The University of Public Service (LUPS) has again earned significant international recognition. In December 2024, under the professional leadership of Prof. Dr. Boglárka Koller and with the support of the European Commission, the CORE project (Cultivating Our European Resilience and Evolution) was launched within the framework of the Jean Monnet programme. The three-year project, supported by a grant of €100,000, aims to build academic bridges through multidisciplinary research, education, and societal engagement, thereby strengthening the European Union’s resilience and democratic development.
The Jean Monnet programme is one of the European Union’s flagship initiatives, promoting education and research on European integration worldwide. The title of “Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence” is awarded only to higher education institutions that demonstrate outstanding academic performance in European Studies internationally. With this distinction, NKE joins the ranks of renowned institutions such as King’s College London, Maastricht University, and the University of Melbourne. Since 2001, when Hungarian institutions first became eligible to apply for Jean Monnet actions as candidate countries, only seven other Hungarian universities have established such Centres of Excellence.
The CORE project embraces the Jean Monnet spirit by interpreting crises not only as challenges but also as opportunities. It aims to explore the EU’s resilience across the four dimensions: policy, politics, polity, and people – the “four Ps” model. This innovative, interdisciplinary framework integrates not only European Studies but also military science and water management. As a result, the CORE Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence involves nearly all university faculties, along with regional and international partners. This holistic approach enables researchers to assess the EU’s responses at the institutional or policy level and in terms of their societal embeddedness.
As part of the project, practice-oriented courses related to European Studies will be launched, along with the development of a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) to disseminate the latest scientific findings on the EU to a broad student audience. One of the project’s key objectives is the establishment of a so-called European Studies Hub, which will serve as a platform for regional cooperation among researchers and practitioners. Another important target group of the project is the youth. Annual presentations at festivals and a nationwide academic competition for high school students aim to bring European topics closer to younger generations.
The three-year CORE programme strengthens NKE’s international position and visibility and contributes to establishing Ludovika as a leading knowledge centre in European Studies within the Central European region. This project is yet another step toward embedding Ludovika in the vibrant network of international academic life.