The University of New York Tirana (UNYT) has proactively established the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence to augment its burgeoning reputation and expertise in the domain of European Integration. By establishing this Centre of Excellence, UNYT aims to enhance its research profile in various EU Studies, secure external funding to support its research endeavors, offer a comprehensive degree program in EU Studies, and foster inter-institutional partnerships with other Centers of Excellence globally.
The creation of a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at UNYT serves as a strategic move that will contribute towards strengthening the university’s research and educational programs in the area of European Integration. This initiative enables UNYT to attract and retain top-notch researchers and scholars who specialize in EU Studies, thereby creating a vibrant research culture within the university.
The Centre of Excellence also permits UNYT to provide an EU Studies degree program, thereby catering to students with a keen interest in EU integration. The curriculum of this degree program is designed in collaboration with the Centre’s research team, thus ensuring that it is relevant and reflective of the latest trends and developments in the EU. The establishment of this program will further cement UNYT’s reputation as a leading academic institution in the field of EU Studies.
Furthermore, the Centre of Excellence has enabled UNYT to establish partnerships with other Jean Monnet Centres of Excellence worldwide. These collaborations have provided opportunities for UNYT to share knowledge, resources, and expertise, and foster the exchange of best practices in the domain of European Integration. Such partnerships have opened avenues for joint research initiatives and academic exchange programs, thus promoting cross-cultural learning and understanding.
The establishment of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at UNYT marks a significant milestone in the university’s pursuit of academic excellence in the field of European Integration. The Centre’s objectives of enhancing research, securing external funding, offering a degree program, and fostering partnerships with other Centres of Excellence worldwide has undoubtedly contributed towards the realization of UNYT’s vision of becoming a leading academic institution in the region.
Eltion Meka
Eltion Meka is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of New York Tirana. Dr. Meka is designated as the academic coordinator of this Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence project. In the past two years, Eltion has been the recipient of two Jean Monnet grants: A Jean Monnet Module in 2016 and a Jean Monnet Network in 2017. During this period he has organized a number of major activities in the area of EU Studies such as an international conference titled “Democratization and Ethnic Reconciliation: Theoretical challenges and the role of European integration” and a Winter School titled “Creating Territorial Cooperation: The Impact of the Intercultural Dialogue and Migration Flows in South-East Europe”.
Eltion’s research interests focus on democracy promotion and the role of the EU in Eastern Europe. His academic work has been published in reputable international journals (such as the Journal of European Integration and Europe-Asia Studies), while a number of his ongoing working papers have been included in this project proposal as research activities.
Ariana Cela
Ariana Çela has an Ed.D in Management and Tourism from University of Northern Iowa, USA, an MSc in Leisure and Environments from the University of Wageningen, The Netherlands, and a B.A. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Tirana, Albania. Her areas of interest in research include public policy, public finance, performance-based budgeting, international management, regional development, entrepreneurship and SMEs, tourism management, cultural heritage management, and project financing. She is an assistant professor at the University of New York Tirana since 2009 and was previously a lecturer at the University of Northern Iowa in the USA from 2004-2006. She worked in the Ministry of Economy as a specialist in the Competition Department (2001-2004) and was a Budget Director in the Ministry of Finance between 2006-2009. Later, she worked as the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisor from 2009-2013.
