CIFE - the Centre international de formation européenne is a not-for-profit European institution of higher education and research established in 1954. CIFE encompasses educational and research activities promoting European integration and governance, multilingualism and student mobility. CIFE educates European and international students as future Policy Officers in European institutions and international organisations (Chargé de mission en organisations européennes et internationales), a professional title which is recognised by the French state.
CIFE's activities include Master programmes, summer university programmes, executive training, conferences, seminars and publications.
CIFE has its head office in Nice (France) and branch offices in Berlin (Germany), Brussels (Belgium) and Istanbul (Turkey). The teaching and working languages are English, French and German. The institute is one of the six institutions to receive an operating grant from the European Commission under the Jean Monnet Programme of the Erasmus+ programme. Jean Monnet Activities are designed to promote excellence in teaching and research of the European Union studies worldwide. The activities aim at fostering the dialogue between the academic world and policy makers, particularly with the aim of enhancing governance of EU policies.
The former President of the European Council and Prime Minister of Belgium, Herman Van Rompuy, has been President of CIFE since January 26, 2018. He succeeded Philippe Maystadt, former President of the European Investment Bank appointed in January 2015 and died in December 2017, and Jean-Claude Juncker, CIFE President from 2005 until his election as President of the European Commission in 2014.
European Higher Education
CIFE's motto is "Learning and living Europe". With a mobile faculty and an established network of international partners it encourages the mobility of its students: participants rotate their study locations each trimester from France (Nice) to Germany (Berlin), the United Kingdom (Canterbury), Turkey (Istanbul), Italy (Rome) and Tunisia (Tunis). Each programme allows students to live in different countries and experience various aspects of European integration and foreign politics, also allowing them to develop their language skills and other soft skills.
Teaching at CIFE is based on problem-focused learning. Teaching methods include workshops, simulations, policy tracking negotiation training, intercultural awareness, project cycle management, and public speaking. International guest lecturers, experts from various European and international organisations, as well as researchers from partner institutions contribute to these teaching modules.
The French state has recognised CIFE's graduate programmes as a qualification at Master level (level 7 EQF). CIFE graduates receive the qualification "Policy Officer in European and International Organisations". The accrediting body (France Compétences) verifies that at least three quarters of CIFE's graduates work in professional fields covered by this qualification. They work as Senior officials in European institutions, policy officers within the UN framework, administrators, diplomats, consultants, researchers for think tanks, lobbyists, and academic experts.
History
Alexandre Marc, recognised by some scholars as one of the most renowned founding fathers of European Federalism established CIFE as an educational institution where federalist ideas would be taught as a remedy against the oppression of individual liberty by both socialist collectivism and extreme nationalism. In 1964, CIFE founded its own post-graduate institute, the European Institute of High International Studies (IEHEI), with the support of the City of Nice and the European Commission. Since its foundation, the institute has formed multiple ties of cooperation with universities notably in Germany, Italy, Turkey and Central and Eastern Europe to deliver academic education of international impact. The institute is actively constituted by an international faculty, consisting of university professors and experts from all over the world. CIFE is proud to increasingly endorse diversity year after year with an international student body made up by people of various distinguished backgrounds. In 2013, Matthias Waechter succeeded to Hartmut Marhold as Director General, who has led the institution since 2002 and who continues to work at CIFE as Director of research and development.