I. Jean Monnet Chair in European Political Integration:

Chairholder: Assist.Prof.Dr. Bianca Kaiser

The Jean Monnet Chair in European Political Integration at Istanbul Kültür University has established in September 2005. In 2005, 488 applications for Jean Monnet funding had been submitted world-wide. The selection committee - involving the national ECSA associations, the European University Council for the Jean Monnet Action, as well as the European Commission - selected a total of of 49 Jean Monnet Chairs. Out of these, the Jean Monnet Chair at Istanbul Kültür University is the only Chair selected among applications from the four EU candidate countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Croatia). The Chair is co-financed by Istanbul Kültür University (25%) and the European Commission (75%).

The Jean Monnet Chair in European Political Integration at IKU is affiliated with the Department of International Relations. It comprises five different teaching activities:

A. Undergraduate:

1. An Introduction to the European Union: History, Institutions and Policies (fall semester), Jean Monnet Module

This module is a three-credit/hours module (5 ECTS), taught jointly to Sophomore students of Business Administration, Economics, International Relations and English Language & Literature at the Faculty of Economics & Administrative Sciences. The module was established in the fall semester 2003/04. It has been incorporated into the Jean Monnet Chair in September 2005. Language of instruction and examination is English.

2. European Integration I (fall semester).

The term “European Integration” is taken to mean the construction of the European Community and its related institutional, legal, political, economic and social developments. Therefore, this course pursues an interdisciplinary approach.

The course aims to provide undergraduate students with a basic understanding of the development, present state and future of the European Union; the working methods and interactions of its institutions within the decision-making process; the scope of activities of the European Union, that is to say individual policies in the fields of economic, political, social and legal integration; the role of the European Union in the wider world and its external relations and last but not least the relationship between the European Union and Turkey.

3. European Integration II (spring semester).

This course is the continuation of the seminar "European Integration I"

B. Postgraduate:

4. International Politics of the European Union (fall semester).

The course is a three-hour lecture (5 ECTS), taught to postgraduate students with a solid understanding of European integration, the European Union’s history, its institutions and policies. The course provides students with an opportunity to learn about various aspects of the European Union’s international politics: the Europeanization of the foreign policies of the EU member states, an overview over the Common Foreign and Security pillar of the European Union, the European Union’s development policy and humanitarian aid policy as well as its relationship with the African, Carribean and Pacific States (ACPs) and, finally, the external trade component of European integration.

5. External Relations of the European Union (spring semester).

The course is a three-hour lecture (5 ECTS) and builds upon the Jean Monnet course “International Politics of the European Union”. The course explores selected issues of the European Union’s relations with other countries and regional groups in the world. While concepts of regionalization and regionalism are being examined at the theoretical level, the European Union’s bilateral relationships with countries such as United States, China, Japan, Russia, as well as with Central and South American countries, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries, African countries and Southeast Asian countries are explored at the practical level in terms of trade and partnership agreements.

II. Jean Monnet Module (Engineering):

Module Coordinator: Assist.Prof.Dr. Bianca Kaiser

In 2003, a total of 358 applications for Jean Monnet Modules were submitted to the European Commission by universities world-wide. Out of these, a total of 155 projects were selected, including two modules at IKU (for the second module, see above, Jean Monnet Chair). Both modules are co-financed by IKU (20%) and the European Commission (80%).

Module Title: European Integration: Institutions and Policies

This module is an undergraduate four-credit module, taught in two parts (two credits in spring semesters; two credits in fall semesters) to Junior students of Civil Engineering, Industrial  Engineering and Computer Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering & Architecture. This module was first established in the second (spring) semester of the academic year 2003/4. Language of instruction and examination is English.