The DH Benelux PhD Mentoring Track provides an opportunity for doctoral students working in the area of Digital Humanities to present and discuss their research with experienced researchers and other doctoral students in a seminar-style format. We welcome contributions representing a broad spectrum of research topics relevant to the DH Benelux community.

The PhD Mentoring Track will be held annually in conjunction with the DHBenelux Conference. The initiative focuses on PhD students who have already outlined the main directions of their research and would like to get feedback on the chosen approach or on specific aspects of their methodology. In addition, the Mentoring Track enables students to establish a supportive community, including other doctoral students working as peers in related areas or at a similar stage of progress in their dissertation research. This full-day event will consist of participants presenting their work, focusing on targeted issues and (methodological, practical) challenges they currently encounter. Students will get feedback both in plenary sessions and 1-on-1 focus sessions with dedicated experts.

To ensure that the Mentoring Track can provide sufficiently focused feedback to individual students, the number of participants is limited to 8 PhD students. The event is in-person only and is tied to the DH Benelux 2026 conference. To particpate in the mentoring track, you have to register for the conference.

The organizers welcome contributions in the following form:

• Length: 500-1000 words (excl. references)
• Language: English 
• The submission should include:
  • A brief description of the main PhD research project.
  • An indication of the current phase of the research (what you have done so far, how much time you have in total, and how much time you have left).
  • A description of the specific aspects and issues that you would like to present and discuss during the event.
• Experts: If possible, mention 2-3 possible experts who you think would be suitable conversation partners (preferably individuals who are likely to attend the DH Benelux conference).
• If you are also submitting an abstract for this year’s DH Benelux, it is acceptable if your Mentoring Track contribution overlaps with this; however, please ensure that your Mentoring Track contribution also describes the broader context of your PhD project and focuses on the specific challenges on which you would like to receive feedback. 

If the number of contributions exceeds the number of available slots (8), the Mentoring Track organisers will select contributions based on the degree to which the contributors might benefit from participating in the event.

Contributors are expected to present their work in person during the Mentoring Track. In the weeks leading up to the event, we will ask you to provide some background reading material for the dedicated experts who will be assigned by the Mentoring Track organisers. This material can be, but is not limited to, a preliminary chapter of your thesis, a research paper or article, or an outline of your thesis.

How to submit: please send us the proposal for your contribution via email to mike.kestemont@uantwerpen.be. Please submit your contribution as a single PDF and use subject line: “DHBenelux 2026 PhD Mentoring Track Proposal – [Your Name]”.

Important dates:

• Initial proposals for contribution: 16 February 2026
• Notification of invitation: 6 March 2026
• Deadline for sending reading materials to experts: 4 May 2026
• PhD Mentoring Track: 2 June 2026

Organisers:

• Elli Bleeker (Huygens Institute)
• Margherita Fantoli (KU Leuven)
• Marijn Koolen (Huygens Institute)
• Mike Kestemont (Antwerp University)