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College of Europe
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id="toc" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; width: 25em; font-size: 90%;" cellspacing="3"> | | College of Europe | | | | Established | 1949 | | School type | Private | | Rector | Prof.
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The College of Europe (Collège d'Europe in French) is an independent university institute of postgraduate European studies, with two campuses, one in Bruges, Belgium, and since 1992 one in Natolin, Poland. It was founded in 1949 by Hendrik Brugmans and Karel Verleye, making it the world's oldest institution of studies and training in European affairs. It is considered an elite institution.
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).
Traditionally, students at the College of Europe in Bruges did not get a degree (similar to French elite schools like ENA) but received the postgraduate Certificate of Advanced European Studies. Since the early 1990s, however, the College of Europe has awarded its students master's degrees upon completion of its 1-year programme. The Certificate of Advanced European Studies and the newer Master's degrees are considered equivalent.
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 the 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.
Campuses
Bruges
The College campus in Bruges is situated in the historic centre and consists of following campus buildings:
Dijver
The College's main administrative building on the Bruges Campus, with the reception, offices, class rooms and the library.
Ridderstraat
This building was a College residence until the early 1990s. The College has completely renovated the building for use as an administrative building in the late 1990s and now holds a 30-year long lease on the property. The building is classified as monument and houses the College's Development Office.
Garenmarkt
The Hotel Portinari in Garenmarkt 15 is a bridge to the glorious past of Bruges, not so much because of its classical facade, but because Tommaso Portinari was the administrator of the Florentine "Loggia de Medici" in the 15th century in Bruges. It contains eleven spatious apartments for professors and forty student rooms, two "salons" in fine 19th century style, the "salon du Recteur" with remarkable 18th century wall paintings and a big modern "Mensa" for students.
Verversdijk extension project
Since 2007 the Verversdijk buildings of the College of Europe provide additional auditoria, teaching rooms and offices for academics, research fellows and staff and will allow the College to extend its activities.
Residences
There are also seven well-appointed residences spread through the city centre.
Natolin (Warsaw)
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. The Natolin European Centre Foundation takes care of the complex and has conducted restoration of the former Potocki palace, making it available for the College. Several new buildings have also been built, including student dormitories and lecture halls.
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 enroll in one of them.
- European Economic 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. As of the academic year 2008-2009, a new specialisation in European Economic Integration and Business will be launched within the Economic Studies Department to enable students to study the manifold interactions between business and the EU in greater depth. Furthermore, students in law or economics have the possibility to take part in the European Law and Economic Analysis specialisation.
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.
- European Political and Administrative Studies
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.
- EU International Relations and Diplomacy
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.
In addition to those four programmes, students also take part in interdisciplinary courses:
European General Studies prepare all students in Bruges to go beyond the specialised training received in their department of studies and encourage them to work in interdisciplinary and multicultural teams. Courses in European General Studies in Bruges give students the opportunity to work with fellow students from other departments in interdisciplinary teams on topics broader than those covered in their departmental specialisation.
The Natolin campus (Warsaw) of the College of Europe offers the following programme:
- 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.
Selection
Annual intakes are highly selective and student selection takes place in the Spring, usually in association with the Foreign affairs ministries of their respective countries of origin. The Bruges programmes typically require a University degree in economics, law, political science or international relations plus advanced knowledge of the working languages of the College.
The Warsaw programme accepts university graduates whose background may be from a wider 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.
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 of Arts in EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies (Diplôme d'études approfondies en relations internationales et diplomatiques de l'Union 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)
Alumni
Many former students of the College have gone on to serve as government ministers, members of various parliaments and diplomats.
Alumni of note include:
- Louise Fréchette, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
- Ursula Plassnik, Foreign Minister of Austria
- Alexander Stubb, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Manuel Marín, former president of the European Commission
- David O'Sullivan (civil servant), Director General for Trade of the European Commission
- Poul Skytte Christoffersen, former Danish Ambassador in Rome, currently Head of Cabinet for the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mariann Fischer Boel
- Iwo Byczewski, former Polish Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg
- Josef Joffe, German editor and publisher of Die Zeit and adjunct professor of political science at Stanford University
- Ledi Bianku, judge at the European Court of Human Rights
- Jo Leinen, German member of the European Parliament, former president of the Union of European Federalists
- Alyn Smith, Scottish member of the European Parliament
- György Schöpflin, Hungarian member of the European Parliament
- Simon Hughes, British politician and Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament
- Nick Clegg, British politician and leader of the Liberal Democrats, former member of the European Parliament
- Helle Thorning-Schmidt, leader of the Social Democrats (Denmark)
- Jim Oberstar, member of the United States House of Representatives
- Stephen Kinnock, managing director of the British Council in St Petersburg, Russia
- Valerie Plame, former United States CIA Operations Officer
- Chris Hoornaert, Permanent Representative of Belgium to the OECD
- Niels Egelund, Danish Ambassador to France
- Luc Coene, Vice-Governor of the National Bank of Belgium
- Per Wimmer, owner of Wimmer Financial, former Executive Director Goldman Sachs and Associate at McKinsey & Company.
- Nigel Forman, British MP and Minister of Higher Education (1992)
Promotions
Academic years at the College are known as promotions. Each promotion is named after an outstanding European. Recent promotions were:
The 2008-2009 promotion is named after Marcus Aurelius.
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.
Research and Development
The College devotes important attention to academic research, and it houses several academic chairs (covering European civilization, economics and foreign policy among others) as well as the Global Competition Law Centre. It publishes several books every year, four series of working papers and an academic journal called Collegium, devoted to the European integration process.
Conferences
Important international conferences have been held at the College since it was founded. These events have become 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. It is also common to have several European prime ministers deliver a speech during the academic year.
Cooperation
Also, since the early 1980s the College has developed a relevant 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.
See also
External links
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