College of Europe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| College of Europe | |
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| Established | 1949 |
| School type | Private |
| Rector | Prof. Paul Demaret |
| Location | Bruges, Belgium and Natolin (Warsaw), Poland |
| Campus | Residential |
| Enrollment | 400 postgraduate |
| Faculty | 140 |
| Homepage | www.coleurope.eu |
The College of Europe (Collège d'Europe in French, Europacollege in Dutch) is an independent university institute of postgraduate European studies with campuses in Bruges, Belgium and Natolin (Warsaw), Poland. It was founded in 1949, making it the world's oldest institution of studies and training in European affairs.
Working languages are English and French. Each year about 400 postgraduates from some 50 countries are awarded the qualifications of Master in European Studies (Bruges) or Master of Arts in European Interdisciplinary Studies (Natolin).
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[edit] Campuses
The College campus in Belgium is situated in the historic centre of Bruges. It consists of a main teaching and administrative building set beside one of the city’s many canals, a restaurant complex nearby, and seven well-appointed residences spread through the city centre.
The Warsaw campus is housed in the historic 1.2 square kilometre nature reserve of Natolin on the southern edge of the city, about 30 minutes by metro from the city centre.
[edit] Study programmes
The academic programme lasts one academic year from September to the end of June and is taught in English and French. It includes lectures, research seminars, workshops and meetings with external specialists. It can also comprise language lessons of different European languages.
To be awarded the Master's degree, students must take oral and written examinations at the end of each semester, and submit a Master's Thesis in English or French. This is the product of individual research, mainly conducted in the second semester under the supervision of a professor. The programmes are enriched by study trips to the European institutions and, for students in Natolin (Warsaw), also to neighbouring countries.
In Bruges, the academic programmes are built around four Departments of European Studies: Law, Economics, Politics and Administration, and International Relations and Diplomacy. Students enrol in one of them. There is also a possibility for students in law or economics to take part in the European Law and Economic Analysis specialisation. All students participate in European General Studies.
The European Economic Studies Programme aims at an in-depth specialisation in the economics of the European Union. The study load and analytical demands on the students are comparable to those in leading universities in the world. The department offers a comprehensive coverage of the process, policies and regulation of European economic integration.
The European Legal Studies Programme provides students with an in-depth education in European law, the teaching methods being similar to those used in North American law schools. The programme establishes a balance between the economic and the constitutional aspects of European law. The legal studies programme emphasizes both the increasing complexity of EU Law and the context in which it is evolving.
The European Political and Administrative Studies Programme provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the role and workings of the EU and its interaction at the international, national and regional levels. Students follow compulsory courses covering three main topics: Politics and Policies of the European Union, European Institutional Law and the Political Economy of European Integration. The fourth compulsory course deals with Negotiation Processes in the Council of the European Union in the form of two interactive simulation games.
The EU International Relations and Diplomacy Programme, established in 2006, provides specific knowledge of the European Union as an actor in the international environment as well as skills in international negotiations and diplomacy. The programme thus aims at a comprehensive understanding of the EU's external relations bringing together an interdisciplinary analysis of its internal decision-making processes with developments in the broader context of international relations and diplomacy. Students primarily come from an academic background in political science, European studies, law, economics and history or be seconded from international organisations and national foreign services.
The Natolin campus (Warsaw) of the College of Europe offers a programme in European Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies. The interdisciplinary approach means that throughout the first semester students are introduced to the fundamentals of European politics and policies, economics and EU/EC law, while the daily workings of the EU are brought alive through a practical introduction to policy-making.
The Bruges programmes require a University degree in economics, law, political science and international relations.
The Warsaw programme accepts university graduates whose background may be from a wide range of disciplines such as law, economics, political science, sociology and philosophy, history, geography, linguistics, journalism and similar, as long as a high academic level has been attained, and a keen interest in European affairs is shown.
[edit] Degrees Awarded
- Master of Arts in European Political and Administrative Studies (Diplôme d’études approfondies en politique et administration Européennes)
- Master of Arts in European Economic Studies (Diplôme d’études approfondies en économie Européenne)
- Master in European Law (LL M) (Diplôme d’études approfondies en droit Européen)
- Master of Arts in European Interdisciplinary Studies (Diplôme d’études Européennes interdisciplinaires approfondies)
[edit] History
The origins of the College date back to the Hague Congress in 1948 when Salvador de Madariaga, a Spanish statesman, thinker and writer in exile, proposed the establishment of a College where university graduates from many different countries, some only a short while before at war with each other, could study and live together.
