New academic year, Viennese style!
This past weekend’s workshop in the Austrian capital marked the start of the second academic year of the Executive Master in EU Studies.
On Friday morning, we had the pleasure of meeting H.E. Dr Ulrike Hartmann, Austria’s Special Representative for the Western Balkans, at the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs. The discussions focused on the Austrian and EU’s position on the accession of countries in the region.
In the afternoon, the students gathered at the Academy for Dialogue and Evangelisation in the Figlhaus, which hosted the workshop’s activities. Otto Neubauer and Michael Frey introduced them to the Academy, a space dedicated to fostering open communication and mutual understanding among people from diverse religious, political and personal backgrounds. The students then split into two groups to present the results of their work during the last term: one on Project Cycle Management and the Logical Framework Approach, guided by Emre Gür, and the other on Strategic Planning, Implementation and Evaluation of Development Programmes in the EU, led by Gyöngyvér Gyene.
On Saturday, our EU law specialists Ralf Kanitz and Nikolaus Scheffel guided the students through legal methodology and case studies on European citizenship and fundamental rights. The programme continued with contributions from political science scholars Wolfgang Wessels and Thomas Traguth, who took a brief detour into geopolitical theories and deepened further on EU integration. The day concluded with an interdisciplinary World Café exploring the factors behind and implications of the rise of far-right populist governments in the EU, approached from political science, economics and EU law perspectives.
On Sunday morning, Ralf Kanitz introduced the students to a simulation of proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). In preparation for the upcoming workshop in Berlin, students were assigned roles as representatives of the applicant, EU Member States and the European Commission, as well as judges and the Advocate General. They will prepare written legal submissions and put forward their arguments as part of the simulated proceedings.
The morning continued with methodological classes in economics, political science and law. Students attended sessions according to their individual research interests, in preparation for the specialisation phase beginning in Berlin. The workshop wrapped up on Sunday afternoon with a session led by our economics lecturers Tamás Szigetvári and Veronika Czina, who examined the dynamic effects of deepening and widening the EU single market through enlargement.
The academic programme was complemented by delicious traditional Viennese cuisine and opportunities to connect beyond the classroom. Saturday’s dinner, in particular, brought students together with several Executive Master alumni now based in Vienna, offering a valuable opportunity to exchange experiences and strengthen connections across cohorts.
We wish everyone a great start to the second year of the programme and look forward to seeing the group again in January in Berlin!