Eurasian Insights: Strengthening Indo-Pacific Studies in Europe (EISPIS) is an international project focused on increasing knowledge and awareness of the Indo-Pacific region. It is co-funded by European Union under Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices Erasmus+ KA203 - Strategic Partnerships for higher education (project number: 2019-1-PL01-KA203-065644, http://eisips.eu/).
The main objective of EISIPS is to strengthen Indo-Pacific studies. As the broad region of Indo-Pacific is getting more and more attention both from policy-makers and scholars, there is a growing demand for better understanding of the region which is provided by the growing research area of Indo-Pacific studies. For the purpose of the project Indo-Pacific studies are defined as a multidisciplinary research area focusing on the political, economic and social developments in the Indo-Pacific region.
Project is coordinated by Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw (Poland) by dr. Barbra Kratiuk. Centre for European Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University is one of the partners in the project. Other partners in the project are: Adam Mickiewicz University (Poland), La Sapienza University Rome (Italy), University of St Andrews (UK), Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (Japan). It is also worth to mention associate partners: The National Maritime Foundation (India), International Christian University (Japan) and South Asia Democratic Forum (Belgium).
EISIPS is directed to teachers, students, and experts working on Indo-Pacific Studies (IPS) both from and beyond the EU. To address the needs of these target groups and improve the quality of IPS in Europe, the project is in line with the following EU priorities for higher education:
Open education and innovative practices in a digital era
Developing skills – developing curricula relevant to the labor market and societal needs
Supporting the transfer of latest research back into education
The objectives of the project range from creating didactic materials, recommendations and organizing events, and their common aim is to improve the quality of teaching IPS by offering a comprehensive set of innovative didactic tools in an Open Access manner as well with tips and guidelines on how to use them. EISIPS will work toward strengthening the global position of IPS education in the European Union.
The project’s main objectives are:
1. Open Access New Handbook
A multidisciplinary, state-of-the-art, Handbook of Indo-Pacific Studies, covering historical and contemporary issues of politics, security, economics, culture, society and other aspects of IPS in a comprehensive way. Handbook will be available in open access (free to download) till end of 2022.
2. Free Online podcasts
A series of supporting online podcasts presenting handbook topics in an accessible way for learners and teachers. These can serve as e-learning materials for the handbook or as an introduction to the topic for anyone interested. You can listen to podcast for free:
3. Teaching Guidelines
A user-guide on how to implement innovative teaching techniques and assessment methods in Indo-Pacific Studies, which were tailor-made for teachers planning to use the handbook and other didactic materials. For students and other end-users there will be specific guidelines and tips for self-study.
4. Curriculum Design
Another goal of EISIPS is to make recommendations for institutions that teach IPS to improve existing IPS curricula in higher education by altering or complementing course offers and making the content more relevant to the contemporary labor market.
On 22nd and 23rd of September 2022 under EISPIS project workshop was held in the Centre for European Studies, School Of International Studies. Workshops were organized by prof. Gulshan Sachdeva who is the team leader of the project at JNU. Prof. Baswati Sarkar, prof. Shankari Sundararaman, prof. Jayati Srivastava and prof. Jitendra Uttam from JNU are also involved in EISPS project. Over 30 students of JNU were guests during lectures.
Inaugural Address was given by prof. Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, Vice Chancellor, JNU. Keynote speech during the first day of the workshop was delivered by Prof. Adam Burakowski, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to India. One of the session was opened by Prof Srikanth Kondapalli, Dean, School of International Studies, JNU.
Lectures were held by EISIPS team members from Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw:
· dr. Barbara Kratiuk, Strategic Alliances and Alignments in the Indo-Pacific
· dr. Aleksandra Jaskólska, Cultural Issues in the Indo-Pacific
· Ambassador Tomasz Łukaszuk, Maritime Governance in Indo-Pacific
· dr. Karina Jędrzejowska, Development Issues in the Indo-Pacific
· dr. Anna Wróbel, Trade Integration in the Indo-Pacific
and by EISIPS team members from Adam Mickiewicz University:
· prof. Przemysław Osiewicz, International Conflicts in the Indo-Pacific
· dr. Rafał Wiśniewski, Military Competition in the Indo-Pacific
We encourage you to join EISIPS Team on 15 and 16 December at the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw for international conference and workshops: “Indo-Pacific and the shape of international relations”.
How to join? You just need to visit EISIPS website and submit the application: http://eisips.eu/events/conference.html. We would like to propose the following questions for debate:
· Is the concept of Indo-Pacific truly necessary for understanding modern IR?
· How and why are states outside of the region engaging with it?
· What are the perceptions of Indo-Pacific in and outside of the region?
· How does Indo-Pacific impact the security and stability of the international system?
Keynote Speakers during the conference:
· Kate Sullivan de Estada, University of Oxford
· Jagannath Panda, Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs.
Workshop registration: http://eisips.eu/events/workshop.html. Students during the workshop will have the opportunity to discuss their research in small groups with dedicated researchers and gain valuable feedback. We would like to especially encourage early PhD scholars and students who are working on their Master’s thesis in international relations, that deal with topics related to Indo-Pacific.
In case you would like to stay up to date on the activities of the project, our friends and the research conducted on the topic, we also encourage you to join our Facebook page: https://pl-pl.facebook.com/eisips/
Dr. Barbara Kratiuk and Dr. Aleksandra Jaskólska teach at Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw, Poland.