Second cycle of Erasmus funding awarded to DCU School of Law and Government
The Erasmus+ funded International Masters in Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies (IMSISS), jointly delivered by Dublin City University, the University of Glasgow, Charles University Prague and the University of Trento, has been awarded a second cycle of funding, totalling €3.2 million (over five years) by the European Union’s Erasmus+ scheme. It is led in DCU by Dr James Fitzgerald of the School of Law and Government.
Attracting a number of world-leading speakers, including Ms.Yael Eisenstat (former CIA analyst and Special Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden in national security affairs), Prof. John Ferris (GCHQ, Official Historian) and Julian King (former EU Commissioner for Security), this 24-month degree draws students from over 65 countries. IMSISS provides students with the requisite tools to effectively address a variety of contemporary security issues, such as terrorism, environmental degradation, migration and cyber warfare. To date, it has provided 87 fully funded scholarships and generated over 130 work placement positions across 26 countries, including at the United Nations HQ, New York.
Dr Fitzgerald said:
“Thanks to EU funding, IMSISS offers a choice of four annual summer schools—at DCU, the University of Trento, the University of Cadiz and OTH Regensburg—on topics such as ‘violent online political extremism’ and ‘applied intelligence and social media analysis’. IMSISS is steadily growing and we are delighted to serve as a flagship programme for the Erasmus+ scheme, which promotes cross-cultural, intergenerational and interdisciplinary learning at a time when these values are being placed under scrutiny."
Those interested in joining the programme, can apply here.
IMSISS Graduates have found employment in various security and intelligence-based roles at Departments of Foreign Affairs, social media companies (such as Twitter) and at dedicated research centres, such as the Council for European Studies (Columbia University).
The EU’s Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) reviewer stated that: “Security presents fundamental challenges that cannot be resolved by independent and sector-specific ways and need more coordinated and holistic approaches. The proposed programme is an innovative answer to that by providing interdisciplinary studies that join security, intelligence and strategy.”
Students also benefit from the input of associate partners, including the United Nations Office of Information and Communication Technologies (UN-OICT), Prague Security Studies Institute, Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation and the DCU-based Network of Excellence on Violent Online Political Extremism (VOX-Pol).