The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) has initiated a new partnership with two outstanding Universities: the Johns Hopkins University – School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), which has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with PAM, and the “Centro interdipartimentale di Ricerca sull’Adriatico e il Mediterraneo” – CiRAM – of the University of Macerata, which has joined the PAM Academic Platform.
The PAM Academic Platform was established in 2009 with the aim to facilitate interaction among key actors in the fields of higher education and research, national parliaments, universities, research centres as well as the private sector.
Over the years, the PAM Academic Platform has gathered, around the same table, stakeholders from different sectors, who make use of each other’s expertise in a goal-oriented manner. The strategic purpose remains to provide MPs with the state of the art information on key issues and, on the other hand, to provide Academia and the productive sector with the opportunity to establish direct ties with decision makers, and to promote knowledge-transfer in favour of the Mediterranean citizens. The two partnerships also include internship and educational opportunities for students from the Macerata University and the Johns Hopkins University – SAIS, at PAM offices, to gain valuable applied experience in the field of Parliamentary diplomacy, at the PAM’s regional office in Naples and the new Study and Research Centre in the Republic of San Marino.
The partnership with SAIS, moreover, will allow PAM to organize joint activities, such as customized recruiting events, and employer presentations on campus or virtual. Furthermore, PAM representatives will have the opportunity to participate in virtual and/or in person events organized by SAIS in collaboration with the University of Bologna – Institute for Policy Research (B.I.P.R).
Having joined the Academic Platform, the CiRAM of Macerata University, and having signed and MoU, the Johns Hopkins University, will both bring added value and an invaluable knowledge to the work of PAM.