Get To Know Us -> About MCES
Overview
Manipal Centre for European Studies (MCES)– Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, was established in 2009 at MAHE’s Faculty of Humanities, Liberal Arts and Social Sciences to promote multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary understanding of Europe. Over the last decade, MCES has served as a forum for vibrant discussions on European contemporary affairs, nurturing the exchange of ideas across disciplines. Through its academic programs – MA European Studies, MA European Literature and Culture, Doctoral studies program, research activities, and outreach program, MCES intends to build an unprecedented and discursive community of learners who can engage and debate their approaches in open floors together with peers from other continents, academic traditions and cultures. For its relentless efforts, MCES was awarded the prestigious Jean Monnet Centre for Excellence by the European Union in 2018. With this recognition, Manipal Academy of Higher Education became the first university in the country to be awarded the recognition. The award strengthens the commitment of the Centre in deepening India-EU relations through academic programs, research projects, and international collaborations.With its multidisciplinary approach, it has come to redefine Area Studies within this first Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in the country.
Flagship program
MA European Studies is focused on providing students with a geopolitical know-how through which they understand the European Union, its integration, governance, policy processes, its foreign policies, identity politics, language dynamics, intellectual history, business and more. Courses like theories of international relations, EU as an international player, India-EU relations, democracy, human rights and rule of law in EU, etc., prepare them adequately for careers not only in European Studies but in international relations in general. Students also have options of choosing courses from a rich basket of courses that include European project management, international education and policies, politics of higher education etc., widening the employment opportunities for them.
New program
MA European Literature and Culture is carefully curated and crafted for those who wish to engage in understanding European intellectual history, philosophy, culture and society through its literature. It aims to provide an in-depth understanding of Europe in the globalized world and its sensibilities captured in its literature. It attempts to unearth Eurocentrism and its underpinnings, questioning Europe’s self-understanding and also of others. It tries to make sense of the new Europe that is caught between universalism and particularism, through its literature.
In addition to its academic endeavors, MCES has had stupendous success in getting EU-funded projects – Jean Monnet modules, Jean Monnet Chair, Jean Monnet Project in Internationalization of Higher Education and Bologna Process, Capacity Building in Higher Education project on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and others. These projects, apart from enhancing the research output, also ensured MCES became a part of many international consortia building newer collaborations each time. These engagements have also led to signing of dual degree agreements that are largely beneficial to its students. With an objective to sustain and promote European Studies in the country, MCES was instrumental in establishing the Association of European Studies in India (AESI) in December 2019.
Apart from hosting the prestigious Jean Monnet Chair, the Centre is also an Associate of the UNESCO Peace Chair at MAHE. With considerable experience and focus on research in education, over the years, it has also emerged as an active hub for research in education, particularly international education. It now houses a Centre for Education Research (CER) along with Erasmus Information Office (EIO) and Erasmus Manipal Network (EMN) that continue to assist aspirants on campus. The Centre for Intercultural Studies and Dialogue (CISD), housed within MCES, ensures the knowledge exchange between India and Europe is two-way by regularly organizing Summer and Winter Schools on India’s rich cultural heritage, and connecting the global and the local.
Objectives
- To establish closer links with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and other organisations in Europe (Internationalisation)
- To provide study and research opportunities in India-Europe relations with multidisciplinary approach (programs and courses)
- To encourage interdisciplinary collaborative research and generate common knowledge on India and Europe (projects and publications)
- To engage with civil society, other HEIs and different stakeholders about India-Europe relations and disseminate knowledge generated within (outreach program,conference, workshops, and printed materials)
Vision
Centre of excellence to foster India-EU educational connect by enhancing understanding based on knowledge sharing across disciplines and geographical borders
Mission
Be a preferred choice of students and academicians with specific interests in Europe with multidisciplinary approach