Fatos Tarifa
With a PhD in Political Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a doctoral degree in Political Science from the University of Tirana. Prof. Fatos Tarifa is a renowned social scientist and a prolific author. He teaches political sociology, international relations, and geopolitics. His books include (in English): Europe Adrift on the Wine Dark Sea (2007), The Balkans: A Mission neither Accomplished nor Impossible (2002), The Quest for Legitimacy and the Withering Away of Utopia (2001), The Breakdown of State Socialism and the Emerging Post-Socialist Order (2001), The First Decade and After: Albania’s Democratic Transition and Consolidation in the Context of Southeast Europe (2000), Open-Ended History: Dangers and Dilemmas of Transition (1998. His numerous articles have been published in journals with impact factor, such as Social Forces (Oxford University Press), Policy Review (Stanford University/Hoover Institution), Mediterranean Quarterly (Duke University Press), Studies in Comparative International Development (Springer), East European Politics and Societies (Sage), Development and Change (Wiley-Blackwell), Communist and Post-Communist Studies (Elsevier), etc. Professor Tarifa is currently President of the Albanian Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Ilir Kalemaj
Associate Professor Ilir Kalemaj, holds a PhD from Central European University, Budapest, Hungary. He has published a myriad of scholarly papers in international and national peer-reviewed journals and has participated in more than 30 national and international conferences. Moreover, he has recently published books Contested Borders: Territorialization of National Identity and Shifts of “Imagined Geographies” in Albania, by Peter Lang Ltd. Oxford 2014; ”Kosovo and Albania: Quo Vadis?, by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung; My kind of NATO: Perceptions from Albania, by the Centre for European and Security Affairs/ Institute for Democracy and Mediation with support of the NATO Public Diplomacy Division, etc. Kalemaj is dealing now with issues about democratic transition & democratic consolidation, political culture, and the question of nationalism, as well as EU Integration processes in Albania and Western Balkans.
Juna Miluka
Juna Miluka holds a PhD in economics from American University, Washington, DC. She is an associate professor of Economics and Dean of the Faculty of Economics at the University of New York, Tirana. She has extensive experience working as a consultant with many international organizations conducting research on issues such as migration, labor market, poverty, education, vulnerability, agriculture, etc. Dr. Miluka is an expert in economic research, development, as well as gender issues. Working as an international consultant for the World Bank and IOM has given her considerable experience in migration studies and poverty assessment. Two of her studies on the impact of international migration in Albanian family farming and education have been published in a prestigious academic journal. Her work with the Millennium Challenge Corporation in Washington, DC, has given her experience in rural development. As a consultant for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, she has conducted a gender assessment for Moldovan farmers using farm survey data. Among other organizations, she has also worked as a national consultant for UNWOMEN on issues of women’s economic empowerment, including issues of employment, poverty, entrepreneurship, and health, and conducted vulnerability studies for UNDP.
Bekim Nuhija
In June 2013, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nuhija was awarded his Ph.D. in Law at the University of Maastricht (the Netherlands). Since that moment, he has been conducting research on the protection of the rights of vulnerable groups through a comparative approach. In addition, from 2011-2018, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nuhija was a lecturer at Southeast European University, where he taught different courses such as Public International Law, European Union Law, Comparative Law, and Human Rights Law. At UNYT, he teaches courses such as Domestic and Int’l Human Rights Law; Public International Law; and Law, Politics, and Religion.
Can Bekaroğlu
In December 2015 Dr. Bekaroğlu was awarded his Ph.D. title in Economics with a dissertation title “Multi-Stage Analysis of Healthcare Efficiency in OECD and the Impact of Technology on Healthcare”. Since October 2010, Dr. Bekaroğlu has been conducting research on different topics regarding the economy and finance. In addition to that, from since the fall of 2018, Dr. Bekaroğlu has been a Lecturer at UNYT, where he teaches several courses on economics.
Party Politics and European Integration offered by the Political Science and International Relations Department
1.1 A summary of the progress of the course
This mandatory type of course was taught during the academic years 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022.
The course offered a comprehensive empirical and theoretical overview of the main aspects of the EU and European integration. The course aimed to provide the students with knowledge and understanding on four main areas regarding the EU: the history, politics, law and culture. More specifically on:
- The concept, process and theories of European integration;
- The process of the evolution and development of the European Community from its very creation to the new millennium (including the treaties and the main important events) and explain why integration has progressed the way it has;
- How the EU works, by understanding and analyzing the governance and policy-making process,
- The functioning of EU principal institutions;
- The political parties and groups in the European Parliament and the European elections (focusing on the last ones);
- The main policies, focusing on the common ones;
- The enlargement policy and the balance deepening versus widening, integration versus extension.
- The issue of geographical borders of the EU and European identity.
1.2 The impact of the project’s course on students
- Overall, this course provided a comprehensive introduction to European Integration. The students have greatly benefited from this course by being able to:
- Demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the EU and European integration, to identify and explain key issues related to EU institutions and policies, and to critically evaluate key current debates and themes of integration.
