Event: The CAPS Student Conference, Inaugural Edition

Title: “Building Interconnectedness: The Belt and Road Initiative and its impact on International Relations”

Organiser: Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies, TSEBA, Tallinn University of Technology

Date: 15 April 2016

Location: TSEBA, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia

Keynote speakers:

His Excellency Qu Zhe, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Estonia

Professor Renno Veinthal, Vice-Rector for Research, Tallinn University of Technology

Call for papers

Back in December 2015, the TUT’s Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies (CAPS) became an inaugural as well as integral part of China-CEEC Think Tanks Network that was launched during the Third High-Level Symposium of Think Tanks of China and Central-Eastern European countries, in Beijing. The Network’s establishment is seen as an important development in the grand framework of the EU-China Strategic Cooperation. More specifically, the CAPS is visualising its participation in the framework as an excellent opportunity to deliver the message of necessity for the European continent to have a successful and mutually beneficial dialogue with the countries of the vast Asia-Pacific region. On the top of that, we believe that both Baltic and Nordic regional attractiveness deserves to be discovered and recognised by Estonia’s existing and prospective partners in the region that is treated by many scholars and practitioners as a rising geo-political and economic hub.

Considering the above, this Conference’s organising committee see plenty of logic in having a decent academic discussion on one of the most important initiatives that involves cooperation of Eurasia’s larger part – the Belt and Road Initiative. Therefore, whilst advising to celebrate different academic approaches, employ rigorous methodology, and remember that International Relations is an integral part of Political Science, the CAPS is calling for papers to be submitted by Estonia-based undergraduate and postgraduate students on the topics related to the Belt and Road Initiative, its perceptions, mechanisms of implementation and results measurements, perspectives for and formats of business-related, academic and people-to-people cooperational linkages to be developed in the process of the Initiative’s implementation, their impact on the EU’s interactions with China, and others.

Important deadlines:

29 February 2016 – Abstract submission (no more than 300 words)

14 March 2016 – Notification of acceptance sent

3 April 2016 – Full paper submission

Apart from the paper’s main argument, its forecasted structure and key words, each abstract must include the author’s name, educational institution, notes on affiliation to a particular Department of the student’s academic major, year of study, electronic address, and phone number. Please submit your abstract to vlad.vernygora@ttu.ee by the deadline. Late submissions will not be considered.

All abstracts will undergo rigorous selection by the Conference’s organising committee. Notifications of acceptance and directions on further steps on paper’s finalisation will be sent by email. Non-Tallinn residents are expected to make their own travel arrangements. At any stage of the process, please do not hesitate to contact the Conference’s organising committee any time at vlad.vernygora@ttu.ee 

Organising committee:

Vlad Vernygora, Project Director, CAPS, TSEBA, TUT

Professor Üllas Erhlich, Dean, TSEBA, TUT

Professor Peeter Müürsepp, Head, Department of International Relations/CAPS, TSEBA, TUT

Professor Tanel Kerikmäe, Tallinn Law School, Faculty of Social Sciences, TUT

Professor Katrin Paadam, Head, Chair of Economic Sociology, TSEBA, TUT