The vast area around the Caspian Sea extends from Russia to Iran and from Azerbaijan to Turkmenistan, with a population of 190 million people and an area of 7 million square kilometres. The area borders some of the most important world powers and has the utmost strategic significance, in the light of its energy resources and its geo-political location. Most of the region had remained closed to EU states until the end of the Soviet period, and EU relations with Iran remain problematic in many way. Therefore EU relations with and knowledge of the region is far less developed than would be typical for a region of such strategic importance and the EU has an insufficient number of regional specialists who can provide clear analysis to EU institutions, governments, potential investors, development workers and decision makers.
The main goal of this project, therefore, was to train the next generation of experts on the Caspian region in order to establish, and make sustainable, a network of excellence. 15 new researchers, has experience of a world-class PhD programme, jointly delivered by Dublin City University, Ireland St Andrews University Scotland, Coimbra University, Portugal,Ghent University Belgium, Research Centre for East European Studies (Forschungsstelle Osteuropa) at the University of Bremen, Oxford Brookes University UK, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia. All of the researchers have spent time in the region - many of them extensive periods of field research where they developed linguistic skills and cultural knowledge. All of the researchers spent time on secondment to a non-academic organisation, (SIAR Consult Kyrgyzstan, CSS Georgia, TOL Prague Republic, Kimmage Development Studies Centre, EcoMangystau", Aktau or Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia (EFCA) Dushanbe - where they improved their skills in writing for policy audiences, in communication to diverse audiences and in how to effective engage with donors and policy communities. The researchers also spent time in a leading university outside the EU and the region - in Harvard, USA; JNU, India; Marmara Turkey or HSE, Russia. The network of universities will continue to work together as a network of excellence on the region.