- Develop key skills to understand, analyze, evaluate and discuss conceptual political issues and scholarly debates.
- Further develop their abilities to do research, write papers and essays, prepare and present power-point presentations, and participate constructively in group discussions.
- At the end of the course, students’ evaluation for this course and the instructor was made periodically for every semester that the course was offered by the Quality.
1.3 Course’s Guest Lecture
Mr. Geron Kamberi, MSc, Author and Expert of European Integration, was invited as a guest speaker on 11 May 2022. He delivered a lecture on the topic of EU Enlargement, titled “The Waves of Enlargement – From the simple applications to the Copenhagen Criteria”. The lecture was expected very well from the students and engaged them into a lively and interesting discussion with the speaker.
1.4 Course lectures
The teaching and learning methods were combined as lectures, seminars, power point presentations (individually and in groups), tutorials, interactive discussions, and guest speakers (see here). At the end of semester, all students took an exam to test knowledge taken through the course.
1.5 Students’ papers/assignment per course including the logo of the project.
The students (each of them) were required to prepare and present an assignment which consisted of a PowerPoint presentation. That enabled students to improve their research, analytical and presentation skills. The assignment had to be related to the weekly topic. The research question/topic was given by the professor to each student one week before the scheduled presentation. On the day of the assignment, the student had to present it and the classmates had to give their feedback afterwards, pointing out the strengths and shortcomings of the presentation. The professor gives the final feedback, so the students could address their shortcomings in their future work (see here).
1.6 Course’s Syllabus
The syllabus was divided into topics and has been systematically updated in terms of topics and literature (see here).
EU Economic Policy offered by the Business Administration Department
2.1 A summary of the progress of the course
The module EU Public Economy Policy was offered by the Business Administration Department, in compliance with the requirement of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. The program was established as per the requirements of the Centre of Excellence project.
The course offered was composed in three modules, respectively:
- The first module covers the extent of European economic integration after World War 2, the basic facts as well as the EU organization, its law and institutions. The microeconomics and macroeconomics of European integration is addressed and covered in detail.
- The second module covers several important EU microeconomic public policies, namely the Common Agricultural Policy; location effects, economic geography and regional policy; the competition and state aid policy as well as the EU trade policy. Obviously, the success of this module is built upon the successful completion of the first module.
- The theoretical conclusions from the first module serve as a basis to understanding the EU monetary and fiscal public policies which is the objective of the third module. This module deals with EU public monetary and fiscal policies, namely the European monetary union, fiscal policy and the Stability Pact as well as the enhanced role of the euro in global financial markets. Special attention is paid to the public macro policies surrounding the eurozone crisis.
All subject items were developed and delivered accordingly (see here).
2.2 The impact of the project’s course on the students
This course provided a comprehensive introduction to European Union Public Economic Policy and examined in detail microeconomics and macroeconomics of European economic integration, and public policy such as state aid, EU trade policy, EU monetary policy etc.
Upon successful completion of the course modules the students have a very good understanding of the economic and political economic logic behind the main events of European economic integration history.
First module students can fully understand the essential microeconomic tools and the framework needed for the study of the European integration microeconomics, in general, and preferential liberalization, in particular. They have good knowledge of the economic logic behind the European integration leading to fewer, larger firms operating at a more efficient scale and facing more effective competition.
The successful students of second module fully understand the essential macroeconomic principles necessary to grasp the deep logic of monetary integration in Europe and they have a good knowledge of the optimum currency area theory and the main steps of European monetary integration history. They fully understand concepts of agricultural policy, anti-competitive practices by private firms and subsidies by governments as well as the competition, state aid and trade facts and EU trade policies.
The third module students fully understand the way the monetary union operates as well as the fiscal policies effects across national boundaries and the Stability and Growth Pact’s impact on policy choices and its shortcomings. They have very good knowledge of the process of financial markets integration in Europe and have a good understanding of the Eurozone crisis.
