The Centre for Law and Development (CLD) at College of Law (LAWC), Qatar University (QU), officially launched the Jean Monnet Module in (European Union) EU Law recently.
The event was moderated by Dr Hamad Hamed A M Alhababi, assistant professor of Public Law at QU-LAWC.
The event featured several distinguished speakers, including Dr Cristian Tudor, ambassador of the European Union (EU) to Kuwait and Qatar; Dr Hassan Rashid al-Derham, president of QU; and Dr Jon Truby, director of CLD.
The speakers highlighted the importance of the course, as a first course in EU Law in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC). This course is another stepping-stone in the EU-Qatar relations, this time from an education perspective following the recent agreements signed between the EU and Qatar in various fields.
This new co-operation in the field of education between QU and the EU is "very significant", the university has stressed in a press statement. The 'Doha Courses on European Union Law' will be the first Jean Monnet Module in Qatar and the GCC, and the courses will be delivered for three years.
In a funding competition, the CLD won a competitive grant and was one of the 360 awarded applications out of the 1,447 eligible applications for funding in 2020. The Module aims to create interest in the European Union and to constitute the basis for future poles of European knowledge and research in Qatar.
The module seeks to foster the publication and dissemination of academic research in EU Law, and to create interest in the EU among students in Qatar. The module will allow CLD to deliver tailor-made courses on specific EU Law topics relevant for graduates in their professional life.
This will help Qatar-based lawyers develop skills and knowledge in EU Law so that local businesses and organisations are better equipped to trade with EU companies and deal with EU institutions. The module will deliver 40 teaching hours per academic year in EU Law, requiring the academic input of several professors and experts.
The module components focus firstly on the introduction to the European Union’s legal history and institutions, and secondly on legal areas where the European Union plays a leading role. It aims to promote research skills and knowledge in the field of international organisations and integration using the European Union as a model, environmental protection, and human rights, key pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030.
Finally, the Monnet Module will promote the role of Qatar University as a source of expertise to serve the nation’s needs; strengthening local, regional, and international partnerships in strategic areas and be a catalyst development of Qatar.
Dr Tudor said, “The EU and Qatar are cooperating to raise awareness about the existing opportunities for academic, scientific and cultural cooperation. We are happy to see that, as in other fields, Qatar has shown regional leadership. The experience through this module is a solid basis, upon which the Qatari academic community can build upon not only to get acquainted with the EU legal order but also to foster dialogue between policy makers and academics in universities in the EU and partner countries.”
“Once again, Qatar University highlights its importance as the main educational institute of the country through this grant,” Dr al-Derham noted.
Dr Truby, emphasised the “significance of the centre having the grant for the development of research related to EU Law and EU-Qatar relations”.
 
 
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