UvA and VU launch Amsterdam Centre for Contemporary European Studies
The University of Amsterdam (UvA) and VU University Amsterdam (VU) have jointly launched the Amsterdam Centre for Contemporary European Studies (ACCESS EUROPE). This joint centre is meant to stimulate collaborative research and thereby contribute to the public debate about Europe.
ACCESS EUROPE will focus on the European Union and its member states, and is also a priority area for the UvA's Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. The Amsterdam Academic Alliance, in which both the UvA and VU participate, is supporting the centre with a start-up grant.
Six core themes
The centre and priority area are based on six core themes:
- European Law and Governance
- European Constitutionalism
- Political Economy of Integration and Welfare
- European Politics and Society
- European Identity and Culture
- Europe and the World
Taking on a public role
These themes form the foundation for the three tasks ACCESS EUROPE has set itself:
- Encouraging and implementing collaborative research.
- Contributing to degree programmes at both universities (including several existing Master’s programmes, as well as the launch of the new Research Master's in Contemporary European Studies).
- Taking on a distinct public role.
Jonathan Zeitlin
Jonathan Zeitlin, professor of Public Policy and Governance and distinguished research professor at the UvA's Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG), wll act as the centre's academic director.
Zeitlin: ‘We don’t want to be just inward looking but also reach out to the world, so that through lectures, symposia and so on we can make a substantial contribution to the public debate about Europe.’
Zeitlin dismisses the idea that interest in Europe exists only within the world of academia and politics, rather than the general public. ‘I actually find there’s a great appetite for good, reliable information. We recently organised a number of symposia based on the theme of Europe, and they were very well attended. People were eager for information and for the opportunity to take part in the public debate.'
Unique collaboration
According to Zeitlin the centre will be of a ‘unique and of an exceptionally high quality’: ‘This is the first time that two Dutch universities are working together like this within the disciplines of social sciences, law, humanities and economics. We can also be proud of the track record of our academics. We have two Spinoza prizes, various ERC Grants, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) grants, FP7 projects and no fewer than three Jean Monnet Chairs.’
Website
The ACCESS EUROPE website will be launched in late 2013, and a two-day symposium will be held in mid-January 2014 as part of the official launch.