The successful students can apply the essential microeconomic and macroeconomic tools to conducting simple analyses covering several aspects of microeconomics and macroeconomics of European integration as well as micro and macro public policies in Europe. They are also able to assess and interpret the degree of integration among countries and markets as well as conduct good research in the field of European economic integration and public policies. The students clearly gained good communication and professional writing skills with regards to presenting one’s work and results in a clear and convincing way. The evaluation of the course from the students was made by the UNYT Quality Assurance Office, emphasizing that the professor who delivered the course was one of the best.
2.3 Lecture Materials/Power-Points
This course was taught by two different lecturers, namely Dr. Ariana Cela and Professor Arjan Kadareja. Lectures were delivered every week through PowerPoint presentations (see here). Shall be emphasized that due to the nature of the course, besides lectures given by the instructor, the instructor made sure that students were involved in further literature based on different research.
2.4 Students’ papers/assignment
Students were engaged in different ways during the course, and their active participation is based due to their presence, presentation, writing of term papers and publications. Since the module was composed in an interactive methodology, students had the opportunity to make presentation on topics as assigned by the professor, or their own choice, and write a term paper on the topics asked. The students clearly gain good communication and professional writing skills with regards to presenting one’s work and results in a clear and convincing way (see here). At the end of the course their knowledge was tested by exam.
2.5 Course’s Syllabus
The syllabus was divided into 15 weeks, which included lectures, seminars, tutorials, group/individual work, and exams. The syllabus has been systematically updated in terms of topics and literature (see here).
3.1 A summary of the progress of the course
The module EU Law in the Albanian Legal System was offered by the Department of Law as an elective course as of 2019 in compliance with the requirement of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. As of 2022, this module is integrated in the curricula of the Law program as an elective course titled EU Impact into Albanian Legal System https://unyt.edu.al/index.php/bachelor-programs/law
As of 2020, this course was also offered by the Program EU Legislation and Politics as a mandatory third year course. The program was established as per the requirements of the Centre of Excellence project https://unyt.edu.al/index.php/bachelor-programs/eu-law-and-politics
The module offered was composed of interactive methodology and students had the opportunity to make presentations on topics as assigned by the professors and write a term paper on the topics asked.
3.2 Overall assessment of the work carried out and the results
This course provided a comprehensive introduction to European integration of Albania and the process of the harmonization of its legislation. It gave to students with clear institutional and legal knowledge necessary to understand major issues of European integration and the adoption of the EU norm in the Albanian legislation. The course examined in detail the idea of European integration process of the legislations’ harmonization in addition to widening (of EU membership) and deepening (of EU policy scope). The process of enlargement of the European Union, treaties, and membership criteria, as well as in chronological order all the steps and progress of the integration process of Albania were addressed by this course.
Shall be emphasized that due to the nature of the course the students were able to attend open lectures with different experts in the field of Albania’s integration to the EU and the most strategic areas.
3.3 The impact of the project’s course in the students
This course was designed in a tailor-made approach and students were able to have a hand in zone experience on the status of the Albania’s approximation of the legislation with the EU acquis. According to the Performance Index of the students, the evaluation of the last year instructor was 60/60.
3.4 Research activities and results
During the course of 3 years the students and instructor were involved in the research and their assessment activities were mainly focused on research based. Further to this the last year instructor presented in two international conferences (see here).
3.5 Course’s Events
Several activities were held in the frame of the EU Law in the Albanian Legal System course, different activities were held such as open lecture and filed trips. It shall be mentioned, that only in the last year there were invited 4 experts to deliver their lectures on the field of Rule of Law Assessment, IPA mechanism, and Albania and the European standards on the freedom of expression and media (see here); (see here); (see here).
A study visit was organized at the Ministry of Culture with the Deputy Minister of Culture Dr. Meri Kumbe (see here)..
3.6 Lecture Materials/ Power-Points
This course was taught by Prof. Assoc. Eda Gemi as the main instructor and Dr.c Andrea Mazelliu as the second lecturer for the year 2021-2022 and on (see here).
3.7 Students’ papers/assignment
Students were engaged in different ways during the course, through their active participation, presentation, writing of term papers and publications (see here).
3.8 Syllabus of the course
The syllabus has changed based also on the progress report and different developments that the Albanian legislation has faced in three years as per the integration process and different phases where Albania is currently (see here).
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