HumanS@Meetings: A Case Study of Student-Led Initiatives Promoting Doctoral Well-being and Competence Development

In the increasingly complex and precarious academic landscape, doctoral students' well-being is a critical concern, with significant numbers experiencing psychological distress and heightened risk of mental health issues compared to other highly educated groups (Levecque et al., 2017). In responde to this, the student-led initiative HumanS@Meetings within the Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, aims to create a self-organized community of doctoral students and early-career researchers. Established in 2022 (Esmaeilikolahdooz et al., 2023), these informal meetings facilitate community building, peer-to-peer clarification, research project discussions, and collective input for the doctoral college. The organizers have involved representatives of the active doctoral cycles along the educational path, who thus assume an important political role, and one of mutual connection and knowledge.