PONT Working Europe Seminar, 4-8 April 2016, Brussels: “EU Asylum and Migration Policies”

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Fondation Universitaire,
Rue d’Egmont 11, Brussels

In the framework of the Professional Training on EU Affairs – PONT project, co-funded by the ERASMUS+/Jean Monnet Programme, TEPSA organized a five-day seminar on EU Asylum and Migration policies in Brussels on 4-8 April 2016. Twenty excellent Master’s students from diverse geographical and disciplinary backgrounds were selected from more than 100 high-calibre applicants. The seminar offered a unique opportunity to the participants to gain first-hand insights, right in the heart of EU policy-making, into the political dynamics shaping EU asylum and migration policies and the EU’s response to the recent migration challenge.

The PONT seminar participants had an opportunity to visit and meet practitioners from the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Permanent Representation of Austria to the EU and Frontex – the EU border management agency. Experts from influential Brussels-based NGOs and think-tanks, namely the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) and the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) discussed with the seminar participants the legal aspects of recent EU asylum policy changes and the EU’s response to the refugee crisis, including the cooperation with third countries and the role of funding.  At the end of each day, participants discussed and evaluated the meetings with the leader of the seminar, Prof Jaap W. de Zwaan, Secretary General of TEPSA and Emeritus Professor of European Union Law at Erasmus University Rotterdam, comparing their new findings with available academic literature and their own preparatory essays.

On the last day of the seminar, students had the opportunity to apply the theoretical and practical insights they gained during the week in a simulation game of European Council negotiations on the hypothetical scenario of large numbers of migrants arriving to Europe from Sub-Saharan Africa. Students had no difficulty in getting into their respective roles as representatives of Member States and European institutions. Based on the excellent diplomatic efforts of the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, the European Council adopted meaningful conclusions only after three hours of negotiations!

PONT Working Europe I day 3_Council of the EU 2

TEPSA wishes the PONT seminar participants a good continuation of their studies and research and a good start of their professional careers!

REPORT_TEPSA Working Europe I seminar on EU Asylum and Migration policies_newsletter-page-001

Here you can consult the final agenda of the PONT seminar.

The presentations of some of the speakers can be downloaded below:

Prof. Klemens Fischer – The EU and the current global security challenges

Prof. Jaap de Zwaan – How to solve the migration crisis

Prof. Jaap de Zwaan – Asylum and Immigration in the EU context

Péter Dávid – EU’s response to migrant smuggling

Amanda Taylor – Legal standards in the context of EU asylum policy changes

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Open call for applications 5-day Brussels seminar on EU Asylum and Migration Policies for Master students

In the framework of the PONT project TEPSA (Trans European Policy Studies Association) is organising a ‘Working Europe’ Seminar on EU Asylum and Migration policies, which will take place in Brussels on 4-8 April 2016.

Amid EuPONT_LOGOrope’s worst refugee crisis since the Second World War, 20 students will take part in a seminar where EU practitioners, researchers and other relevant stakeholders will discuss recent developments in EU asylum and migration law and policy. The seminar will offer participants insights into the political dynamics shaping EU asylum and migration policies, and into the main challenges that have to be addressed. The division of competencies and responsibilities between the EU and its Member States will also be discussed.

Participants in the seminar will also visit policy departments of several EU institutions and agencies, Brussels-based thinks tanks and NGOs dealing with refugee issues. At the end of the seminar, a simulation game on EU Council negotiations will be organised in order to enable participants to apply the knowledge acquired during the seminar.

The seminar is coordinated by the Prof Dr Jaap W. de Zwaan, Emeritus Professor of European Union Law at Erasmus University Rotterdam and Lector European Integration at the Hague University of Applied Sciences.

Participants will receive a certificate of attendance after a successful completion of the Working Europe Seminar.

Seminar venue: Fondation Universitaire, Rue d’Egmont 11, Brussels and working visits in Brussels.

Participation fee: EUR 100.

Travel reimbursement: TEPSA reimburses travel costs up to EUR 250. All other expenses, like accommodation, are to be covered by other sources or by the participants themselves.

The application phase is now closed. We are currently contacting all the candidates in order to inform them about the status of their applications.

More information can be found here: PONT Working Europe Seminar Call for Applications

Please find here the Final Agenda of the PONT seminar.

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PONT seminar on EU Asylum and Migration policies

TEPSA is happy to share with you the report of the PONT Working Europe I seminar on EU Asylum and Migration policies which took place in Brussels on 4-8 April. Many thanks to the seminar participants who volunteered to prepare the reports from various sessions!

The report can be downloaded here.

