About CeCES and the Jean Monnet Module
About the Project
This Jean Monnet Centre for Comprehensive European Security (CeCES) will build on the existing strengths and successes of previously funded Jean Monnet Actions at the University of Southampton: Jean Monnet Chair and Jean Monnet Module.
Jean Monnet Module 2023-26
The outbreak of the war in Ukraine, combined with the consolidation of central power in China, represent an unprecedented challenge for the European Union’s global role. This Project will explore these issues through a new and innovative Jean Monnet Module “European Power and the Geopolitics of Europe and Asia”, which will be introduced to the undergraduate offering at the University of Southampton. The Module will be offered to the students of Politics and International Relations, but also students who do not automatically come into contact with EU Studies at Southampton.
The Module will challenge the dominant format of teaching EU global policy at universities through shifting away from the bureaucracy–oriented, compartmentalised approach and towards a problem-oriented, whole-of-the-EU perspective on European power in the context of the current geopolitical developments in Eastern Europe, Indo-Pacific and Central Asia. The Module delivery will involve the combination of research-based teaching and blended learning approaches.
The Project will foster dialogue between academics, experts and policy-makers from the UK and other countries through Online Seminars and the Annual Jean Monnet Roundtable. Online Seminars will involve contributions from leading experts from Brussels, Warsaw, Dublin, Tbilisi and other countries. The on-campus Annual Jean Monnet Roundtable will bring together academic and policy experts and allow students obtain first-hand insights for their final assessment. These events will be video recorded and made publicly available, thus generating knowledge and insights that can support EU policy-making.
The most immediate impact of the Project will be on Southampton students, who demand more EU Studies modules, as shown by our market research. The University will also further improve its reputation for the quality of its EU Studies, building on its Jean Monnet Chair award and membership in the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium (EUNPD).
Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence 2024-27
This Jean Monnet Centre for Comprehensive European Security (CeCES) will build on the existing strengths and successes of previously funded Jean Monnet Actions at the University of Southampton: Jean Monnet Chair and Jean Monnet Module.
The CeCES will generate knowledge and foster academic-policy dialogue on the EU’s ambition towards becoming a more strategic and more effective comprehensive security actor, fit to play a meaningful role addressing the challenges ranging from geopolitical rivalries, through environmental and economic security, to human security challenges such as migration movements.
The CeCES will also further expand the programme of EU Studies at the University of Southampton through strengthening our existing 3 undergraduate EU Studies modules (60 students per module annually), but also involving students on our two large postgraduate programmes.
Those postgraduate students (200-300 students annually) are mostly international, and they do not normally come in contact with EU Studies, and yet they display a great degree of interest in European integration and security.
The CeCES will allow us to develop a range of new and exciting activities, including (a) 3 Annual Jean Monnet Workshops exploring different aspects of comprehensive European security; (b) 9 Jean Monnet Internship Scholarships for PGT students on our MSc International Security and Risk programme, and awarded on a competitive basis; (c) three annual Public Engagement Lectures open to the local public; (d) regular Speaker Series with academics and practitioners; (e) 6 Jean Monnet Student Awards for the best EU Studies dissertation to reward student excellence and further promote EU Studies at Southampton, open to undergraduate and postgraduate students; (f) a range of national and international dissemination activities, promoting the activities of the CeCES.
The Project will be delivered by an inclusive group of academics at different career stages and coordinated by Dr Kamil Zwolski.