Jean Monnet Project: «Privacy Protection: the European Union Perspective»

Project Objective

The Erasmus+ programme operates the Jean Monnet Project, which was named after one of the founding fathers of the European Union, Jean Monnet. The aim of the Jean Monnet project is to improve the professional level and quality of teaching in higher education institutions, to promote the research work of young scholars (PhDs with a degree in European Law), and to disseminate knowledge in the field of European integration. The project implementation is supported in the form of grant funding.

The application procedure for the competition can be found on the website of the Executive Agency for Education, Audiovisual and Culture (EACEA).

Project Description

The main objective of the project ‘Privacy Protection: the European Union Perspective’ is to distribution promotion European Union values on data protection and the right to private life. The course programme was developed taking into account the digitalisation in all areas of society, the constant development of technical means, the active development of mass surveillance programmes, the presence of constant cyber threats and the interception of personal data. This course is designed for 3rd year students (40 hours per academic year).

The curriculum aims to develop skills in legal analysis and discussion of alternative possibilities for regulating the issue under study. The course objectives also include studying the history of the development for relevant rights, identifying European experience in developing standards for the protection of privacy and personal data, examining the principles of human rights protection in the online environment, reviewing Kazakhstan’s experience in the protection of personal data and privacy, identifying the prospects for the development of Kazakhstan’s legislation in accordance with international standards.

One of the priorities of the Jean Monnet Modules project is the effective interaction with practitioners and experts, law enforcement authorities, non-governmental sector in order to disseminate the European experience in the field of personal data and privacy protection.

Contest results

Following a competitive selection process for the Jean Monnet Module category, the Executive Agency for Education, Audiovisual and Culture (EACEA) received 905 project applications, of which 122 were selected. Among them, the project ‘Privacy: The European Experience’ of the KAZGUU University named after M.S. Narikbayev. The project proposal was prepared by two experts of the Chair of International Law with the support of the project office of the Academy of Fundamental and Applied Sciences named after S. Zimanov. In general, only 5 universities in Kazakhstan will receive funding, for details on the procedure and the results of the selection, please see the website:

Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/actions/jean-monnet/jean-monnet-modules_en

Erasmus + in Kazakhstan: http://www.erasmusplus.kz/index.php/ru/new/item/42-197.

The quality of the project plan and the stages of the project were judged to be of a high standard, due to the fact that the aims and relevance of the project fully fulfil the requirements stated within the Jean Monnet module. The work programme presented by the project participants allowed to fully obtain detailed information on the objectives, content of the project, expected results aimed at improving teaching and research activities. The presented course ‘Privacy: The European Experience’ is relevant, contains innovative teaching methods, and focuses on the challenges of EU law enforcement practice.

Project Objectives

A number of activities are included in the Jean Monnet project implementation programme:

• Teaching the course ‘International Standards for the Protection of Privacy and Personal Data: EU Experience’. This course is designed for undergraduates (40 hours per academic year).
• Conducting guest lectures with the participation of experts from the Delegation of the European Union in Kazakhstan in order to gain experience from the practice of legal regulation of personal data protection and privacy issues in the EU.
• Organising and holding round tables with the participation of a wide range of participants from the academic community, non-governmental organisations, law enforcement officials, government agencies and others involved in the study of issues related to the right to privacy.
• Holding an essay competition among students on the theme: ‘Privacy in the digital age’.

Project implementation period:3 years

More information about the Jean Monnet project: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources_en