General Information

General

The Centre for European Studies (CES) is part of the School of Management and Governance of the University of Twente. Its purpose is to pool European studies and European research at MB and to serve as a centre for coordination in that field. In that capacity, the CES functions as a contact point for students, lecturers, and researchers who are involved or interested in European studies. At the same time, it is an information point for the public sector, journalists, or companies in need of expertise in the area of European governance. The CES has established contacts with numerous other national and international institutes.

The CES is a virtual centre in the sense that researchers and lecturers involved remain members of their own departments. It has no research programme of its own. Its coordinating activities are beneficial for the entire faculty. Through the CES, the ‘European’ activities of faculty members become visible for third parties. In that sense, the CES may be regarded as the faculty’s portal in this area.

Connected with the CES is the European Documentation Centre (EDC), which contains all official publications of the institutions of the European Union, as well as about 1500 books and subscriptions on the leading journals in the field. The EDC has access to all major EU databases.

History and role

The Centre for European Studies was established on 14 February 1998 during an international conference organised by the University of Twente entitled Democracy in Europe: The Treaty of Amsterdam Evaluated. During its existence, the CES has played an important role in the pooling of ‘European’ educational and research activities within the former School of Public Administration (BSK).

Within MB the CES is offered the opportunity to broaden its activities and to make use of the expertise from the former faculties of business administration and science & technology, alongside the intensive cooperation that already existed with the group on Technology and Sustainable Development in North South Perspective (TDG). Thus, we hope to be able to link research related to European and international governance, both from a public administration and from a more business-oriented perspective. The CES also aims to play an assisting role in attempts to get ‘Europe-related’ research funded.

Double diploma

Importantly, the CES is coordinating the Double Diploma programme Europe Accross Borders. This unique programme was launched in September 2001: two universities offer joint academic programmes on both the bachelor and the master level, leading to Dutch-German double diplomas, specializing in European Studies, at the BA and MA level. Staff members of the Faculty Management and Governance (University of Twente) and the Institute for Political Science (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster) teach various courses jointly. Groups of students from Germany, the Netherlands, and other countries work together.

The programmes offer students the opportunity to receive courses at both partner institutes. They develop professional key skills for concrete career oriented perspectives (including an academic career). Studying at two sides of the border enhances international mobility, as well as awareness of subtle cultural differences. The profile of the programme qualifies the participants for a career in a united Europe, be it at the national level in, e.g., the Netherlands and Germany, or at the European level in an international organisation.

Our new international Bachelor programme

As from October 2005 CES staff is involved in the new international BA programme in European Studies. This programme, taught entirely in English, is unique in its multi-disciplinary approach to European integration, combined with its focus on issues of multi-level governance and (technological and social) innovation. Starting with a pilot-group of 12 (German) students in September 2005, our programme has now proved to appeal to a far larger audience in the Netherlands, Germany and beyond.