Since the academic year 2019/2020, a cooperation has been established between the Europa-Institut of Saarland University and Regent's University in London. The renowned private university, located in London's Regent's Park, offers its students from around 130 countries a wide range of courses in Business & Management, Liberal Arts & Humanities and Film & Media. The cooperation between the Europa-Institut and Regent's University enables students from both institutions to broaden their knowledge, expand their networks and gain valuable and practical experience for their professional future.
Excursion to London in March 2023 and visit to Regent's University at the Europa-Institut in April 2023
From March 13 to 15, 2023, we visited Regent's University in London. The intensive two-day program included several lectures on "War in Ukraine: human rights, environmental and energy impacts on the world", where our students learned more about international justice and national minorities in the context of Ukraine, and discussed possible solutions and also consequences regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war. The program included two other exciting lectures on politics, economics, peoples and energy in Eastern Europe, as well as refugees and migrants. Finally, the students had the opportunity to discuss and debate current international issues in a debating competition together with students from Regent's University and also to visit the Parliament in Westminster.
In April the return visit took place: for two days the students from Regent's University came to the Europa-Institut and discussed with the students from the Europa-Institut. They completed a simulation of EU decision-making and listened to a lecture on "Business and Human Rights", a debate on feminist foreign policy and a lecture on "Improving Gender Equality in Parliaments". We are already looking forward to our visit to Regent's University next year!
From 15 to 19 June 2022, the simulation/workshop, with focus on "Refugees in Europe" together with students from the Regent's University took place in London. The program includet basic lectures on this topic in the fields of politics, sociology, law and economics by academics from Regent’s University.
The five-day trip to London started on Wednesday with a reception by Dr Neven Andjelic at Regents University. This was followed by a short tour of the university, which is centrally located in the beautiful Regents Park. Every morning on the way to university you could walk through the green park past water and geese. The first evening ended together with Dr Andjelic in a typical London pub on Baker Street.
On the second day, the workshop began. We first discussed current issues regarding fugitives in the UK with Dr Neven Andjelic and Dr Mireille Hebing. In particular, we discussed the British government's plan to send refugees by plane back to Rwanda to await asylum. This procedure was heavily criticised by refugee organisations and also led to a ruling by the ECtHR, which ultimately stopped the flight.
We also discussed the refugee situation in Europe in general, especially the comparison of the treatment of Ukrainian and Syrian refugees.
On the third day, we had the opportunity to participate in simulations concerning, on the one hand, the different treatment of refugees and the system of reception in the different countries. We also had the opportunity to think for ourselves about a structure of how refugees could be received and what countries could do to improve reception and integration. Thinking about this structure also included questions about how best to integrate a refugee. These ideas were finally presented in groups, followed by a discussion.
After these three days of a combination of exciting lectures and workshops, we had the opportunity to spend another day exploring London ourselves.
Besides Big Ben and the London Eye, we also visited various pubs and ate the typical British Pie. In the South Bank, we had the opportunity to try street food from all over the world.
Unfortunately, we had to return to Germany the next day. All in all, it was an exciting and thrilling trip.
Trip to London in 2020
A course focusing on International Relations was held in London in January 2020, exclusively designed for Europa-Institut students. Together with students from Regent's University, a Model Diplomacy NSC Simulation titled "Collapse in Venezuela" was conducted.
The participants took the role of the members of the National Security Council (NSC) and discussed the position of the USA and other stakeholders with regard to probable possible collapse of the Venezuelan state and economy and the resulting deterioration of the humanitarian situation there. In plenary and in working groups, different scenarios and options were discussed to halt the ongoing destabilization of the country and prevent a complete collapse. The aim was to ensure regional security on the South American continent and the protection of human rights in Venezuela, as well as to weigh up the risks of military intervention and the consequences of comprehensive economic sanctions.
During the preparatory phase, the participants were assisted by experts: In his presentation, Professor Yossi Mekelberg specifically addressed diplomatic negotiation strategies in addition to the basics of diplomacy. Professor Oscar Guardiola-Rivera (Professor in Law at Birkbeck University of London) went into greater depth on the specifics of the problem in the case of Venezuela and discussed the current state of the crisis and the general situation in Latin America with the students.
At the same time, a decisive event for Europe took place: the official withdrawal of England from the European Union on 31 January 2020. Professor Stephen Barber (Professor of Global Affairs at Regent's University) shed some light on the Brexit jungle. While having fish & chips with the students, he took the time to explain his assessment of the current situation in Great Britain during the kick-off meeting.
Further program highlights were certainly the visit of the panel discussion with Dr. Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah (CEO, Oxfam UK) at Chatham House, a world-renowned think tank, as well as the guided tour through the British Parliament on day 1 after the Brexit.
