The project aims to develop an elective training course (module)
The EU Migration Policy and Law for day-time students of the Academic and Research Institute of Law SSU majoring in Law, International Law and History; an online course on the platform Examenarium SSU; and Online School on the migration policy and law. The teaching will be supported by project events and research activities.
The project will start with a promotional event. The need for the event is based on the necessity to convey essential information about the project to the target audience (students, academics, displaced persons, civil society representatives, public servants, media, and the general public). In order to convey information about project activities and educational opportunities to the broadest possible range of people, the event will be held in a mixed offline and online format using the technical means available to the SSU. Both local residents and people who left the region due to hostilities, as well as representatives of other universities and NGOs of an all-Ukrainian scale (the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, Civic network OPORA, Union of Women of Ukraine, etc.) with which members of the project team have been cooperating over the past years, will be involved. The main objectives of the event are to familiarize participants with the project and explain its primary goals; announce the project events and activities, explain their content, and disseminate materials related to the project. In the second and third years of the project, announcements will also be accompanied by reports on the project results.
The module The EU Migration Policy and Law will be taught starting from the second year of the project since SSU students have already chosen subjects of free choice for the 2022-2023 academic year. Moreover, in the conditions of hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, which, obviously, will not stop by the time the academic year begins, the SSU continues to work mainly in the online teaching-learning mode. During the project’s first year, thorough preparation of methodological materials will be carried out. Before starting the teaching module, the syllabus, detailed course program, and comprehensive course materials would be developed. The module will include 5 credits ECTS, 150 hours, 48 hours of contact classes. Lecture materials would include presentations for the class, and practical tasks (including tasks for the value-based case study; group work and discussions; e-Learning (blended-learning); mooting, debating, and mediation competitions; research seminars).
The course content of The EU Migration Policy and Law is based on the latest and most advanced ideas in the European Union Law and common policies, using the maximum amount of modern methodical techniques relevant to the teaching of specific topics and ideas, providing interactivity, problem-solving and practical emphasis in training. Students mostly would be involved in research activities and will prepare essays on selected topics. The course will consist of three key blocks. The first one will be devoted to the history of European integration and the development of EU migration policy, analyzing crises and challenges of migration processes. The second will cover the organizational and legal mechanisms of the EU migration policy, the tools for its implementation, the legal status of the subjects of migration relations, the features of regulating migration within the EU, and cross-border migration processes. The third block will consider certain aspects of migration policy and the rights of migrants in the context of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This structure of the course and teaching methods best suit the project’s objectives, including promotion of excellence in teaching and improving the quality of professional training of bachelors at Sumy State University, generating knowledge and insights in support of the EU policy-making, raising awareness of EU migration policy and migration law.
By the end of the course, the students are expected:
to have the knowledge and understanding of the EU migration policy and law, its evolution, the historical and cultural background;
to be able to identify administrative and legal instruments, best practices, and challenges of the EU migration policy in the paradigm of achieving Sustainable Development Goals;
to be able to demonstrate understanding of the legal status of different categories of migrants under the EU law;
to be able to select suitable approaches supported by the theory that can be effectively applied in a range of situations and to apply appropriate theory to particular situations;
to be able to identify the information needed to support decision-making in the international and European integrational context.
Online School “The EU Migration Policy and Law” (5 credits ECTS, 150 hours, 48 hours of online classes) will be delivered annually during 3 years of the project realization. It aims to facilitate education in the field of European studies during the war and post-war reconstruction, involving students and others whose educational opportunities have been affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine; to raise awareness of forced migrants about their rights, duties, opportunities, and responsibilities; to involve a broad audience in public dialogue, to enhance the perception of the EU values and best practices, willingness to solidarity, and sustainable interaction in migration processes. The online format of the School was chosen to attract students in Ukraine and abroad, including those who have been forced to leave their homes and study and those remaining in areas close to hostilities and/or occupation and post-occupation territories.
Training will be organized according to a weekly plan, including 2-4 contact sessions per week at a convenient time for the target audience and independent learning (individual and group tasks, which will be checked and evaluated by teachers and accompanied by appropriate feedback). The curriculum in the Online School generally coincides with the course structure for SSU students but will differ slightly in teaching methods given the online format. In particular, SSU e-learning resources will be used to place materials, tasks for independent work, and testing. Techniques related to the use of Padlet, Kahoot, Quizlet and other platforms will be used to ensure interaction and group work during online classes.
Open online course “The EU Migration Policy and Law” on the platform Examenarium SSU (https://examenarium.sumdu.edu.ua/) will also coincide with the course structure for SSU students but in a more straightforward and more accessible form to the general public, including inner and transboundary migrants. It aims to equip all interested persons with a general understanding of the EU migration policy and law, increase general interest in the EU studies, enhance civic skills and develop a more active and responsible civic position. This course will include lecture texts, short videos, and tests. It will not be directly accompanied by a teacher and will be available at any time for both comprehensive studies and for addressing particular topics. Therefore the course will raise awareness of displaced people about their rights, duties, opportunities, and responsibilities; involve a broad audience in public dialogue, enhance the perception of the EU values and best practices, willingness to solidarity, and sustainable interaction in migration processes. The online course will be launched after the first two years of project implementation, based on the lecturing materials, feedback from the students and recommendations of the external experts (other teachers, representatives of NGOs included for quality assurance).
Raising awareness of forced migrants about their rights, duties, opportunities, and responsibilities and involving a broad audience in public dialogue, sharing best practices, and encouraging willingness to solidarity and sustainable interaction in migration processes will also be achieved by conducting project events, exceptionally annual workshop for displaced people. By the first workshop, the Guide for Forced Migrants will be prepared with subsequent annual updates. The teaching will be closely linked to research in the EU migration policy and law, cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in this area, and finding ways to implement EU best practices in Ukrainian legislation and law enforcement.
Publication of research results and scientific Roundtable Debating will contribute to generating knowledge and insights in support of EU policy-making, raise awareness of EU migration policy and migration law, and actualize the discussion of these issues in the academic world, representatives of public administration, and society. Comprehensive coverage of all activities on the project website, on social networks, mass media will contribute to the maximum achievement of the information and enlightenment objectives of the project.
