Colleagues through the European Sociological Association met in Copenhagen and call their network 'Bridg'it', in direct challenge to the current Brexit times. Staff Exchange Destination: Copenhagen Year: 2022 Why did you choose your destination? This collaboration emerged from regular encounters through the European Sociological Association - I was meeting the social scientists interested in the study of food and eating (and questions of sustainability, inequality, commensality etc.) every two years and at some point we decided to meet more specifically on these topics. It started with French colleagues, then Danish and Portuguese ones, and now a German team has also joined. We called our network 'Bridg'it', in direct challenge to the current Brexit times. Share your experience: Erasmus gave us very precious freedom. Beyond all the joys of discovering the hills and flora of Lisbon, the skies of Copenhagen and Paris, it was the possibility to just let our intellectual and social shared interests gather us, instead of all the usual pursuits of 'impact' and instrumental benefits. Erasmus just asked us how each of us would benefit personally and career-wise, but without any pressure. As a result, these encounters have always been a joy - each time bringing more trust among us and more possibilities to exchange without feeling monitored. Share a story about someone who made your experience special: Sharing all this time together, not only for academically but also socially, felt very precious. It is funny that our group here in Edinburgh got to talk so much more on these trips than any time at Edinburgh. Shared discovery brought us together. PhD students formed links across the Channel, too. Being able to all take part, staff and postgraduates, was perhaps the best feature (Postgraduate students tutored and were thus employed by the University and able to take part in the staff mobility programme, as we academics did). Current opportunities Find out more about all the staff opportunities available: Staff opportunities Read other staff stories Staff stories This article was published on 2024-06-24
