The Institute for European Studies (IES) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, offers specialised master's degree courses, training sessions and online training. This is a prime example for the different types of training on offer in the area of EU affairs. Varied course formulas, ones that lead to certificates or are for career development, are designed to satisfy the ambitions of students but also of professionals who want to acquire specific knowledge.
TWO MASTER'S COURSES
In terms of training leading to certificates, the IES offers two complementary master's degree courses. Taught in English, these courses run for a year and are targeted at people that usually have a first master's degree. More specifically, the people targeted are those "who have a basic understanding of the European Union, hold a master's or have worked in the field of EU affairs," stresses Amelia Hadfield, one of the IES professors.
The master's programme in European and international law has been taught for thirty five years and has several specificities. "One of the main points that makes us different is that we have focused, from the beginning, on international and European law." Because generally, European law alone is taught and "that is no longer sufficient," says Professor Harri Kalimo. "We have to see the EU more widely and in a more global way."
The programme has a common core, which is followed by all students. It includes lessons on the main aspects of European and international law as well as on more specific points, such as European and international protection of human rights, the EU's external relations or European and international competition law.
As with most master's courses, the master's in European and international law also offers optional courses that allow students "to focus on public law, such as environmental law, criminal law, or if they are more business-oriented, to follow courses on competition and tax law," adds Kalimo. The aim is to "give them a bit of flexibility on the way in which they want to use this training". Finally, the students have to submit a thesis at the end of their studies on a subject of their choosing relating to EU affairs.
The European integration and development' master's is a pluridisciplinary training providing theoretical teaching on European policies, the EU's institutional system and the European economic integration process. Taught at the end of the day (between 18:00 and 21:00), it attracts a large number of working people. As with the master's in European and international law, it has a three-part structure: a common core, a thesis at the end of the studies and finally a specialisation on economic development or political integration.
COURSE FORMULAE
IES has also developed course formulae that are more targeted and shorter through courses for career development. The institute offers training sessions taught via seminars (see box) and followed by "people coming to Brussels to work in associations or interest groups"."These people are new and have generally studied EU affairs but want to acquire an in-depth knowledge of, for example, comitology," explains the Academic Director of IES, Sebastian Oberthur. These courses can also attract people working in think tanks, national government civil servants, PhD students and people preparing for EU civil servant competitions.
Online training courses (e-learning) have also been set up. Addressed to individuals but also to groups, these training sessions are "more and more looked into, because they make it possible to make significant savings of course but also because they bring expertise to other universities," says Oberthur enthusiastically. He adds that this system "is in particular attractive for countries that are interested in the European Union". For example, IES has offered its services to people of Armenian nationality.
IES currently offers three online modules. The first is about EU history, its institutions and the decision making process. The second is devoted to European Union law. Entitled, Source of European information on the internet', the third module provides the keys to search efficiently for information on the EU on the internet.
IES's ambition is now to develop this online learning system to incorporate master's programmes into it. This is something that is already in place in some universities.
BRUSSELS, AN ASSET
As for the choice of teachers, IES has a considerable advantage due to its geographic location in Brussels, the capital of Europe. "The lessons are given by academics from the university and by people who obviously have academic know-how, but who also currently work in the EU institutions or for law firms," explains Oberthur. For example, IES hosts Jonathan Faull, the current director-general of the Single Market and Services Directorate-General of the European Commission.
The training given therefore has a twin track in that the strictly theoretical teaching is combined with teaching that provides more practical knowledge, based on a diversity of experience.
Finally, it is interesting to underline that, as with various establishments specialising in training courses in EU affairs, the teaching corpus of IES is international. This can also be seen with the students as 80% of them come from EU member states other than Belgium or from other countries of the world.
EU training sessions
The IES offers three types of seminars covering EU affairs:
- Learning sessions that run for three days. The aim is to provide a solid base of knowledge on the political and institutional system of the European Union, including lessons on the decision making process
- Personalised learning sessions
- One-day specialised sessions on a particular policy area (migration policies, policies relating to climate change, European Security and Defence Policy, etc)
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