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JEAN MONNET CHAIR IN EU POLICIES Achivevements > Description of the implemented activities during the academic years 2014/2015, 2015/2016, 2016/2017 The Jean Monnet Chair in EU Policies introduced acomprehensive work programme including teaching, research and dissemination activities that resulted in clear synergies. Together with well-prepared and experienced colleagues at the Institute of International Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences and International Relations at Corvinus University, the chair holder renewed and reorganized the activities of the European Studies Centre within the Institute of International Studies. Our BA in International Relations programme with European Integration Studies specialization has attracted 120-140, the MA programme involved 80-100 students annually. We have launched both programmes in English with additional 30-40 students annually. The Interdisciplinary Doctoral Programme in International Relations attracted 20-30 PhD students annually and half of them specialised in European Studies. Our doctoral programme is fully taught in English. In addition we attracted students enrolled in other programmes launched at different faculties of the university: we introduced a comprehensive BA course on European integration and a postgraduate course on EU regional policy for those students who specialized in other fields. All together the teaching activities took place in all 3 cycles (BA, MA, postgraduate and doctoral levels). We have had 7 courses within the activities offered by the Chair. (We have also other courses which were not incorporated into this project.) The accompanying events and deliverables were designed to deepen the dissemination of knowledge on European integration and especially on European economic governance and the impact of EU cohesion policy with a special focus on the Visegrad Countries. The 7 courses offered by the Jean Monnet Chair in EU Policies included comprehensive courses on European integration (Introduction to the European Integration, European Policies, Development of European Integration, Europe in the World Economy) and specific courses on economic governance, regional development policy and the impact of EU level transfers (From the New Forms of Economic Governance to Political Integration, European Regional Development Transfers, Impact of EU Cohesion Policy). The courses attracted all together more than 3300 students participating in different study programmes at the Corvinus University, or studying in the field of International Relations with a special focus on European Integration Studies. In the following table we summarize the number of students participated in each course taught within the framework of the Jean Monnet Chair. We should have some remarks on the data provided in the table. First: the introductory course on European Integration was offered for all BA students at the Corvinus University in each semester. So, the number of students reflects in fact 2 semesters per year figures. Another remark is that we incorporated the number of students studied the same course in our programmes in Hungarian and in English as well (in practice, the majority of our courses were duplicated). The last remark relates to the changed circumstances, because in the meantime, new specializations were introduced within the BA and MA programmes in International Relations, so the number of potential students within the specialization in European Integration Studies was limited. Teaching activities of the Jean Monnet Chair in EU Policies:
Workshops, round table discussions, conference participations and research and publications activities widely contributed to the high-level activities and performance of the Jean Monnet Chair. We introduced the "EU Policy Talks" series of workshops during the whole period of the project. Annually we had 12-14 events within the framework of this series. The EU Policy Talks have become a "trade mark" of the Jean Monnet Chair activities. The "EU Policy Talks" series offered an interdisciplinary view of the effects of European integration, the future shape of the European Union and the impact of EU policies on Member States. The workshops were widely advertised and reached university students, professors, researchers, civil servants and the civil society as well. In general we had 60-100 participants. This initiative gave a great opportunity for getting up-to-date information from experts of the given fields. The audience was really active: they had time to put up questions and comments and to discuss relevant issues in connection with the topics. In addition, at the end of each spring semesterwe organized annual workshops on the experiences of the Visegrad Countries in implementing EU regional transfers. The best MA, postgraduate and PhD students who participated in the courses on EU regional and cohesion policy prepared working papers about the experiences of the Visegrad Countries in implementing the Structural Funds. The annual workshops provided great opportunity to make presentations of the main research findings and to compare of the individual performance of the given countries. These annual workshops were open for participants inside and outside the university. We annually published a volume of the studies. In December 2014 we organized a round table discussion about the situation after the European Parliamentary elections