Studies at the Estonian School of Diplomacy
15.11.2023
The lecturer of the Department of History of Ukraine of the Educational and Research Institute of History, International Relations and Socio-Political Sciences continues to study at the Estonian School of Diplomacy.
Last week was full of events and meetings organized for students of the “International Relations” program.
So, on Monday, November 6, the US Ambassador to Estonia, George P. Kent, paid an official visit to the school. Since entering the diplomatic service in 1992, Ambassador Kent has served at US diplomatic missions in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Warsaw (Poland), Bangkok (Thailand) (twice), and Kyiv (Ukraine) (twice). Students had the opportunity to freely ask questions and communicate with Mr. Ambassador. Among the topics, thanks to our representatives, was the issue of Ukraine, international support and opportunities for further cooperation.
On November 7, students had the opportunity to personally talk with the Italian ambassador to Estonia, Daniele Rampazzo. Mr. Rampazzo spoke about his own experience as the Ambassador of Italy, about the Italian position in relation to the current geopolitical situation, about current and future public projects to support relations with Eastern European countries. He emphasized that Estonia and Italy, as members of the EU and the Atlantic Alliance, share the values of democracy and freedom, as well as the development of deep bilateral relations. Supporting Ukraine, which defends the basic principle of international law, is a joint commitment, and the participation of the Armed Forces in NATO contingents in the Baltic Sea region confirms the solidarity between the Allies.
The following day, Mr. Markus Gering, head of the Cooperation & Reconstruction of Ukraine Estonian Center of International Development, became an honored guest of the Estonian Diplomatic School. Operating under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ESTDEV organizes and coordinates Estonian development cooperation and humanitarian aid projects in Europe’s Eastern Neighborhood and on the African continent. Mr. Gering explained that his main position is that support to Ukraine is mandatory through cooperation for the purpose of development and recovery, because this shows that Estonia firmly supports Ukraine as a loyal friend and partner.
In addition, the entire academic week at the Estonian School of Diplomacy this time was devoted to the study of the International Economy course. The lecturer was Meelis Kitsing, rector and professor of political economy at the Estonian Business School. His research has been published in Transnational Corporations Review, Journal of Politics, Policy and Internet, Journal of Information Technology and Politics, as well as Springer, IEEE, ACM, Leuven University and MIT Press. He has conducted research and taught at the University of Massachusetts, the National Center for Digital Government (USA), George Mason University, Central European University, Harvard University, the University of Connecticut, the Stockholm School of Economics, and many other universities in Europe and the United States. Meelis Kitsing is the author of The Political Economy of Digital Ecosystems (Routledge 2021). Therefore, the course was really exciting and interesting. At the end of the study, students were invited to independently study one of the international economic problems. Thus, our representative will work on the problem of Ukrainian grain transit to African countries.
Such a rich program is an important condition for successful training and development of future cooperation between young scientists and international representatives. The most important thing is that today the future of Ukraine and the support of Ukrainian citizens is a really central issue at any international diplomatic meetings. The participation of our representatives in such events and training programs is the key to successful integration into European society.
