European Governance Professional Skills

Course goals

After completing this course, the student:

• has knowledge about interdisciplinary research and applied research on European Governance themes, issues, processes and organisations;
• is able to translate this knowledge into written assignments concerned with both academic and professional skills sets;
• has an overview of key academic and several distinct professional skills (such as policy advice and futuring skills) to perform effectively when working in and with international organisations, active in the European Governance domain;
• has experience with applying these skills in an in-class situation and has the ability to develop these skills further during a research internship;

Content

In this course we turn to the professional outlook of the European Governance master’s programme. Here we concentrate on the academic and several distinct professional skills that are relevant for performing effectively as an academically trained professional in (international) organisations that deal with important questions facing Europe. In this course we do that in two  blocs. The first bloc is foremost concerned with interdisciplinarity, in both academic research and professional context. Further, it also supports you to set up social scientific research projects and aides you development in collaborating in international professional settings. The second bloc is concerned with key professional (research) skills which are transferable across domains and sectors, with an additional focus on competences relevant in the European Union context.
As much of the learning takes place during the class meetings, preparation and participation are key to successful conclusion of the course.

Bloc I: Interdisciplinarity and (academic) research skills
In this bloc we delve into interdisciplinary research, connecting the domains of economics, law, public administration, and political science. This prepares you for stepping beyond your disciplinary confine and reach a more comprehensive social scientific approach, as is particularly relevant to the complex multidimensional problems of European governance. To gain a better understanding thereof, you practice with setting up an interdisciplinary group research project and learn from researchers’ real-life experience with the dilemmas and problems you encounter in interdisciplinary practice. This bloc also helps you to construct academic research projects more generally, as relevant to the preparation of your Master thesis. This includes designing a scientifically relevant research question, research design and methodology, and practical concerns. Finally, you also learn about how to professionally collaborate in an international context in a workshop facilitated by professional trainers. YOu reflect on your own approach and the group dynamic as part of your collaborative work in this course.

Bloc II: Professional (research) skills
In this bloc we address several important skills sets you need for effective performance in various professional environments. These skills are transferable from public administration and civil society organisations to private sector organisations as consultancies, to EU institutions and other organisations that explicitly deal with issues of European governance. Skills we define as the ability to apply knowledge and use know-how to complete tasks and solve problems. Among others, we discuss strategic policy advice, relevant to positions in both the public and private sector. This and other skills such as impact assessments are relevant to professional settings dealing with wide-ranging European policy challenges, across levels of governance, and for policy areas as diverse as agricultural, competition or education policy. Finally, you continue your learning about professional collaboration in an international context by reflecting on your group dynamic and own functioning in the group project as started in bloc I.

In both bloc 1 and 2, you are expected to submit a written mid-term assignment and present this in class. The first assignment is a group project about interdisciplinarity presented in class half-way the course. The second is an individual assignment about one of the four professional skills of bloc 2 which you pitch to your fellow students in peer feedback workshops at the end of the course. The final assignment puts in practice both the academic and professional research skills by means of a research proposal based on your Master thesis.
You are expected to be present and participate actively in all seminars of this course.