International Law is a network of academics, practitioners, judges and students of international law, and its Early-Career Network (formed in 2022) runs initiatives for emerging scholars and practitioners, including this mentoring programme.

The programme runs from November 2026 to July 2027. Mentors are matched with a small group of mentees by the Co-ordinating Committee, and a minimum of four online meetings is encouraged over the year. The Committee also provides a list of potential topics for mentors and general guidelines setting out expectations, roles and limits. The programme is not a substitute for normal PhD supervision.

• Starting-out track: mentees are incoming PhD candidates or in the first year(s) of a PhD programme; mentors are advanced PhD candidates (final years) and postdoctoral researchers.
• Building-on track: mentees are in the final year(s) of their PhD or in the first year after submission; mentors are established academics or international law professionals.

Mentees in the Building-on track are strongly encouraged to also register as mentors in the Starting-out track, by submitting a second registration form.

• Open to early-career researchers and professionals in international law at the career stages described for each track.
• Both mentors and mentees should be ESIL members at the time the programme starts. ESIL membership is open to all those with an interest in international law, so applicants from India can join.
• Participation as a mentee is possible only once for each track.
• Early-career researchers from disadvantaged backgrounds or marginalised communities, who encounter additional barriers to accessing support, will be prioritised in the selection process.

The questionnaire lets mentees choose topics including research questions and methods, writing and publication, teaching, devising an independent research project (grants), professional development, service and leadership, finding an academic position, alternative careers outside academia, work-life balance, care responsibilities, health or accessibility considerations, and external stakeholder communication. Applicants also select up to three fields of expertise (for example general public international law, international human rights law, international criminal justice, law of the sea, space law or international economic law) and the country where they will spend most of the year, which is used to match participants in similar time zones.

The call does not state any separate fee for the mentoring programme, but participants must be ESIL members. ESIL's 2026 individual membership fees are EUR 120 (regular) and EUR 40 (student), with reduced fees of EUR 60 (regular) and EUR 20 (student) for members who study or work in lower-income countries; India is on ESIL's 2026 reduced-fee country list. Options that add an online subscription to the European Journal of International Law cost more (up to EUR 136 for a regular member). Membership runs for the calendar year, and anyone joining or renewing between 1 November and 31 December is given membership for the following year.

Register your expression of interest as a mentor or a mentee by 12 October 2026 by filling in the official ESIL questionnaire (Google Form). The form asks for your track, name, email, current position, institutional affiliation, fields of expertise, country, whether you commit to at least four online meetings between November 2026 and July 2027, and your mentoring preferences and goals.

The ESIL Early-Career Network Co-ordinating Committee will contact everyone who expressed interest in November 2026, and the programme then runs until July 2027.