Teaching
Deciding where, when, and what to study at university are three big decisions to make
CEAC offers a dynamic and diverse student experience that provides students with the space to research, develop, and thrive in their vibrant urban environments
The Centre for EU-Asia Connectivity (CEAC) is the first Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB). As a Jean Monnet Action, CEAC is designed to promote excellence in teaching and research in the field of European Union studies. The Centre promotes teaching on EU-Asia affairs for undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students, i.e. at the B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. level. The curricular introduces EU studies at the Faculty of East Asian Studies and Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB). In addition, the courses are also offered to students involved at the AREA Ruhr, a joint research alliance of the Faculty of East Asian Studies, RUB, and the Institute of East Asian Studies (IN-EAST), University of Duisburg-Essen, within the greater University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr). In the context of AREA Ruhr, students from the Faculty of East Asian Studies (RUB) have the opportunity to take classes at the IN-EAST (UDE) and vice versa.
CEAC teaching activities build on the work already started during the time of a first Jean Monnet Chair (2016-2019) and a second one (2020-2023) awarded to Prof. Dr. Sebastian Bersick. The first awarded Chair introduced EU studies and the EU’s role in East Asian studies. Building on the success of the first project, Prof. Dr. Bersick was awarded with a second Jean Monnet Chair in 2020. The second Chair promoted the expansion of content and teaching activities by increasing the academic staff that include EU studies in their courses to students that normally do not deal with EU issues. Thereby teaching and research capacities in the field of EU studies were strengthened at faculty, university, and AREA-Ruhr level.
Building on the extraordinary breadth of academic disciplines, CEAC and its network enables us to study and research current and future developments in EU-Asia affairs and their economic, political, and security dimensions.
Why to study at the Faculty of East Asian Studies?
When you choose the Faculty of East Asian Studies, you are choosing to broaden your personal and academic horizons. You will find at the faculty an inspiring and international community of students, researchers, and academic staff, particularly from Europe and Asia.
We want our graduates to become academic professionals and engaged global citizens who contribute to solutions for the challenges facing our society. This calls for teaching that is strongly research-driven.
The Faculty of East Asian Studies was founded in 1965 with the objective of giving new impetus to research and teaching in the field. The Faculty’s study programmes are designed to enable students to address the region comprehensively and across academic disciplines, such as political science, international political economy, area studies, history, linguistics, religion, and sociology. The students gain expert knowledge on the historical and contemporary phenomena in East Asia. The focus of both research and teaching is on China, Japan, and Korea.
Why to study at RUB?
Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) has become a magnet for creative minds at all career stages and from all over the world, who study, conduct research and work together in a truly international and inclusive environment.
Currently 43,500 students, over 6,300 of them international, study at RUB. Our students, and around 600 international exchange students per year, study in 57 Bachelor’s programs and in 130 Master’s programs, 18 double and joint degree programs, 17 study programs taught in English, and three transnational study programs taught abroad. More than 500 international visiting scholars per year and an excellent positioning in the ranking of the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation prove that RUB is also a sought-after host for internationally renowned researchers from around the world.
RUB is one of Germany’s largest research universities with a strong track record in cutting-edge interdisciplinary research, the promotion of research talents across all career stages, innovative and research-based teaching, as well as effective transfer and global engagement activities. Innovative and research-based teaching is the backbone of our curricula to foster early independence, exploratory learning and teamwork. RUB students are well prepared to become active, responsible citizens and critical, well-informed participants in the global knowledge society.
Why to be part of the AREA Ruhr?
AREA Ruhr has become one of Europe’s largest research and teaching hubs in the field of East Asian Studies. It brings together a wide range of scholarly fields and disciplines, ranging from political science to economics, from sociology to linguistics, from historical to contemporary research. AREA Ruhr thus creates a unique interdisciplinary research and teaching environment for the study of East Asia.
AREA Ruhr is a member of the University Alliance Ruhr. Since 2007, the UA Ruhr facilitates strategic cooperation between the University of Duisburg-Essen, the Ruhr-University of Bochum, and the TU Dortmund University, consolidating resources as well as research and teaching activities. Following the motto “Three universities – One community – Endless opportunities”, UA Ruhr has facilitated the creation of more than 100 cooperative projects in the areas of research, teaching, and administration. With more than 115,000 students and 1,300 professors, UA Ruhr is one of the largest and strongest academic alliances in Germany.
Students enrolled at one of the UA Ruhr universities can attend lectures and seminars at all three institutions without paying additional fees. Consequently, they have many options to specialise in and to explore their chosen disciplines in depth.
In the context of UA Ruhr (University Alliance Ruhr), students from the Faculty of East Asian Studies at Bochum University (OAW/RUB) have the opportunity to take classes at the Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen (IN-EAST/UDE) and vice versa. Students can find the list of M.A. courses offered in English at the Faculty of East Asian Studies (OAW/RUB) and the Institute of East Asian Studies (IN-EAST/UDE) during the summer term of 2024.
🔜 List of English-language Master’s open courses, Summer Semester 2024
Courses and Seminars
Previous and current teaching conducted by our researchers:
- Regionalism and Interregionalism: Theory and Praxis
- The Role of Interregionalism and Regional Integration in the EU’s Foreign Policy: The Case of Asia
- The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM): Actors, Interests and Issues
- The European Union’s Relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
- The European Union and East Asia
- The European Union and China
- New China-EU Security Relations
- Internet Governance and Security: The Role of the European Union and East Asia
- Foreign energy and security policy of the European Union and the People´s Republic of China
- The EU´s Role in Digital Connectivity in East Asia
- The International Politics and Economics of EU-Asia Connectivity
- China´s Legal System: Implications to the European Union and East Asia
- An Introduction to the People´s Republic of China´s Energy Policy
- AREA Ruhr courses: Open M.A. seminars taught in English (Read more)
Student Exchange Programme
Research can open doors - academic or career - that you had not imagined before. From all accounts, getting into research is one of the more rewarding experiences students can have in university
Fancy on adventure, intercultural experience, and an international career?
Student exchange programmes enable students to study abroad at one of their university’s partner institutions.
CEAC builds and enhances partnerships and networks by leveraging collaborations with academia, as well as public and private organisations. The disciplinary, institutional, and international diversity of CEAC and its network complements the Centre’s actions, such as student exchange programmes.
Student exchange programmes between universities from Europe and Asia aim at connecting RUB and AREA Ruhr Alliance students with Asian partner universities. It also engages members of the European university alliance such as European University of Post-Industrial Cities (UNIC), as well as the European-Asian Research Network on Strategies for Promoting Europe-Asia Connectivity (SPEAC).
Every year students have the opportunity to study abroad for one or two semesters and to be part of prestigious exchange programs, for example, at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs (SIRPA) at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. CEAC is located at the Faculty of East Asian Studies (RUB), where student exchange programmes are also promoted with other partner universities in Asia.
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