Chitkara Spaak Centre for Multidisciplinary European Studies
The Erasmus+ Jean Monnet programme is an initiative launched by the European Commission to promote excellence in teaching and research in European Union studies. Every year, the Jean Monnet programme selects the best teaching and research proposals ideated from universities based in Europe and overseas. Currently, in South Asia, only a few universities have the privilege of being selected and financed by the European Commission.
The Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Module DECODING EUROPEAN UNION aims to expose a differentiated target audience to skills related to European Union integration, EU institutions and its policies. The project is among the preliminary activities for the sustainable inclusion of European Studies at Chitkara University and Chitkara International School. The teaching activities would be conducted at the higher education and secondary school level, involving students, teaching and administrative staff. The objective is to increase the Indian educational engagement in European Studies, investing in young students, scholars and researchers. The final goal of the project is to consolidate the establishment of the Chitkara Spaak Centre for Multidisciplinary Studies as an open house, an incubator for Indian-European collaborations, and a multidisciplinary bridge between Indian and European academia.
The Jean Monnet Module DECODING EUROPEAN UNION is inspired by 2005 EU-India Joint Action Plan and the EU-India Agenda for Action 2020, benchmark governmental memorandums promoting ‘the development of EU studies in India’ and the ‘cooperation between institutions of higher education’, ‘through […] Erasmus+ programme’. On the surface, Europe and India appear dissimilar and distant. In reality, there are multiple similarities: EU and India are both market economy democracies grounded on the rule of law, having multiple official languages governing cultural, religious, and socio-economic cleavages. Since the mid-1990s, due to a consistent lack of mutual knowledge, enhancing EU visibility in India has been a constant theme in the periodic EU Communications related to relations with India.
DECODING EU activities would actively involve the reference EU-India relation author, Dr. Shazia Aziz Wülbers - from Bremen University of Applied Sciences, associated with the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at University of Bremen and at Freie Universität Berlin – along with Dr. Roman Putans - Programme director B.Sc. International Business and Sustainable Economy, Rīga Stradiņš University – Latvia.
In a nutshell, the DECODING EUROPEAN UNION project will involve (i) the regular delivery of modules introducing the EU to academic staff and university/secondary school students; (ii) the creation of the online course DECODING EU dedicated to health experts interested in developing international collaborative activities with European institutions; (iii) the establishment and consolidation of the Chitkara Spaak Centre for Multidisciplinary European Studies at Chitkara University Punjab; (iv) the creation of multiplier effects, bringing innovation in teaching and research, and organizing public events fostering the collaboration between Indian and European stakeholders.
