The DAAD Higher Education Dialogue with the Western Balkan Countries project line aims to promote cooperation and exchange among higher education institutions in the target region and to strengthen the target countries’ ties to the EU. The European perspective for the Western Balkan states is crucial for maintaining peace and stabilizing the region.
Within the framework of the DAAD Higher Education Dialogue with the Western Balkan Countries project line, the Europa-Institut has once again received a funding commitment for 2026. As part of the project “REGROW – From Reform to Growth: Leveraging Rule of Law in the EU Single Market for Investment in EU Candidate States,” a summer school and an international academic workshop are planned for 2026 in the Western Balkans.
The DAAD Higher Education Dialogue with the countries of the Western Balkans - former DAAD Academic Reconstruction - is a programme funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Foreign Office. This program is organized annually since 2013 by the Europa-Institut in cooperation with the South East European Law School Network (SEELS) and the partner faculties from Albania (Tirana), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo and Zenica), Croatia (Osijek, Rijeka, Split, Zagreb), Northern Macedonia (Skopje) and Serbia (Belgrade and Nis).
The aim of the DAAD Higher Education Dialogue is to create a network of lawyers in the field of postgraduate teaching and research on various topics related to European and International law. Since the beginning of the cooperation various summer schools, workshops, training courses have taken place in Saarbrücken and the especially in partner countries.
- 2025 “Artificial Intelligence and Law: Mastering the Future of Law in AI Age” - Higher Education Dialogue 2025 (Croatia - Split)
- 2024 ELEC Preparing for EU Accession - Higher Education Dialogue 2024 (Serbia - Belgrade)
- 2023 "New Challenges for European Integration - Ukrainian War and its implications for the European Union and the Western Balkans" - Higher Education Dialogue 2023 (Croatia - Split)
- 2022 ED4ELE - (Equality and Diversity in European Legal Education) - East-West Dialogue: Higher Education Dialogue with the Western Balkan Countries 2022 (Croatia - Split)
- 2020 Rule of law: Arbitration as an opportunity for peaceful dispute settlement (Kroatien – Zagreb) because of the Covid-19- pandemic ONLINE
- 2019 #FreeMedia4WesternBalkans (Kroatien – Split)
- 2018 Access2Justice4All (Serbien – Belgrad)
- 2017 Protection of Ethnic Minorities (Albanien – Durrës)
- 2016 Challenges of Migration and Asylum – Legal Aspects (Nordmazedonien – Ohrid)
- 2015 EU Open Markets (Kroatien – Zagreb & Split)
- 2014 Essentials of European Law (Kroatien – Zagreb & Rijeka)
- 2013 Summer Academy SEE Graduates EU Law Teaching & Research Academy (Saarbrücken)
Through the years, almost 200 students on their Master's or doctoral studies from Saarbrücken and the partner countries as well as many professors and experts from Germany, countries in South-East Europe and other countries worldwide have participated in these projects.
The Europa-Institut together with the South East European Law School Network and the partner faculties will continue to organize interesting and current projects in the future. The participants of these projects will be able to further deepen their knowledge in the fields of European and International law as well as build a network with colleagues from other countries.
Higher Education Dialogue 2026
Summer School at Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia
The Summer School will take place from September 7 to 13, 2026, at Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia. It is organized as part of the project “REGROW - From Reform to Growth: Leveraging the Rule of Law in the EU Single Market for Investment in EU Candidate States” by the SEELS Network Faculties and the European Institute at Saarland University (Germany).
Application Process:
Please note that the application process consists of two steps:
1. Filling out the MS Forms form
2. Submitting the following documents separately via email to projects@europainstitut.de:
- Resume
- Academic transcripts
- Statement of purpose (max. 1 page)
- Language certificate (not required if you have studied in English or lived in an English-speaking country for an extended period (at least 6 months))
- Proof of enrollment
- Scan of the first page of your passport/ID card
- Proof of health insurance (after successful application!)
The email should have the subject line “Summer School Lake Ohrid I Application-Last Name, First Name.”
The application deadline is June 28, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (CET).
You can find all other important information regarding the application in the following documents:
HARTech: Human Rights and Technology: Bridging the Gap with AI Applications - Higher education dialogue 2025
Global Classroom “Artificial Inteligence and Human Rights”
The Europa-Institut together with the SEELS Network is organising a Global Classroom on the topic “Artificial Inteligence and Human Rights” within the DAAD Higher Dialogue with Countries of the Western Balkan 2025 “Human Rights and Technology: Bridging the Gap with AI Applications (HARTech)”, to bring together students and professors from Europe and other countries to learn together in an international environment.
There are 4 sessions via Zoom, certificates of participation will be issued.
Please register here until 23 January 2026.
Summer School: "Artificial Intelligence and Law: Mastering the Future of Law in AI Age"
Within the project "Human Rights and Technology: Bridging the Gap with AI Applications (HARTech)" funded by the DAAD (German Higher Education Exchange Service) and implemented by the Europa-Institut, University of Saarland (Germany), and the Faculties of Law, members of the SEELS Network, a summer school on AI and law is organised as part of a global classroom. From September 7 to 13, the summer school “AI and Law: Mastering the Future of Law in the AI Age” took place at the Faculty of Law of the University of Split. It aimed to provide the students with an intensive learning experience and gave them a comprehensive understanding of key aspects related to Law and new technologies with special focus on artificial intelligence (AI). The Summer School was based on a multidisciplinary program designed to explore the intersection of technology, ethics, and legal studies. Participants could gain a solid foundation in the fundamentals of AI, while exploring its legal frameworks and implications in diverse areas such as human rights, business law, criminal law etc. The curriculum emphasized ethical AI development and deployment, equipping students to address pressing challenges in the digital age. With sessions on AI-enhanced academic and legal research, alongside discussions on how AI is reshaping the legal profession and education, this program offered insights into the future of law in an AI-driven world.
The project was financially supported by the DAAD and the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.
