Erasmus plus funding: PESTUGE project

DCU has been awarded Erasmus plus funding to coordinate a three-year project to develop postgraduate teaching of peace studies at a number of universities in Georgia. The initiative will draw on the experience of the DCU’s Institute for International Conflict Resolution and Reconstruction (IICRR) and the School of Law and Government, where a number of modules are taught on conflict resolution, peacekeeping, security, and development. The institutions in Georgia which are involved include Caucasus University, Tbilisi State University, Ilia State University, and Sokhumi State University. New modules will be developed for their Masters programmes, and existing courses will be updated. An academic journal and peace research institute will also be established in Georgia. The projected is funded by the European Commission’s Erasmus Plus scheme. Besides study visits to EU universities and an exchange of expertise, institutions in Georgia are also being supported with purchase of books, computer equipment, access to academic journals, and development of online teaching resources. The other EU institutions involved are Trinity College Dublin (Irish School of Ecumenics), Ulster University (INCORE), and the University of Innsbruck. The project acronym is PESTUGE and subject to finalisation of the grant agreement, it is due to start in October 2015. It is worth €1 million overall, with €180,000 being budgeted for DCU activities.