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Open call for applications: 5-day PONT Career Skills Training in Brussels

 

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Open call for applications: 5-day Career Skills Training in Brussels

In the framework of the PONT project, TEPSA (Trans European Policy Studies Association) is organizing a Career Skills Training to guide recent graduates from Master’s programmes, PhD students and young researchers into the practicalities of working life and to introduce them to the Brussels arena. 20 young professionals will take part in the training to identify and acquire skills needed in the field of EU policy-making, including work for the European institutions and think-tanks. Interactive sessions with EU practitioners, researchers, trainers and academics as well as personal feedback on individual presentations will enable young researchers to improve their drafting and communication skills, including the communication of research findings to policy-makers, thereby increasing participants’ employability.

The career skills training will take place on 17-21 October 2016 and will be coordinated by Prof. Hanna Ojanen, Jean Monnet Professor at the University of Tampere.

All career skills training participants will also be offered the opportunity to take part in TEPSA’s Pre-Presidency Conference, a biannual flagship event promoting expert discussion of the main issues of the current EU agenda.

Full participation to all elements of the five-day programme in Brussels is compulsory. Participants of the Career Skills Training will receive a certificate of attendance after the successful completion of the training.

Training venue: Fondation Universitaire, Rue d’Egmont 11, Brussels and working visits in Brussels based institutions.

Participation fee: €200 for applicants coming from or having graduated from TEPSA member and associate member institutes and €400 for applicants coming from non-TEPSA member institutes. This fee includes all training materials, access to all programme components as well as lunch during the training.

Travel reimbursement: TEPSA reimburses travel costs up to €250. All other expenses, like accommodation, are to be covered by other sources or by the participants themselves.

Deadline for applications: 21 September 2016 (noon).

More information on the training and application procedure can be found here.

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5-day PONT Career Skills Training in Brussels

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In the framework of the PONT project, TEPSA (Trans European Policy Studies Association) is organizing a Career Skills Training to guide recent graduates from Master’s programmes, PhD students and young researchers into the practicalities of working life and to introduce them to the Brussels arena. 17 young professionals have been selected to take part in the training that will help them identify and acquire skills needed in the field of EU policy-making, including work for the European institutions and think-tanks.

Professional skills such as communication, networking and policy advice are not part of most academic curricula, yet are vital for the employability of young professionals. This course aims at helping the participants to identify these skills, raise awareness of their importance, acquire a basic practical toolkit and establish useful contacts to policy-makers. The seminar will offer several interactive sessions with professionals from different fields, invited to share their knowledge and experience with the participants and to take part in the training in different ways. As a result, participants will enjoy first-hand insights into different professional fields.

The general theme of this course is the interface between research and policy-making. We will thus explore the differences and similarities in the skills needed for these two types of work, and conduct training on successful interaction and communication between researchers and policy-makers. The course maximizes personal feedback to participants and hands-on activities that facilitate deep learning.

The career skills training will take place on 17-21 October 2016 and will be coordinated by Prof Hanna Ojanen, Jean Monnet Professor at the University of Tampere.

All career skills training participants will also be offered the opportunity to take part in TEPSA’s Pre-Presidency Conference, a biannual flagship event promoting expert discussion of the main issues of the current EU agenda.

Full participation to all elements of the five-day programme in Brussels is compulsory. Participants of the Career Skills Training will receive a certificate of attendance after the successful completion of the training.

Training venue: Fondation Universitaire, Rue d’Egmont 11, Brussels and working visits in Brussels based institutions.

The latest Agenda including trainers and speakers is available here.

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PONT – Professional Training on EU Affairs

PONT_LOGOTEPSA has recently won an ERASMUS+/Jean Monnet Support to Institutions project, named PONT. PONT (Professional Training on EU Affairs) is a project that aims to provide a bridge connecting young academics and EU practitioners, in order to improve the employability of young researchers.  The project is planned to take place within three years, starting with two trainings in 2016.

PONT enhances teaching and training activities in selected topics and fields (migration and asylum policy; climate, environment and energy; and EU health), with the common objective to give young academics the opportunity to develop their professional skills and prepare themselves for taking up a job in political administration, the EU institutions, NGOs, academic institutions or think tanks across Europe. Two main branches of the project are the Working Europe seminars for students and the Three Career Skills Trainings for young professionals.

Three Working Europe seminars are set to bring about a first-hand understanding of both academic and everyday practice of EU decision-making by offering students insights in the “real life” political processes of the salient topics of EU health; climate, environment and energy; and migration and asylum policy. The PONT project is targeting students who do not automatically come into contact with EU studies, and therefore provides them with a unique opportunity.

Three Career Skills Trainings for young professionals aim to offer emerging academics an opportunity to train professional skills applied to different dimensions of EU work life. These trainings will increase participants’ employability.

Besides workshops and seminars, a major part of the activities are six TEPSA Pre-Presidency Conferences which bring together academics, civil society and policy-makers to discuss the agenda and challenges of the upcoming EU presidencies.

We will keep you updated about the opportunities to participate in the PONT project!

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