About the Project
The University of Lagos has established a Jean Monnet Module programme covering three specific stand-alone Summer School, Training workshop, and Conference programs for undergraduate students in University of Lagos, through a team of academic staff who formed a cohort for promoting European studies in University of Lagos.
European Studies, particularly EU activities, are generally undertaken by a small number of Nigerian universities (and the West-Central Africa region in general). Most of these universities either teach a specific country language, such as French or German, or offer it as an elective course in programs such as History and International Relations. This is due to a lack of academic programs/curricula specifically designed to address the interdisciplinary nature of EU studies, particularly on political institutions, economic interactions, and social interactions. A significant number of students, academics, and even professionals in Africa’s finance/business, environment, natural resource, and social sectors are discipline-trained and disciplinary-focused, with a lack of international orientation of policy environment affecting their discipline and profession, necessitating the urgent need to build skills and expertise through the opportunity provided by the EU/Jean Monnet Action Programme. The goal of the UNILAG-Jean Monnet Module is to fill a critical skill gap in policy advocacy needs for European studies in Africa.
The UNILAG-Jean Monnet Module is a three-year programme intended to provide a variety of options to the broadest possible range of interested audiences. It will not only benefit a large number of students and practitioners, but it will also allow for greater integration and connectivity between Africa and EU Commission member states. The proposed UNILAG-Jean Monnet Module revolves around
three pillars: teaching, policy research, and capacity building. While teaching the fundamentals is important, the emphasis will also be on research aimed at promoting enlightenment, awareness, and understanding of EU policy and systems, as well as capacity building to contribute to policy design and advocacy. Through the following activities, the Module integrates teaching and research, with capacity building into policy analysis and advocacy:
Summer School Programme: A stand-alone summer school program on EU studies and Africa integration, aimed primarily at students with no prior exposure to EU studies. In the first three years, the Summer School will run at least once per academic year before being transformed into a centre of excellence where the summer school will be sustained permanently and institutionalized. The Summer School will be supplemented with a simulation of the EU decision-making council to provide participants with a hands-on demonstration of the EU system’s processes and procedures.
Policy Research & Analysis Training workshop: The provision of a training workshop to University of Lagos students in the areas of policy research, analysis, and advocacy, based on stand-alone summer school courses plus some additional courses to improve policy research and analysis. Participants in the summer school and workshop can earn certification to supplement their knowledge portfolio.
year Jean Monnet Module program.
Conference and Policy Dialogue a: Each there will be a Policy dialogue on topical issues on EU-Africa relations and at the end of the third year of the program, a conference will be held to improve public speaking, paper presentation, and policy dialogue with experts and professionals on EU issues and Africa integration.
As a starting point, 100 students will be chosen through a rigorous selection process that ensures inclusivity and gender balance in the final selection. Participants will be drawn primarily from departments where students have had little or no direct exposure to EU studies. As a result, the module focuses on training young undergraduates who have little exposure and background in EU studies in their traditional academic program but will have opportunities in the future to relate to and interact with EU systems and institutions both locally and internationally in engineering, sciences (pure, applied, and social), law, and education, among other fields.
At the end of the program, there will be several publications in both local and international media to publicize the program’s impact and possible integration of the outcomes in other institutions and establishments in Nigeria and Africa. It is anticipated that by the end of the program, a new group of EU policy advocates in Africa will have been formed. In addition, a framework for scaling up the impact to the national and continental levels would have been developed through the University of Lagos’ three-
