What is OVA?

The OVA (Omnes Voces Acceptamus) Summer School is the successor to what was formerly known as the EGG (Eastern Generative Grammar) School. Since 1994, the EGG has been held annually in former Eastern Bloc countries. The original goal of the school was to offer an affordable program in generative linguistics, particularly in regions where access to generative syntax, semantics and phonology had been limited — first for political reasons during the communist era, and later for economic reasons in the early post-communist years.

Why EGG is OVA now

In 2025, the organizing team of EGG split up, and four of the six board members went on to create OVA — a new era of EGG defined by a more transparent and fair organizational body, and one capable of standing for basic principles of safety, inclusivity and gender representation. (To read more on why the former EGG board was incapable of guaranteeing this, see here and why we chose a new name, see here.)

Costs and student grants

The main aim of OVA remains to offer a summer school accessible to everyone, providing an affordable alternative to other linguistic summer schools in Europe and North America. The registration fee is usually around €250-€350 and covers classes as well as accommodation in university-provided dorms for both weeks.

Depending on the financial situation in a given year, we also offer grants for low-income students and those from Eastern European countries. Students can apply for financial support as part of the registration process.

What you learn at the OVA

The OVA school offers both introductory and advanced courses in syntax, semantics, and phonology — something for everyone, at all levels of their academic career. Teachers often attend and participate in one another’s classes, creating an atmosphere of mutual learning and collaboration.

The introductory courses assume little to no prior technical knowledge and aim to give a crashcourse-intro into the given subfield. The advanced courses, by contrast, reflect the instructors’ own areas of expertise and provide insights into cutting-edge research across phonology, semantics, and syntax, showcasing a range of theoretical perspectives and methodologies.

We also encourage and support students in organizing an open podium, where they can present their ongoing research and receive feedback from fellow participants. In addition, we offer optional workshops — often led by students — covering practical skills such as LaTeX, statistics, abstract writing, and other methods useful for linguistic research.

OVA teachers

At OVA, we believe in fostering new ideas from outstanding early-career researchers. Unlike many other schools, we are delighted to invite junior scholars when we believe their perspectives will enrich the program. Of course, our program also features several established researchers, though the balance tends to be the reverse of what you might find elsewhere.

We strive to maintain a flat hierarchy between students and teachers, creating an open environment that encourages curiosity, creative research, and the exchange of ideas among linguists at all career stages.

We also uphold a gender balance in selecting our instructors — not only to support the careers of young researchers equally, but also to provide students with a range of diverse and inspiring role models.

The OVA mentality

Much of OVA’s spirit reflects the same mindset that shaped EGG. We aim to keep the barrier between students and teachers as low as possible — everyone is welcome, stays in the same dorms, and students, teachers, and organizers often spend time together outside the regular school hours. This informal atmosphere is meant to allow all participants, students and teachers, to spend time working on linguistics in a friendly and open setting.

Just like at EGG, there will be plenty of socializing outside the classroom at OVA. To ensure that everyone feels welcome and safe, OVA also has a Code of Conduct that applies to all participants.