A group of citizens from Bruges led by the Reverend Father Karel Verleye were successful in attracting the College to Bruges. Professor Hendrik Brugmans, one of the intellectual leaders of the European Movement at the time, became the first Rector of the College of Europe (1950-1972), decisively shaping its development and nurturing what is still known as the "esprit du Collège".
In the wake of the great changes in Eastern Europe after the fall of Communism and at the invitation of the Polish government, a second campus was opened in 1992, based at Natolin Palace in the southern part of the city of in Warsaw.
In 1998, former students of the College set up the Madariaga European Foundation.
[edit] Alumni
Many former students of the College have gone on to serve as government ministers, members of various parliaments and diplomats. For example, Simon Hughes and Nick Clegg, two Liberal Democrat members of the United Kingdom Parliament studied at the College, Nick Clegg having served in the European Parliament prior to his election to Westminster.
Alumni of note include Canadian Louise Fréchette, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Jo Leinen, president of the Union of European Federalists, Ursula Plassnik, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Spanish Manuel Marín, former president of the European Commission and Jim Oberstar, member of the United States House of Representatives.
Valerie Plame also studied at the College of Europe.
[edit] Promotions
Academic years at the College are known as promotions. Each promotion is named after an outstanding European. Recent promotions were:
- 1994-1995 Ramon Llull
- 1995-1996 Walter Hallstein
- 1996-1997 Alexis de Tocqueville
- 1997-1998 Hendrik Brugmans
- 1998-1999 Leonardo da Vinci
- 1999-2000 Wilhelm & Alexander von Humboldt
- 2000-2001 Aristotle
- 2001-2002 Simon Stevin
- 2002-2003 Bertha von Suttner
- 2003-2004 John Locke
- 2004-2005 Montesquieu
- 2005-2006 Ludwig van Beethoven
The 2006-2007 promotion is named after Nicolaus Copernicus.
[edit] Organisation
The College of Europe is principally funded by the European Union and the Belgian and Polish authorities, and to a lesser extent by a number of other European governments. The College of Europe also benefits from a certain amount of private funding.
The Administrative Council, presided over by Jean-Luc Dehaene, Minister of State and Former Prime Minister of Belgium, includes representatives of the European Commission, of the countries hosting the two campuses in Bruges and Natolin (Warsaw) and of European governments. It is the highest decision-making authority, and is responsible for the implementation of the College’s objectives. The Executive Committee, reporting to the Administrative Council, ensures the sound financial and administrative working of the College.
The Academic Council ensures that College-wide education and training standards are kept at a high level.
Rector Paul Demaret directs and coordinates all the College’s activities. In close cooperation with him, Prof. Robert Picht, Pro-Rector, represents the Rector and is responsible for overseeing the College of Europe’s academic activities on the Natolin (Warsaw) campus. Academic Sub-Committees on each campus report to the Academic Council.
[edit] Development
Since the early 1980s the College has developed significant consultancy activity, especially in the field of analysis of EC law. Based on the College’s first experiences with service contracts, notably in the field of codification of European Law and related to the implementation of the Internal Market, the Development Office was created to participate in tender procedures and to manage the teams of researchers working under these service contracts.
Over the past 10 years, the College of Europe has been organising numerous cooperation projects funded by a panoply of EU programmes, either in consortia with academic partners, companies and law firms, or on its own account.
Under TEMPUS programmes, projects for curriculum building in European Studies were set up. With the EU’s PHARE, TACIS and CARDS funding the College provided professional training and consultancy in EU affairs in nearly all applicant countries, in Russia and in the CIS. In addition the Office has also involved the College in similar co-operation projects in the framework of the MED-CAMPUS Programme and more recently with EuropeAid funding in Latin America and Asia. The Development Office is now actively involved in professional training projects and European Studies programmes worldwide.
Taking into account the increasing need for continuous training, the College has started to organise professional training courses and seminars on European integration issues with partners such as professional, trade and other associations, private companies and administrations. Officials from the European institutions and national administrations have benefited from tailor-made training programmes.
Important international conferences have been held at the College since it was founded. These events have become important fora for informed discussion on topics that are complementary to the academic expertise of the College, like the annual conference on Humanitarian Law, organised in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross.
