The 10th ECPR Summer School in Methods and Techniques took place at the University of Ljubljana

Thirty seven courses ran throughout the 2015 Summer School with the most popular being the one-week course on ‘Qualitative Data Analysis: Concepts and Approaches’ (Instructor – Marie-Hélène Paré) which actually ran for two weeks such was the demand from participants. The most popular two-week course was ‘Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Fuzzy Sets’ (Instructors – Carsten Schneider and Patrick Mello) and the most popular Refresher Course: ‘Introduction to the Use of R’ (Instructor – Luka Kronegger).

Whilst the ECPR’s Methods School (and both events within it - the Summer School and Winter School) have become synonymous with high quality, cutting edge teaching, they are also becoming well known for the supporting plenary programme.

The Methods School organisers both at the ECPR and the local host institution go to great lengths to provide a fun, stimulating and inclusive set of events, aimed to support young scholars at the start of their careers (the Brown Bag Lectures) and create vital networks for future support and collaboration (social events).

This year’s Brown Bag Lectures provided advice on the vitally important themes of ‘(Why) are Method Skills Crucial for Career Development’ and ‘The best design (ever)?’.  Both sessions were well-attended.

In addition to the usual programme of activities, celebratory events for the 10th anniversary of the Summer School were arranged.  A ‘Methods Slam’ took place on the first Monday with prizes up for grabs and special guest Dirk Berg-Schlosser was invited to present the award named after him at the Poster Session on the second Sunday. A special 10th anniversary supplement and issue of ECPR News were produced to mark the event. You can also view a video of the Plenary lecture.

Instructor-led and online demonstrations of ‘Introduction to MAXQDA’ were organised as special complimentary sessions in the first and second week of the Summer School to assist participants with using research software.

Outside of the classroom participants could get to know one another at the many organised social events: from a tour of the Castle of Ljubljana and the beautiful Alpine resort of Bled Bohinj designed to satisfy heritage and cultural cravings, to celebrating completing the Summer School by experiencing the vibrant Ljubljana nightlife.

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