and the programme and priorities of the new European Commission. There was a fruitful debate on the present political and economic situation and future challenges for the EU. This event was part of the prestigious anniversary event of the Corvinus University of Budapest: the Jubilee Academic Session of the Corvinus University of Budapest titled "The pillars of research excellence". We also had the opportunity to shortly present the activities of the Jean Monnet Chair for a wider audience. The main question of the round table discussion was: "What can we expect from the new European Parliament and the new Commission?" The moderator was prof. Ákos Kengyel, the speakers were Dr. Katalin Szalóki (European Affairs Committee, Hungarian Parliament), Dr. Péter Mocsáry (EU Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade), prof. Zoltán Gálik (Institute of International Studies, Corvinus University of Budapest). There were 40-50 participants. In March 2016 we organized another round table discussion on fiscal discipline and practical implications of introduction of the euro. The keynote speakers were prof. Balázs Ferkelt (head of institute, Budapest Business School), prof. Ákos Kengyel (Institute of International Studies, Corvinus University of Budapest), prof. Zoltán Gálik (Institute of International Studies, Corvinus University of Budapest). We examined how different EU Member States are managing structural changes in national budgets and fiscal policies in order to prepare for fulfilling the preconditions for joining the euro zone. We compared different experiences of old and new member states in this field. The workshop was open for participant inside and outside the university. There were 40-50 participants. We participated in the organization of the conference celebrating the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome (Speakers: prof. Tibor Palánkai, Corvinus University; prof. Ákos Kengyel, Jean Monnet Chair, Corvinus University; prof. Boglárka Koller, University of Public Service; Gábor Zupkó, head of Delegation of the European Commission to Hungary; prof. Miklós Losoncz, researcher, Budapest Business School). In addition, prof. Kengyel was invited to be one of the keynote speakers of the public hearing of the Committee on Budgets of the European Parliament on 20 June 2017 ("Preparing for the MFF post-2020: assessing strengths and weaknesses of the current MFF system and its relations to the Europe 2020 strategy". Keynote speakers: Ákos Kengyel, Jean Monnet Chair, Corvinus University; Mihails Kozlovs, member of the European Court of Auditors; Günther Oettinger, Commissioner for Budget; Margit Schratzenstaller, vice-director, WIFO). This was a high-level recognition of the activities of the chair holder in the field of European Studies. We annually organized a study visit to the authority responsible for the Hungarian development policy and implementation of EU funded programmes. MA, postgraduate and PhD students had the possibility to visit the Managing Authority of Economic Development Operational Programme in the Ministry of National Economy. Mr. András Szücs, head of department made a presentation and leading staff members responsible for coordination of the Hungarian development policy and implementation of EU funds gave a general picture about the Hungarian development policy and use of EU transfers. The most important impact was that the participants gained information from the professionals who are dealing with regional policy in Hungary and the management of EU transfers. The study visit resulted in better understanding of regional development efforts. We created a virtual platform on the development of European integration. In addition to the Moodle e-learning platform provided by the university we created a primary resource collection within the web site of the Jean Monnet Chair to support our introductory courses on European integration. On the platform, the students have access to different materials dealing with the history of the European integration. Primary documents were uploaded, such as the Treaty of Rome, Pan-Europe (R. Coudenhove-Kalergi), Ventotene manifesto, Werner plan, etc. In addition, on the platform, the students can find reactions of the member states, news from the relevant period, and memorandums as well. The platform also makes it possible to visualize television news releases, and audio materials, such as those of press conferences. We also created a virtual platform on the experience of the Visegrad Countries in using EU funds. The papers which were presented on the annual workshops were published in a printed volume, but in addition they were made available on the virtual platform of the Jean Monnet Chair. It means that 8-10 studies in 10-25 pages were published annually (all together 500 pages). The topics focused on the implementation and results of national development programmes and their operational programmes in the Visegrad Countries. Concrete examples of successful projects and failures were analysed. The studies (working papers) can contribute to wider dissemination of the most important findings and experiences. The members of the Jean Monnet Chair had high-levelpublication activities. One of the main results is the publication of five books (three of them containing studies on the implementation and impact of EU regional development funds in the Visegrad countries):
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