Opening of the second class of the EUCAIS master programme in Berlin
From September 23rd through the 27th, the first workshop of the online master programme „Studies on the EU and Central Asia in the International System“ (EUCAIS) took place in Berlin. The e‑learning period for the master programme’s second class of students, organized by the Institut für Europäische Politik (IEP) and the Centre international de Formation européenne (CIFE) with support of the Volkswagen Foundation and funding by the Jean-Monnet-Programme of the European Union, began in August.
The 30 students from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan as well as from the Chinese province of Xinjiang and the Indian region of Kashmir were welcomed through an official opening ceremony hosted in the Europäisches Haus in Berlin on September 23, 2013. Representing the European Commission in Germany, Marzenna Guz-Vetter conducted the programme’s welcoming address. Following were short speeches given by the programme’s organizers, Mathias Jopp and Hartmut Marhold, as well as a welcoming address by Wolfgang Levermann, a representative of the Volkswagen Foundation. Marc Bogdahn, head of the division Southern Caucasus and Central Asia, Foreign Office, Berlin, provided a look at the relations between the EU and the Central Asian states from a German perspective. His speech was followed by a lively discussion on the future of these relations.
Over the course of the workshop, the participants not only completed an intensive study programme and obtained an outlook to the upcoming semester, but.also had the opportunity to personally interact and establish contacts.
In addition to the seminar programme, the students discussed the functioning of the German Parliament and the work of a member of parliament with Claudia Schur, head of press and communication in the office of the member of German Parliament Stephan Mayer. Karoline Münz, Vice – general secretary of the European Movement Germany (EBD), provided the students with insight into the work of the EBD and its member organizations. This was followed by a visit to the Topography of Terror, where the participants dealt with specific German questions concerning the history of European integration.
For more information in English please visit the homepage of the programme: http://www.eucais.org