After two years at the Faculty of Law as a Horizon Europe MSCA ERA Fellow, postdoctoral researcher Dr. Giulia Lausi reflects on her experience of conducting interdisciplinary research in Lithuania, the challenges of adapting to a new academic environment, and the outcomes of her fellowship.
Together with her supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ilona Michailovič, they also discuss the value of international collaboration, interdisciplinary research, and the impact of the Faculty’s first MSCA ERA Fellowship project on the academic community.
Dr. Giulia Lausi, PhD (Q&A)
Looking back on your two years at the Faculty of Law, what were the biggest challenges you faced, and how did they shape your experience?
One of the biggest challenges I faced was adapting to a country that was not initially my first choice. Before moving to Lithuania, I only spoke Italian and English – I still do, but I understand a little bit of Lithuanian now – and I was concerned that I would struggle to integrate into an environment where English was not the primary language. However, I was positively surprised by how widely English is spoken and by how this facilitated both professional and personal connections.
Another challenge was building a new professional network from scratch. In Italy, I had worked for years within an established research group, whereas moving abroad meant leaving behind colleagues and collaborators with whom I had developed strong relationships. As someone who is naturally introverted and values clear personal boundaries, there were times when this transition made me feel isolated. At the same time, these challenges significantly shaped my development as a researcher. They strengthened my critical thinking, increased my independence, and taught me how to build professional networks in new environments. Perhaps most importantly, they helped me improve my ability to communicate the importance of my research not only within academia, but also to wider audiences.
As a researcher from Italy, how would you compare the academic and research environments in Italy and Lithuania? Were there any differences that particularly surprised you?
One of the aspects that surprised me most positively was the accessibility of academic relationships. This may partly be influenced by the use of English as a common working language, which often feels more informal than either Italian or Lithuanian, but I found interactions across different academic levels to be particularly open and approachable.
Working within a European-funded project also meant experiencing a strong institutional commitment to supporting international researchers. Throughout my fellowship, I felt genuinely supported by many people at the university, starting with my supervisor but also including administrative staff, who showed remarkable patience and generosity in helping me navigate a new academic and administrative system.
At the same time, I deeply missed the daily intellectual exchange that comes from working in a larger research group. In Italy, I was part of a laboratory with many colleagues working in related areas, whereas during my fellowship I often found myself bridging disciplinary boundaries, bringing a psychological perspective into a Faculty of Law environment. This experience highlighted both the challenges and the value of interdisciplinary research.
What do you consider to be the most significant outcomes of your postdoctoral fellowship, and why are they important?
The tangible outcomes of my fellowship – such as the methodology I developed, the scientific publications, and the book project based on my findings – are certainly important. However, I believe that the most significant achievement has been the progress I made toward building an interdisciplinary theoretical framework for understanding gender-based discrimination.
Today, many disciplines investigate gender discrimination and gender-based violence at a highly sophisticated level, but these perspectives do not always communicate effectively with one another. One of my long-term research ambitions is to contribute to creating conceptual and methodological bridges between these different fields. I believe that developing this interdisciplinary dialogue is essential if we want to fully understand the complexity of discrimination and its social consequences.
How do you see the results of your research being applied in practice? What impact do you hope they will have in the future?
I believe that the findings produced so far already have important practical implications. They can contribute to the development of training programs on discriminatory language, evidence-based psychoeducational interventions, policies supporting victims of discrimination, and broader public awareness initiatives.
Looking ahead, I would like to extend this research to additional international contexts in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how discrimination operates across societies. One of my main goals is to move beyond the idea that discrimination can be explained solely by individual characteristics or solely by cultural factors. Human experiences of discrimination emerge from a much more complex interaction between cognitive, social, and cultural processes, and exploring this complexity is where I hope my future research will contribute.
Based on your experience, what advice would you give to researchers considering or planning to apply for a postdoctoral fellowship?
My first piece of advice would simply be: take the chance and apply. Applying for a postdoctoral fellowship can be challenging, and rejection is never easy, but opportunities cannot be achieved if we do not allow ourselves to pursue them.
My second piece of advice is to remember that a postdoctoral fellowship is about much more than conducting a research project. It also involves learning how to adapt to a new environment, whether that means a different country, institution, or academic culture. It requires dealing with uncertainty, adjusting expectations, and accepting that research outcomes do not always unfold as originally planned.
In many ways, a postdoctoral fellowship demands a high degree of personal agency and independence. While supervisors provide invaluable support and guidance, the experience requires researchers to develop their own professional identity and learn to navigate uncertainty with confidence. For me, this has been one of the most valuable and transformative aspects of the entire experience.
Supervisor's Perspective Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ilona Michailovič
Why is this project important for the Faculty of Law and the wider research community?
This was the first Horizon MSCA Postdoctoral Programme (ERA Fellowship) project to be awarded to and implemented at the Faculty of Law. The project was highly significant, contributing to the Faculty’s research activity. As a psychologist, the project fellow carried out her research using an interdisciplinary approach, integrating perspectives from women and gender studies, psychology, and victimology under the supervision of a legal scholar. This project therefore represents an important step toward strengthening a broader understanding of law as a scientific discipline that interacts with other fields, including psychology. It also demonstrates that legal scholars do not have to implement research projects exclusively within their own disciplinary circles.
What has been the greatest value of working with an international postdoctoral researcher?
Collaboration with an international postdoctoral researcher is valuable from both scientific and cultural perspectives. Giulia Lausi came to Lithuania for a two-year fellowship, where everything was new to her, and she needed additional support to integrate into the Faculty of Law community. I tried to be her first point of contact whenever she needed assistance. I also invited Giulia to several of my lectures as a guest speaker, and her presentations made a very positive impression on the students. Overall, I believe that integration into the Faculty of Law community was successful.
Such projects contribute to our visibility as legal scholars from a broader perspective, not only within the Faculty of Law but also across the university and beyond. I would like to see more projects of this kind.