The University of Kent has been successful in gaining three separate grants under the European Union’s Jean Monnet programme.
The result makes the newly established Global Europe Centre at the University of Kent uniquely successful within the UK in securing such a high level of success at its first attempt.
Three academics at the University of Kent have been funded for projects which place the University of Kent at the forefront of the study of Europe in the UK.
Note to editors:
Dr. Tom Casier obtained Jean Monnet funding (80,000 EUR) for a Multilateral Research Group, which envisages to establish an international research network to develop a transnational perspective on EU-Russia relations. The University of Kent coordinates the project. The partner universities are Carleton University (Canada), St. Petersburg State University (Russia), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Germany). Tom Casier is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Kent’s Brussels School of International Studies (BSIS) and Deputy-Director of the Global Europe Centre (GEC).
He commented: ‘This is a unique opportunity to set up a sustainable research network, which aims at transcending Russo-centric and Euro-centric views on relations between Moscow and Brussels. It is nicely complementary to the Jean Monnet Chair, which I obtained last year. Together with the two other successful Jean Monnet applications, this project will give a boost to the research activities of the young Global Europe Centre.’
Professor Elena Korosteleva Chair of International Politics at the University of Kent has been appointed to the prestigious Jean Monnet Chair in European Politics by the European Commission. Jean Monnet Chairs are reserved for senior academics and are awarded to those working at institutes of higher education worldwide specialising in research and teaching of European studies. A three-year stipend for teaching and research accompanies the award. Professor Korosteleva’s priorities will include developing and integrating best teaching practices and interdisciplinary provisions in the field of European studies under the aegis of the Global Europe Centre (GEC). Commenting on her award, Professor Korosteleva said, ‘It is an honour to be recognised by the European Commission in this manner which also highlights the position of the University of Kent as the UK’s European University. My research on the European Union’s international relations has been well received by academic colleagues as well as policy makers in the UK and in Brussels, and this type of direct research engagement opens up new opportunities for student learning within the School of Politics and International Relations and the Global Europe Centre’.
Professor Richard G Whitman, Professor of Politics and International Relations and Director of the Global Europe Centre has been awarded Jean Monnet funding for a programme of activities linking the University of Kent with partners in Asia. The network entitled Normative Power Europe: The EU in Asia will allow for workshops, conference and exchanges for PhD students, early-career researchers and professors. The network links GEC to the NCRE, Christchurch, New Zealand; The EU Institute in Japan at Waseda University (EUIJ Waseda); Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; and The Centre for European Studies, Fudan University, PRC. Professor Whitman commented ‘This puts the Global Europe Centre at the heart of the study of Europe in the UK and internationally. Our level of grant-getting success demonstrates that the University of Kent is a centre of excellence for the study of the EU’