Teaching EU Studies in the ASEAN Context
13 & 14 August 2018 • 9am-5pm • ASEM Room, Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya
The Asia-Europe Institute (AEI) hosted the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence Workshop on Teaching EU Studies in the ASEAN Context on 13th and 14th August 2018. The workshop was facilitated by an invited lecturer, Prof Andreas Stoffers. Professor Stoffers is a professor of International Management from the University of Applied Languages/SDI Munich, Germany. In addition to the workshop facilitator, the AEI also invited speakers to present about the EU/European Studies programmes in countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, as well as Malaysia.
The first day of the workshop began with an Introduction to EU / European Studies by Professor Andreas Stoffers. Professor Andreas shared his experience teaching about EU or European Studies both in Europe and Asia. He also shared the different approaches used to teach the subject matter in order to cater to the students from both regions.
Next, Professor Anthony Milner, presented on Regionalism in ASEAN and gave a glimpse of teaching ASEAN Studies in Asia and Europe and shared about the different perspectives that academicians and students have about ASEAN in both Asia and Europe.
After a lunch break, Professor Stoffers moderated a session on Teaching EU or European Studies in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. Dr Marissa Maricosa Paderon from Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines presented about the European Studies Program at her university as well as the event and activities organised at the university in regards to European Studies. She presented on the courses and subjects that students need to undertake, as well as the number of credit hours they would need to complete, in order to graduate from the program.
Mr Nurhawira Gigih Pramono from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) presented about theit Programme on European Studies (EUROS). The program was founded to accommodate the interest among Department of International Relations (IR) UGM teaching staffs to develop European studies. Currently there are five European-themed courses taught at the Department of International Relations that consists of European Governance, History of European Diplomacy, International Relations of Europe, Regionalism of the European Union, and Politics and Governance of Russia. Besides teaching, EUROS are also involved in extracurricular activities such as research, workshop, seminar, as well as inviting European-based scholars annually to the department.
Prof Azirah Hashim and Dr Rahul Mishra from the Asia-Europe Institute (AEI), University of Malaya presented about the two post-graduate programs that were offered at the institute, the International Masters in European Regional Integration (IMERI) and also the International Masters in ASEAN Studies (IMAS). Resident professors as well as visiting professors from Asia and Europe teach at both courses. They also presented on the PhD program offered by the AEI in the field of EU Studies, ASEAN-EU Relations, ASEAN Studies, Regional Networks, Multiculturalism, Regional Integration and Comparative Regionalism. In addition to the post-graduate and PhD programs, AEI also actively organise several events such as workshops, seminars, ambassador lecture series, public lectures, summer school programs as well as international conferences.
After the session on Teaching EU or European Studies, Prof Andreas Stoffers presented on the Best Practices in Teaching EU or European Studies from the perspective of both Europe and Asia. This session was also more of an open session where participants and other presenters provided feedbacks based on the best practices that were used in their universities or institutions. The first day of the workshop ended after this session.
The second day of the workshop began with the session on Latest Developments in Teaching EU or European Studies. This session was facilitated and led by Prof Andreas Stoffers as he explained the latest trends as well as issues in Europe and the EU. Prof Stoffers suggested some of the issues that could be included in the European and EU Studies curriculum.
Next, Professor Stoffers moderated a session on Teaching EU or European Studies in Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia. Dr Dinh Manh Tuan from Vietnam presented about the Institute of European Studies in Hanoi. The Institute for European Studies is a national research institution under the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences. Among the functions of the institute are to conduct research on the field of social sciences relating to countries and organisations in Europe as well as research on theoretical issues and the development of European integration. In addition, the institute also conducts research and training in relation to the field of European Studies. The institute also has a journal published every two months called the European Studies Review.
After the presentation by Dr Dinh, Mr Marc Cheng from Taiwan presented about the activities and initiatives carried by the European Union Centre in Taiwan (EUTW). The EUTW was established in 2009 and the main office is located at the National Taiwan University (NTU). There are coordination and cooperation offices located at each one of the consortium universities that consist of National Chengchi University (NCCU), National Chung Hsing University (NCHU), Catholic Fu-Jen University (FJU), Tamkang University (TKU), National Sun Yat Sen University (NSYSU), and National Dong Hua University (NDHU). The EUTW has actively organised many activities at their centre with the aim of advancing research of EU and EU policies as well as facilitating interactions between EU and Taiwan in the world of academia and civil society to enhance mutual understanding. Among the activities and event organised by the centre are the EUTW Forum, Taiwan European Culture Forum, National Student Workshop on EU Studies and many more. In addition to the EUTW, NTU is also the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence which also runs events as well as teaching modules in relation to EU and European Studies which are taught by visiting professors from both Asia and Europe.
The final presenter of the session was by Dr Larisa Nikitina who presented about her experience and challenges teaching the Russian language at the University of Malaya as well as conducting research on Russia.
After the presentations, Prof Dr Azirah Hashim presented her closing remarks by thanking all presenters for sharing their insights and experiences of teaching EU and European Studies at their respective universities, centres and institutes. She also presented certificates of participation to all presenters and participants. After lunch, all the academics at the AEI as well as the speakers from as Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines sat down in a discussion facilitated by Prof Andreas Stoffers for the AEI Curriculum Review. They discussed ways to improve and enhance the curriculum based on current developments. All the suggestions and recommendations will be incorporated and taken into consideration by the AEI Academics. The second day of the workshop ended with the AEI Curriculum Review.
Prepared by Aaron Denison Deivasagayam
Last Update: 15/12/2021