The Institute of European Studies of Macau was set up on the 23rd October, 1995, and started its activities on the 6thFebruary, 1996. Its is part of the Government strategy which aims at promoting the Internationalization of Macau and the training of senior staff, having in view the liaison with Europe.
IEEM establishment was subsequent to the existent co-operation with the European Union achieved through the global agreement (third generation) with Macau, in 1992, and through the set up of the European Documentation Centre and the Euro-info Centre. It also makes part of the Institutes and University Centres Web recognized by the European Union. Its existence emphasizes the role played by Macau as a platform between European culture and Chinese culture.
The IEEM is a private organization endowed with legal personality, and at present its partners are public organizations: the S.A.R.Government of Macau, the University of Macau – UM; the Polytechnic Institute of Macau; Macau Foundation, Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute; and Macau Monetary Authority.
Its partners are active elements participating in the Institute’s activities and contributing to the definition of its yearly program and the approval of its operational budget.
According to the Statutes of the IEEM, the number of partners can increase, and it is planned to enlarge progressively its scope in strategic terms.
Purposes
IEEM’s major purpose is to function as a bridge between the European Union and the Asia-Pacific Region where Macau is located. Top priorities are:
- To disseminate information within its area influence upon the concept of European construction in terms of culture, economy, common policies, and prospects for development;
- To disseminate information in the countries of the European Union, about models of development, processes and perspectives of evolution of the countries and territories of the Asia-Pacific Region, mainly China and Macau;
- To gather, process and disseminate information and studies on the countries of the European Union;
- To co-operate and/or become a member of other similar organizations and to respond to official and private requests from within or out of the Territory, concerning activities related to its own aims.
- To provide training for senior staff
Objectives
To achieve the referred purposes, the activities for the first couple of years were defined:
- Training
- Research
- Diffusion
To attain these goals the IEEM adopted a strategy which aims at making use of almost all the human and financial resources in training and research.
To accomplish its mission IEEM has been able to count with the valuable support of a network of higher learning institutions, which has enable us to offer programmes of the highest quality lectured by some of the world leading specialist in these fields.