Debating European Digital Sovereignty

2026-07-22

The Jean Monnet Module DESTINY focuses on advanced level university education in the sphere of Digital European Sovereignty. It brings together theoretical discussions on the changing digital world order and practical examples of how the EU addresses this transformation through the development of a stronger digital ambition, through engagement exercises and in-depth policy research. As one of the two core flagship policies of the current European Commission, Digital Governance is emerging as a field of high politics, and yet European Studies offerings at universities rarely focus on this key area. This module will bring this field of research and policy to the classroom in ways that will help students specialising in European policymaking become aware of the specific challenges of Digital sovereignty for the EU, with its diversity of opinions. We shall establish an educational offering that will enable interaction between technical experts, policy specialists, civil society representatives and industry expert and engaged students in order to understand how to train a new generation of EU policy specialists in the field of digital politics. Exchanges between students and practitioners will benefit from the University's location in Brussels to bring high-quality speakers to on-campus lectures, to physically engage with students, whilst making use of the expertise gained in the COVID-19 pandemic to engage with a broader world through online means (including a website). Students will be required to produce a research paper, podcast reports of public events, and carry out an online exercise. The module will cumulatively build on ongoing research; bringing together experts for a workshop on the topic, and embedding the material developed in the workshop into the teaching programme for years 2 and 3 of the module. Finally, a paper reflecting on the educational development process will be presented to a conference such as the EuroTLC at the end of the project.

Belgium

2025-12-15