About Us
The Centre for Contemporary European Studies (RAE graded 4 in 2001) was established in 1997 as a multi-disciplinary centre. It has a particularly strong and active interest in Europe – across its economic, political, cultural and linguistic dimensions. It has well-established research record in Central and Eastern European studies as well as the EU policy process. Furthermore, the research conducted within the Centre focuses on regional policy developments across East and West. Another important strand of research concerns aspects of identity and culture and their political and organisational implications as well as languages (Spanish, German and French).
The Centre offers supervision for research leading to the degrees of MPhil and PhD. Its members are heavily committed to undergraduate teaching, offering many modules throughout the University including European Studies, Entrepreneurship and International Business, Languages, etc.
The reputation of contemporary European studies at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) has enabled the Centre to build its position as a focus for international cooperation and discussion. Collaboration with colleagues in Poland, the Czech Republic and Croatia has led to visiting researchers from the Warsaw School of Economics, the Academy of Economics in Krakow, the Academy of Economics in Katowice, the Palacký University in Olomouc, the Jan Evangelista Purkyne Univesity in Ústí nad Labem and the Faculty of Economics of the University of Split in Croatia. Research on European regional issues generated the appointment of Henrik Halkier (University of Aalborg) and Peter de Souza (University College of Hedmark) as Visiting Professors. Members of the Centre are also active in many UK and international professional and academic organisations including the Regional Studies Association (RSA), the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) and the British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES). Finally, the Centre is also actively involved in the prestigious Centre for Russian, Central and Eastern European Studies (CRCEES) bringing together the Universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Nottingham, St Andrews Strathclyde and West of Scotland with initial research-council funding of £4.7m for a five-year period, providing the basis for funding research students and various forms of research collaboration.
A regular seminar series (West Coast Seminar on Economic, Social and Political Change in Russia and Eastern Europe, in its 14th year in session 2007-8) is run jointly with the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde. It is organised around weekly meetings and attracts distinguished foreign and UK-based speakers as well as providing a platform for Centre’s staff and research students. Furthermore, the Centre has hosted a number of international events. Scotland in the New Europe – what should EU enlargement mean for Scotland? was held in in 2004 to coincide with the Eastern European enlargement and included speakers from all EU accession countries and from the Scottish culture, business and media communities. In November 2006 the conference Reinventing Poland was held bringing together prominent speakers from Poland, the UK, Italy and the USA (including the leading professors from Warsaw Ryszard Rapacki, Marian Górski, Marzenna Anna Weresa and Tadeusz Kowalik). More recently, the Centre hosted a conference entitled What Kinds of Capitalism After Transition? in March 2008, gathering prominent UK and international researchers focusing on themes of varieties of capitalism and comparative advantages.