The
François Duchêne Bursaries
The Bursaries set up in memory of François Duchêne
aim to provide a contribution to travel and research expenses for Research Students of the
University of Sussex in any discipline to:
 Pursue field work in
continental Europe connected with their thesis on issues of European Integration broadly
construed or, |
| Contribute to a
collaborative project in another European country and connected to their research. |
This bursary has been set up with
funding from Sussex European Institute, friends of François Duchêne and from members of
the Sussex branch of the European Movement. It is administered by the Sussex
European Institute.
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François Duchêne
who died in 2005 was an administrator, a policy analyst, an academic, a published poet, a
keen musician and an enthusiast for a united Europe. He was present at the birth of modern
integrated Europe as an assistant to Jean Monnet when he was setting up the European Coal
and Steel Community, a precursor to and an inspiration for the European Union as we know
it today. |
He
was director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, professor and Director
of the Centre for European Studies and finally emeritus professor in the University of
Sussex.
He was author of a hugely admired and influential biography of Jean Monnet†. He was an
enthusiastic member of the European Movement and the Sussex branch in
particular.† Jean
Monnet - The First Statesman of Interdependence
W W Norton & Co, New York 1995 ISBN: 0393034976
Fuller accounts of François Duchêne's life:
The
Independent The Guardian
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The 2009 awards
John Fitzgibbon
University of Sussex - Sussex European Institute, Department of
Contemporary European Studies
Graduate, Limerick University - History and Politics; MSc Sussex - Social Research Methods
Research area: investigation of protest movements against
the EU project in Ireland, UK, Estonia and Denmark; why opponents of the EU project tend
to by-pass the established party political system
Bursary to undertake fieldwork and interviews in Denmark
Ariadna Ripoli-Servent
University of Sussex - Sussex European Institute, Department of
Contemporary European Studies
Graduate Barcelona University - Political and Administrative Sciences; Diplomas Sciences
Po Paris; Masters College of Europe Bruges
Research area: respective roles of the
European Council and the European Parliament, with particular focus on the balance between
security and civil liberties, in the policy decisions of the EU’s Justice and Home
Affairs committee
Bursary to undertake interviews of relevant players in Brussels, including
MEPs both pre- and post the 2009 EP elections.
Giuseppe De Marco
University of Sussex – Chemistry Division, Sussex School of
Life Sciences
Graduate, MA Naples University - Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
Research area: theoretical
chemistry – establishing new techniques, with important applications, at the boundary
of molecular biology and nanotechnology
Bursary to access specialist facilities in spectroscopy, unavailable in
Sussex, at a prominent French research laboratory (ICSN). |
Reports
on the 2008 awards
At the European Movement (Sussex branch) seminar
held on Europe Day, 9 May 2009, Professor Jim Rollo opened by explaining that the
François Duchêne bursaries remembered the work of a great European. The bursaries were
not restricted to European Studies, but also to allow other disciplines to develop
intra-European co-operation. He pointed out that the past year’s bursaries had
covered a wide range of interests and helped postgraduates of three different
nationalities.
Each of the three bursary holders from the past years gave a short account of the work
they had been able to undertake. |
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John Crossland was working for a professional doctorate in
social work. It had become obvious during the past year that the current financial crisis
made it difficult to anticipate what future social work policies could be affordable. His
own work focused on case management (which had been renamed “care management” in
the United States). He had undertaken fieldwork in Berlin, observing how the Federal
government had launched proposals for revised social care. |
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His François Duchêne
travel bursary had allowed for three visits to Germany and this had helped to establish a
network of contacts. From this it should be possible to assess what the UK could learn
from other welfare state policies. His work would shortly be published in the European
Journal of Social Work. |
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Ezel
Tabur had focused on policy-making in the context of the EU European
Neighbourhood Policy. She had set out to assess how EU institutions influence the policy,
which was largely oriented towards eastern neighbour states. |
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Individual
states had given differing emphasis to the neighbourhood policy. For instance, France had
taken initiatives focussed on the Mediterranean, while Poland had led the drive towards
eastern European neighbours. Her research had mainly been looking at migration
related to the expanded borders of the EU. |
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The
travel bursary had allowed interviews with EU agencies in Brussels – the External
Relations directorate, the Justice, Freedom and Security directorate and the
representations in Brussels of several states. Her interviews had set out to assess the
way ‘coalitions’ worked between the various directorates, often starting from an
informal consensus. |
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Malgorzata
Sulimierska has been working towards a doctorate in economics. Her PhD topic
focussed on the impact of state productivity policies at the level of the individual firm.
One interest has been in the converted command economies of the states which joined the EU
in 2004. The travel bursary had allowed her to visit Belgium to get access to a large
database for analysis, and had also provided the opportunity to build a network of
contacts in the same area of research. Amadeus is a comprehensive, pan-European
database containing invaluable financial information on over 11 million public and private
companies in 41 European countries. |
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