UM students visit the Free University of Brussels
The European Union Academic Programme in Macao (EUAP-M) recently organised an annual study trip to Europe for a group of 20 university students and faculty members Most of them are students from the University of Macau (UM). The trip provided an opportunity for the students to learn more about the culture of Belgium and Ireland and to acquaint themselves with the European Union’s (EU) main functions and institutions. Highlights of the trip included meetings in Brussels, one with a representative of the European Commission (EC) on the role, functions and legislative process of the EU, and the other with officials of the European External Action Service (EEAS) on its role and functions as well as EU-China and EU-Macao relations. In Brussels, the group visited the Parlamentarium (the European Parliament’s Visitors’ Centre), where the students learned how decisions are made between the European Council and the European Parliament and how they influence the lives of European citizens. The group also visited the Macao Economic and Trade Office to the EU. During the trip, the students participated in a workshop at the Free University of Brussels (ULB), titled ‘EU-China Research and Teaching Co-operation’, which was co-organised by the Institute for European Studies, ULB, and the Institute of European Studies of Macau (IEEM). The students also visited the Trinity College in Dublin, the oldest university in Ireland, where they attended a master class on the EU-Ireland relations given by two professors from the college’s Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Students discussed the possible impact of Brexit on the EU, Ireland, and the Sino-European relations with the professors. The delegation also visited the library of the Trinity College, where the Book of Kells is housed. The group also visited Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and met with researchers from the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin. Established in 2012, the EUAP-M is a partnership between UM and IEEM, co-financed by the EU. It aims to help the general public in Macao, especially students at all levels, to understand more about the EU.
