The ultimate goal of this challenging Erasmus + Strategic Partnership "ReMEIC" is to develop and implement a two years Research Master’s programme in European and International Criminology. By creating a state of the art curriculum on (irregular) Border-Crossing, in which the tension between Security and Social Justice play a central role and in which migration-related social problems issues and transnational crimes are studied in that particular context, the Universities of Rotterdam (Erasmus) (NL), Ghent (BE), Kent (UK), Bologna (IT) and Istanbul (Koç) (TK) will make a significant contribution to the specific objective of the Erasmus + Programme, as outlined in the 2011 EU Modernisation Agenda, to foster quality improvements, innovation excellence and internationalisation at the level of education and training institutions, in particular through enhanced transnational cooperation between education, research and training providers and other stakeholders.For a long time, the EU has tried to build a common criminal justice area within its external borders, and the recent escalation of terrorism, coupled with the challenges of large scale migration, refugees and radicalisation have increased the recognition of the need for joint international responses, in which security demands and social justice need to be balanced. It is evident that, in order to address these challenges, there is a need for highly trained personnel with an international, multi-cultural training and outlook. Personnel that is able to combine viewpoints from different disciplines, including the juridical, political and cultural-sociological disciplines. The problems dealt with in the ReMEIC programme and the solutions to these problems require a European or transnational approach. This transnational and interdisciplinary approach should be reflected in education. However, there are singular courses in global criminology at various universities, there are Master’s programmes on various dimensions of it, but an overall programme in which all migration-related international crimes and their governance are connected does not yet exist. The proposed Research Master aims to fill this gap and aims to offer a broad range of expertise and research specialisms which are essential for a genuinely international programme.The partners involved in developing the Research Master in European and International Criminology all have an ample, albeit different research and teaching expertise in the field of border-crossing, security and social justice. The main aim of the Strategic Partnership is bringing this expertise together and developing a balanced and innovative curriculum with a number of common activities and courses (mainly in the field of global criminology, research methods and transferable skills)and optional courses in order to provide the possibility to follow different tracks. In addition, ReMEIC will include innovative, interactive teaching methods, in which the strengths of both face-to-face student-lecturer contact, informal learning and social media are optimised. The ReMEIC project will result in the following Intellectual Outputs:IO1. Courses of the Research Masters programmeIO2. Stakeholder based Guidebook for Research CooperationIO3. Guidelines for organisation of the 1-day workshop (prior to Common Session), including innovative educational methodsIO4. HEI Quality Plan In addition, two Multiplier Events will be organised.The programme is embedded in a wider network of collaborating organisations, ensuring the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders from the sector (e.g. potential employers, field organisations, policy makers). The programme will contribute to improving the quality of higher education in the field of criminology, and will educate a new group of experts capable to address the current issues faced by Europe. The new Research Master will provide them with unique career prospectives, enabling them to work in an international environment and in different sectors.
The objective of this Erasmus + Strategic Partnership “ReMEIC” involving five universities – the Universities of Rotterdam (EUR) (NL), Ghent (BE), Kent (UK), Bologna (UNIBO) (IT) and Istanbul (Koç) (TK) – was to develop and implement a two-year research master’s programme in European and international criminology focused on transnational crime and crime control related to the increasing global movement of people, goods and data and the tension between security and social justice. The need for a joint international programme that focuses on border crossing, security and social justice follows from the increasing demand for highly-skilled and socially engaged experts who are able to respond to how crime and crime control are changing in connection to increasing global mobility across Europe and the world and continuous efforts of the EU to build a common criminal justice area within its external borders. Border-crossing challenges such as large-scale regular and irregular migration, geo-political conflicts, transnational organised and corporate crime, human smuggling and trafficking, terrorism and radicalization, cybercrime, human rights, social exclusion and integration, and the increase of hate crimes, racism and xenophobia, continuously raise new questions for joint international approaches to border control, security and social justice. From September 2019, three European universities (EUR, UGhent, UKent) start the International Master’s in Advanced Research in Criminology (IMARC) subtitled Border crossing, security and social justice. Koç University and UNIBO were both unable to participate in IMARC but remain involved as associate partners. The SP enabled consortium partners to develop the first 2-year joint master’s programme in European and international criminology which centres around transnational issues and policies, international mobility and cross-cultural experience. A further result is a functioning network of academic and non-academic partners, both involved in the curriculum, quality enhancement and mobility opportunities, which optimises the connection between education and the international labour market and thus student employability in various sectors (e.g. government, NGO’s, non-profit and for-profit organisations). International mobility is central to the programme, as students spend time at at least two universities and participate in an international student conference. In addition, IMARC will offer innovative, interactive teaching methods, in which the strengths of informal learning and social media are optimised. The ReMEIC project was carried out by four universities who have brought ample albeit different research and teaching expertise in the field of international criminology: EUR’s Criminology Department (Erasmus School of Law), UGhent’s Department of Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law (Faculty of Law and Criminology), UKent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, and UNIBO’s Department of Legal Studies (School of Law) and Department of Political and Social Sciences (School of Political Science). In addition, the consortium collaborates with four associate partner universities and a network of 40 non-academic partners. The Strategic Partnership has resulted in four Intellectual Outputs: IO1-Curriculum and Student Handbook including the curriculum, mobility paths, and practical information. IO2-Stakeholder-based Guidebook for Research Cooperation, including an overview of relevant research topics and an overview of stakeholders, and thesis supervision and evaluation criteria. IO3-Good Practice Guidelines for Informal Learning, intercultural and peer-to-peer learning and the use of social media, including guidelines for a workshop prior to a student conference. IO4-European Joint Masters Quality Assurance Guide, including the IMARC Consortium Agreement. In addition, four Multiplier Events to strengthen collaboration between education, research and practice and to disseminate insights from the project. By facilitating international mobility in Europe, IMARC makes a significant contribution to the European Education Area that that guarantees free movement of students and encourages study and work in several European countries. IMARC also contributes to the objective of the Erasmus+ Programme, as outlined in the 2011 EU Modernisation Agenda, to fulfil universities’ role in individual and societal advancement, to foster highly skilled human capital and invest in experts that Europe needs. IMARC will contribute to improving the quality of higher education in the field of international criminology, border crossing, security and social justice by educating a new group of experts with the knowledge, skills, international outlook and cross-cultural sensitivity needed to address current issues faced by Europe and faced globally, and providing students with unique career opportunities in an international environment.