Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) (Coordinator)

The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio ; http://www.puc-rio.br/english/) is a leading university in Brazil; in 2019 it was ranked 3rd best university in the country and 4th in Latin America by the Times Higher University Impact Ranking. PUC-Rio is a non-profit philanthropic institution and Catholic university based in Christian humanistic principles and welcomes students, staff members, teachers, researchers and administrators of all religions, nationalities, ethnic groups and social classes. PUC has 4 academic centers (Center for Theology and Human Sciences, Center for Science and Technology, Center for Social Sciences and Center for Health and Biological Sciences), and 25 departments, 13 laboratories, 1 central library, 6 sectorial libraries, 3 auditoriums, Wi-fi language labs, Wi-fi Internet Spaces, Computer labs, and an International Programs Office. In 2016 it had 493 full-time and 108 part-time faculty, and 12.518 undergraduate, 2.566 graduate and 6.961 extension students, among them more than 4,200 students receive partial or integral scholarships. PUC-Rio receives students from more than 200 universities from different parts of the world; in 2016, it received 1.113 students in exchange. Besides student exchange collaborations, the university maintains academic partnerships with more than 60 international institutions, including double degrees with university in the France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The library network of PUC-Rio holds quite a varied collection with 182.505 titles, corresponding to 458.077 volumes of books, monographs, theses, dissertations and periodicals and about 142.000 e-books and a great number of international e-theses and dissertations. Online access is available. The DBD is part of an integrated library system, the Pergamum Network, which comprises important Brazilian institutions, being most of them universities and research centers.The Institute of International Relations (IRI/PUC-Rio ; http://www.iri.puc-rio.br/) is an excellence centre in the area of International Relations in Brazil; during its 30 years of existence the Institute has pioneered the research field on Brazil’s international relations, Latin America’s political and economic changes as well as changes in the world order. It has undergraduate and masters’ programmes (academic and professional masters) as well as academic doctorate. IRI/PUC-Rio would take the coordinating role in the JM Network, pursuing its ambition to become a Centre of Excellence on comparative regionalism and international and triangular cooperation.Moreover, IRI/PUC-Rio has a think tank, the BRICS Policy Center (BPC ; https://www.bricspolicycenter.org/) an independent, non-partisan and non-profit research center dedicated to the study and analysis of global transformations and their implications for Brazil and the Global South. The BPC aims to contribute to public debate and policy-making, influencing public institutions, legislators, civil society and others key stakeholders involved in the policy-making process, in order to reduce inequalities and promote a rights-based agenda. To achieve this purpose, it promotes training, qualified research, strategic analysis, and public advocacy. In the current political circumstances in Brazil and most of Latin America, a close cooperation with the EU will be of a major value added to protect and strengthen democracy in the countries and regions and to promote regionalism and bi-lateral cooperation between LA and EU. The network of contacts with the government and civil society consolidated by BPC is mutually enriching for the Jean Monnet Network. Since 2011 BPC has been ranked among the world’s top think tanks and is a reference for the academic community, policymakers and civil society organizations around the world. For the 9th consecutive year, was recognized among the best Think Tanks in the world according to the Global Go To Think Tank Index Report 2019, produced by the University of Pennsylvania, which surveys more than 8.000 Think Tanks around the world. In 2019 BPC was up a position, is among the top 10 in the category of ‘Best Think Tanks in Central and South America´. It is ranked nr 1 in Brazil and nr 7 in the world of ´Best Think Tanks affiliated to universities’. It is among the top 5 positions, and nr. 1 in Brazil for ‘Best Transdisciplinary Programme’, and for the first time appeared in the “Best Think Tank of Social Policy, reaching 3rd best position in Brazil.Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann, the academic coordinator of the second phase of the JMN Crisis-Equity-Democracy for Europe and Latin America, is a professor at IRI/PUC-Rio and researcher from BPC, and she is an expert in comparative regionalism and inter-regionalism, with a focus on the EU and Latin America. She has published extensively on those themes, and has conducted consultancies including to the European Commission. She has participated in the first phase of the network as an invited expert, and she has co-organized the edited volume resulting from the project, in process of publication with Springer. She is currently the coordinator of the Professional Masters on Analysis and Management of International Policies (http://www.iri.puc-rio.br/mapi/). Other scholars from IRI/PUC-Rio, namely, Paula Sandrin and Carolina Salgado have also contributed to the Network book, and teach and do research about the EU. Paulo Esteves and Monica Herz are senior scholars who have occupied many leading positions and conduct research on international and triangular cooperation in international security and international development. Paulo Esteves is currently General Coordinator of BPC, and Monica Herz is currently Associate Dean for Research of the Social Science Center of PUC-Rio.