EUI appoints Martin Scheinin as Dean of Graduate Studies

The EUI has a new Dean of Graduate Studies.  Martin Scheinin, Professor of International Law and Human Rights, has taken up the three-year commitment in the post. ‘It is above all a coordinating role’, he explains, ‘with a focus on the PhD programme’.

The Institute’s graduate programme has undergone continuous reforms since its inception, with emphasis in recent years on first-year requirements and doctoral supervision. Scheinin expects the EUI to continue in this vein, exploring innovation in the second and third years and developing supervision and assessment procedures.

Scheinin also plans to take a systematic look at graduate education strategies globally, with the aim of drawing together a compendium of best practices. The progressive internationalization of the faculties and student bodies of graduate programmes across Europe means that the Institute is no longer completely unique in this regard.  What can set it apart, suggests Scheinin, is its openness to and success in fostering experimentation and reform in PhD education in social sciences. While certainly a long-term objective, explains Scheinin, the EUI could situate itself as a reference point for the design of graduate programmes everywhere.

In the much more immediate future, however, Scheinin is looking forward to ‘facilitating increased transparency of EUI governance and improving internal communication.’  Given the important changes the Institute will affront in 2016, from the appointment of a new Principal to the implementation of the new buildings allocation plan, the importance of a ‘bridge’ between all communities can not be underestimated. The keyword during Scheinin’s first year as Dean is ‘motivation’ which he will discuss particularly with professors but also with PhD researchers.