have a specialised knowledge of a specific cultural, economic, historical or political area of analysis and country within the field of Central and East European Studies;
· be acquainted with a range of methodologies;
· possess a detailed knowledge of the culture, economics, history and politics of the region;
· be able to evaluate theories and analyse critically the arguments of scholars;
· have acquired the ability to approach any subject of enquiry in an open-minded, rigorous and undogmatic manner and the skill to construct arguments and express their own views in a logical and lucid fashion;
· an ability to work independently using their own initiative to produce work containing a substantial element of originality;
· identify and gather research data (i.e from original language sources, interviews, media, archives and government reports).