“European Union Policy on Asylum and Refugees” is a cross-fertilisation and dissemination project which aims to inform Canadian scholars, graduate students, policy-makers, and opinion leaders about EU policy on asylum as well as to engage in exchange of ideas through discussion and reflection on this issue. The project takes the form of two events: two conferences that will provide a forum for learning and exchange, followed by dissemination through print and web formats. The first (September 2016) will examine EU asylum policy; the second (September 2017) will examine the Schengen system, border control, and the free movement of workers across the Union. The objective will be to learn directly from EU policy-makers and senior civil servants and to discuss a range of critical questions on the subject of asylum and refugee policy. The discussion and presentations of the two conferences will be shared in briefing papers with policy-makers both in the EU and Canada, and with scholars working on these issues, as well as in special issues in either the Journal of Common Market Studies or the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. Both conferences will be attended by journalists, university faculty, graduate students, academics, and policy-makers. We therefore envisage multiple outcomes: (1) Improved understanding of EU policy among the target audiences; (2) Increased reference in Canadian media to EU policy; (3) Enhancement of critical expertise among opinion-leaders regarding EU refugee and asylum policy.

The proposed module is a teaching activity consisting of a full-year course with a specialized focus on European Union studies and migration in the European Union. The first part of the course will start with an introduction to the European integration project, the evolution of the EU, and its treaties. It will then review the main political, economic, and judiciary institutions in the EU and some important policy areas at the EU level, including the single market, social cohesion and foreign policy. This first part of the course will prepare the students for the more in-depth study of the politics and policies of migration in Europe in the second part of the course. This second part will review the role of the aforementioned institutions in the management and current crisis of migration in Europe, along with the European Agenda on Migration, the Common Asylum Policy, the Dublin Agreements, and other EU and national policies and measures. Explaining the political dynamics between the EU institutions and the member-states, on the one hand, and the EU’s initiatives and legislation and the members’ policies, on the other hand, will be given particular consideration. The course fills an important gap in European Union studies at the University of Toronto by providing fourth-year undergraduate European Studies majors and first-year Master of Arts students with a capstone course in which they will have the opportunity to broaden and deepen their knowledge of the European Union and conduct more in-depth research. The course forms an integral part of academic preparation for further study or professional work in a capacity dealing with the European Union and will enhance their civic knowledge and skills.

The QUARMEN (QUAntum Research Master Education Network) EMJM aims at training experts in key concepts and technologies for quantum devices and information; more generally, it aims at preparing them for the challenges and opportunities offered by the second quantum revolution, and for the impact it will have on our society and our economy. Quantum science and technology in one of the fastest progressing fields of knowledge, and structuring research and development in this field is one of Europe’s priorities. In this context, QUARMEN attendees will be ready to develop innovative ideas and will have the opportunity of being directly involved in the activity of industrial and academic laboratories. In the second year, students can choose to further develop their skills in one of the specialized areas: quantum photonics, quantum materials, nanoscience, cryptography, quantum control, cold atoms.The program is built on the expertise and collaboration of four academic institutions: Paris-Saclay University (France), University of Porto (Portugal), University of Rome – La Sapienza (Italy), and University of Toronto (Canada). The privileged access to companies, academic institutions and research and innovation centres in Europe and North America will offer broad opportunities in terms of job placement and networking. A compulsory winter school focuses on science management and entrepreneurship. The medium of instruction is English but the students are also taught European languages and cultures. Throughout the programme, they are trained to develop critical thinking, creativity, leadership, entrepreneurship and risk-taking. The training is completed by an internship in academic or R&D laboratories during the fourth semester.At the end of the master, students will be awarded a multiple diploma, completed with a joint diploma supplement highlighting the added value of QUARMEN. Each institution will help for social integration as well as for addressing special needs.