Robert Schuman Initiative for European Affairs | Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence – 2015/2018 (RSI JMCE)

The project at a glance

Start date:

01 Nov 2015
Duration in months:

36
Funding:

European Commission / ERASMUS+ Programme Jean Monnet Activities
Principal Investigator(s):

Herwig C. H. HOFMANN

About

The Robert Schuman Initiative for European Affairs (RSI) was inaugurated in April 2016. Its activities are coordinated by the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance and the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History with a focus on the interdisciplinary study of European integration and the European Union. The RSI promotes inter-disciplinary research and events focused upon the study of the EU’s economic integration, its constitutional and institutional evolution, the conceptual understanding of historical processes shaping European integration, the national and international dimensions of integration and the interaction of the various public and private actors involved in shaping the integration process. The RSI involves researchers in law, political science and history. In 2015, the Robert Schuman Initiative for European Affairs has been awarded funding for a project duration of three years as an Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence until the end of 2018. A Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence is a focal point of competence and knowledge on European Union subjects. It aims to: • gather the expertise and competences of high-level experts. The Centre develops synergies between the various disciplines and resources in European studies, and creates joint transnational activities and structural links with academic institutions in other countries. It also ensures openness to civil society. • have a major role in reaching out to students from faculties not usually dealing with European Union issues as well as to policy makers, civil servants, organised civil society and the general public. The objective of the Robert Schuman Initiative for European Affairs at the University of Luxembourg is to encourage creative thinking: asking questions, collecting ideas, identifying issues but also developing proposals for further research and development of solutions to pressing societal problems. Through publications, conferences and round-tables, the RSI increases visibility on matters of integration and the European Union, to foster informed debate and help develop ideas for the future of Europe.