With the strong support of the University and College leaders and the active cooperation of relevant departments, the application for the EU programme Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Chair, led by Prof. Zhang Tong, Director of the Institute of European Law of the College of Comparative Law, was again successfully approved in September. The programme was successfully established in the Scientific Research Department of the University on 24 Nov, 2020.
Following the grants of the programme of European Module in 2011 and the programme of Jean Monet Chair in 2015, this time’s Jean Monnet Chair, hosted by Zhang Tong, being supported by the European Commission again, is a high recognition of the long-term adherence of this EU law team to the teaching and research of EU law and international cooperation. Team members of the programme include A/Prof. Zhang Xuezhe, A/Prof. Xu Yan, A/Prof. Ding Qiang, A/Prof. Zhang Nan and Dr. Jiang Fengan from the College, Prof. Zhang Shujing from the Business School and A/Prof. Jin Jing from the School of Civil and Commercial Economic Law of CUPL, Prof. Reiner Schulze from the University of Münster, Prof. Thomas Moellers from the University of Augsburg, Prof. Reinhard Singer from the Humboldt University of Berlin School and Prof. Andre Janssen from the Radboud University Nijmegen.
Zhang’s team will focus on the Legal Challenges and Its Legislative Response in the Digitalization of Europe: a Reference to China during the programme implementation period from September 2020 to August 2023, and the main tasks are as follows: 1) to further develop the new curriculum of EU law, so as to make the original curriculum system of EU law more perfect and characteristic; 2) to further expand the channels of academic cooperation, organize related academic activities, and strengthen cooperation and exchanges with relevant domestic and foreign institutions and practical departments; and 3) to further strengthen the scientific research activities between Chinese and European scholars and produce high-level academic results.
Background Intro:
The Jean Monnet Programme was created by the European Commission in 1989, named after Jean Monnet, the “Chief architect” of the post-world War II European integration movement and the French statesman known as the “Father of Europe”. Its purpose is to finance the teaching, research and discussion of the promotion of European integration in the institutions of higher education worldwide in order to promote relations between the European Union and the rest of the world and dialogue between peoples and cultures, and to enhance the cognition and understanding of European integration. The Programme is being tendered globally with intense competition and strict examination and approval procedure. There are three types of programmes under the Programme, the European Module, the Jean Monnet Chair and the Centre of Excellence. The Jean Monnet Chair is the highest academic honor awarded by the European Union to outstanding teaching and research personnel worldwide engaging in EU research and teaching. It is also a high degree of academic recognition by the EU to scholars engaging in the teaching and research of European integration.