As part of our Places You’ll Go series, we spoke with Vladimir Shchukin a CERGE-EI student about his research stay at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, one of the leading centers for political economy. In this interview, Vladimir reflects on how he chose his destination, what he gained from presenting his work in a new academic environment, and how discussions with leading scholars and fellow students helped sharpen his research interests and strengthen his motivation to pursue an academic career. Continue reading At the Harris School: A Research Stay at the Frontier of Political Economy
Category Archives: Mobility
Research, Risk, and Growth: My Time at Yale
As part of the Places You’ll Go series, this interview with Margarita Pavlova follows a CERGE-EI student’s research stay at Yale University — a journey shaped by academic ambition, unexpected confidence, and the search for the right intellectual environment. What began as a strategic step to advance a Job Market Paper became a much broader experience of growth: from engaging with leading scholars in labor economics to discovering that top academic spaces are not only demanding, but also deeply energizing. In this conversation, she reflects on choosing Yale, navigating the road to the US, and what the experience taught her about research, collaboration, and believing in her own ideas. Continue reading Research, Risk, and Growth: My Time at Yale
From Copenhagen to Chicago—A PhD Year on the Move
In our Places You’ll Go series, we follow CERGE-EI students as they take their research abroad and bring new ideas back to Prague. In this interview, a CERGE-EI PhD student Ilisa Goenka (Quantitative Macroeconomics, Household Finance, Behavioral Macroeconomics) reflects on a high-intensity year filled with study stays at the University of Copenhagen (spring) and the University of Chicago (fall), with an additional visit to Princeton University as a Stapleton Scholar. In the interview she shares what it takes to integrate fast, stay productive, and make the most of short windows in top research environments. Continue reading From Copenhagen to Chicago—A PhD Year on the Move
Boston Bound: Study Stay at MIT
In this entry of the Places You’ll Go series, we follow Maksim Smirnov, a CERGE-EI PhD student, to MIT for a spring research stay shaped by one goal: sharpening a job market paper in the right intellectual home. Drawn by MIT’s strength in instrumental variable models and an unusually welcoming econometrics community, the visit became both a research accelerant and a crash course in academic connection. Continue reading Boston Bound: Study Stay at MIT
From Prague to Chicago to Princeton, via the New York Fed
What starts as a single email can turn into a research-shaping journey. As Gayane Baghumyan, a PhD student and aspiring experimental economist at CERGE-EI, describes in this Places You’ll Go interview, it unfolded like this: a CERGE-EI–supported research stay became six months at the University of Chicago, hosted by John List, followed by a Stapleton Award–funded visit to Princeton and a conference stop at the New York Fed. Along the way, she discovered an intense seminar culture, world-class faculty who were unexpectedly down-to-earth, and “random conversations” that sharpened her research design and broadened her view of how economics can influence the world. Continue reading From Prague to Chicago to Princeton, via the New York Fed
“A New Door Opened”: Yaroslav Korobka’s Journey Through Academic Mobility
When Yaroslav Korobka, a CERGE-EI student with a deep passion for econometrics, received the unexpected suggestion “Princeton” during his DPW defense, it opened a path he hadn’t fully imagined. His mobility stay at Princeton University became a defining academic experience—shaping his research, expanding his network, and transforming both his skills and perspective. In this interview from the series Places You’ll Go, he shares what surprised him most about the teaching environment and the lessons he brought back for future CERGE-EI students. Continue reading “A New Door Opened”: Yaroslav Korobka’s Journey Through Academic Mobility
Confidence, Curiosity, and California: Reflections on a Study Stay
From Prague to Berkeley, this interview traces the academic and personal journey of our PhD student Tereza Burýšková, who spent a study stay
at the University of California, Berkeley. Her experiences open a new interview series titled Places You’ll Go, sharing reflections on the decision-making process, cultural adjustments, and differences in academic environments. The interview aims to encourage other students to take a similar step. It offers an honest look at what it means to move beyond one’s comfort zone. Continue reading Confidence, Curiosity, and California: Reflections on a Study Stay
On the Frontier of Research in Economics
Anna Pestova, our PhD in Economics candidate, has spent 7 months on a research stay at Princeton University. Read more about her unique experience, part of which has also been participating in the academic job market for economists.
Continue reading On the Frontier of Research in Economics
Greetings from Princeton
CERGE-EI encourages its PhD students to conduct part of their research abroad. Many students choose universities in the US, such as Columbia University, New York University, or Princeton University. Our PhD in Economics student Rastislav Rehák has recently returned from Princeton and shared his experience with us. Continue reading Greetings from Princeton