Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence

The University of Nicosia successfully implemented the Jean Monnet Modules (2008-2011) and the “Ad Personam” Jean Monnet Chair (2011-2014). The Centre of Excellence was the natural next step for the University of Nicosia, making it the first private university in Cyprus to receive this award and one of fourteen globally that were successful in 2014. The Centre ran on a three-year grant from 2014.

The award placed the University of Nicosia on the academic map for European and International Relations studies, and connected it with institutions, academics and practitioners across Europe.

The project promoted teaching and research in EU studies through coursework by expert faculty. Two of its courses were established M.A. and B.A. courses of the Department of European Studies and International Relations of the University of Nicosia.

The project used open education techniques to share its teaching material: the learning tools and material from its new and revised courses were made freely available, in line with the Open Educational Resources approach taken by a growing number of universities in the EU and beyond.

The project worked with other institutions by bringing Jean Monnet Chairs from other countries to each of its events. This mattered for Cyprus, which is geographically distant from the rest of the EU and serves as a link between the continent and the Eastern Mediterranean.

The project's activities went beyond teaching, fostering dialogue between the academic world and policy-makers on the governance of EU policies. With local and international partners such as the European Parliament office in Cyprus, the Centre held international conferences, workshops and roundtable discussions on policy reform in higher education, immigration, geopolitics and EU-Turkish relations.