IES Away Days

A delegation from the Institute for European Studies held a two-day meeting at UNU-CRIS on 8 and 9 February.

A total of 28 researchers, Board members and management personnel engaged in discussions on the future of the Institute during these annual Strategic Away Days. Chaired by IES President Karel De Gucht, this year’s edition focused on the strategic alliances and collaboration agreements that were recently formed, i.e. amongst others the links with UNU-CRIS. UNU-CRIS Director Madeleine Hosli presented UNU-CRIS’s strategic plan and emphasised the role of the IES therein, notably as a leading contributing partner and a Brussels campus. She elaborated on the synergies in research and the opportunities to jointly apply for external research funding. Jamal Shahin, senior researcher at the IES and project leader at UNU-CRIS, gave the ‘outside-in’ view, taking the viewpoint of the IES and the opportunities for collaboration with UNU-CRIS from his point of view. As a result, the IES is considering research-in-residence grants to allow IES collaborators to also stay in Bruges to conduct joint research. VUB Rector Caroline Pauwels and Vice-Rector for Internationalisation Sonja Snacken joined the meeting and the evening dinner to informally discuss further possible actions. IES researchers further discussed possible partnerships with Vesalius College, Warwick University and the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Part of the Away Days were also devoted to internal management reform. UNU-CRIS formed a unique setting for the discussions and proved to be a good stimulus for quite a number of researchers for whom it was the first encounter with UNU.