Types of learning

Courses, conferences and seminars typically last a week and are held in a training institute in one of the Member States¹.

Residential activities provide an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of a subject. Teaching often features case studies and participants are encouraged to share best practices.

All applications for residential activities must be made through your CEPOL National Unit.

List of residential activities

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¹Denmark and the United Kingdom are not considered Member States in relation to CEPOL in accordance with Protocol 22 on the position of Denmark and Protocol 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice, annexed to the TEU and to the TFEU.

CEPOL’s online learning platform is open to all EU law enforcement officers and is free to use.

Online learning is a good way to learn at your own pace and in your own time. You can choose from webinars, online modules and courses or join communities of practice.

To take part in online learning, you must be a registered e-Net user.

List of webinars

List of online courses

List of online modules

The CEPOL Exchange Programme (CEP) is an Erasmus-style exchange programme that allows law enforcement officers to spend one week with a counterpart in their country, exchanging knowledge and good practices, initiating cooperation projects and fostering deep and long-lasting learning and networking opportunities.

The programme seeks to enhance cooperation in combating crime. It is based on mobility, mutual learning and provides participants with an opportunity to familiarise themselves with working methods of other countries. Such exchanges promote trust and cooperation between law enforcement officers from across Europe and beyond.

The programme fulfils one of CEPOL’s key objectives - developing a European law enforcement culture. It allows participants to spend a week (Monday - Friday) with a counterpart in a chosen hosting country.

The Exchange Programme is open to law enforcement officers from all EU Member States, EU Candidate Countries, Western Balkan and European Neighbourhood Policy Eastern Partnership countries. It is available for all law enforcement bodies.

In 2019, the programme has been further refined to better reflect requirements deriving from the EU Policy Cycle priorities as well as requests from Member States. Thematic areas of study are better synchronised with CEPOL’s overall training portfolio, which enables the Exchange Programme to complement CEPOL’s other training options, contributing to the agency’s multi-layered approach to learning. The programme now also allows “pre-matched” participation where both exchangee’s give reference to each other in their applications ensuring full coherency with national priorities and requirements.

The programme has also been enhanced to encompass exchange opportunities related to border management in close cooperation with Frontex.

CEPOL is also responsible for the implementation of various projects that also integrate exchanges in their learning portfolio.

In result, the 2019 edition of CEPOL Exchange Programme is divided into three sections:

1. General Exchange Programme
2. CEPOL-Frontex Joint Exchange Programme
3. Project led Exchange Programme

To take part in an exchange, participants must:

• have a minimum of three years’ work experience in the field of interest;
• have a reasonable level of English (at least level B1) which enables them to communicate with colleagues about enforcing the law on the selected topic;
• have a need and readiness for individual learning;
• commit to cascading their newly gained knowledge to colleagues at a national and European level.

Law enforcement staff interested in taking part in the CEPOL Exchange Programme can contact their National Exchange Coordinator through their CEPOL National Unit:

Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Estonia Finland France

Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta

The Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden

EU Member States with opt-out from CEPOL regulation

• Denmark
• United Kingdom

EU Associated Countries

• Iceland
• Norway
• Switzerland

Candidate countries with Working Arrangement with CEPOL

• Albania
• Montenegro
• Turkey

Candidate countries with Working Arrangement with CEPOL under negotiation

• Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
• Serbia

Potential candidate countries with Working Arrangement with CEPOL

• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Kosovo *

Eastern Partnership countries with Working Arrangement with CEPOL

• Armenia
• Georgia
• Moldova

¹ Denmark and the United Kingdom are not considered Member States in relation to CEPOL in accordance with Protocol 22 on the position of Denmark and Protocol 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice, annexed to the TEU and to the TFEU.

For further insight search for #CEPOLexchange at social media channels and download the documents below:

• 

  Exchange Programme brochure 2017
• 

  CEPOL Exchange Programme - flyer
• 

  CEPOL Exhange Programme Privacy Statement

CEPOL European Joint Master Programme

SECOND EDITION - 2017-2019

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Last update: The deadline for applications has expired, 30 students have been selected to attend the second edition of the CEPOL EJMP.

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Attendance: blended learning

Dates: October 2017 - October 2019

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1. What is the CEPOL European Joint Master Programme?

2. Entry requirements

3. Structure

4. Costs

5. The Master in depth

6. What can you expect from this programme?

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WHAT IS THE CEPOL EUROPEAN JOINT MASTER PROGRAMME?

The CEPOL European Joint Master Programme (EJMP) is an EU academic programme which aims to address common challenges of police cooperation in the frame of internal security. It provides students with science-based competences in a European community of practice.

This master programme is unique and complementary to the Higher Education Programme and to existing master programmes on policing in the EU Member States. The programme fully complies with the Bologna Declaration for higher education and the Dublin Descriptors, which are recognised by all universities in the European Union. This alignment warrants the academic quality, coherence and consistency of the European Joint Master Programme.

The European Joint Master Programme (EJMP) is a very important learning programme in CEPOL’s portfolio, and is dedicated to the legal and operational aspects of international and European police cooperation. The academic programme is implemented by a Consortium of 22 partners, and the diploma is awarded by the National Distance University in Spain (UNED) and jointly developed and delivered in cooperation with University Consortium Partners from Hungary, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, the Netherlands, UK and Estonia.

The EJMP is addressed to senior law enforcement officers or experts in general management and specialist positions who intend to gain or improve competences in the field of international and European police and law enforcement management.

The language of the CEPOL European Joint Master Programme is English.

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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Without prejudice to national legislations, in order to be eligible to take part in the EJMP applicants must have as a minimum:

• a Bachelor’s Degree or an equivalent in national education to a Bachelor’s Degree recognised at a level of 180-240 ECTS - the level of acquired credits is dependent on the competence of each Member State to set the minimum eligibility criteria between 180 and 240 ECTS. In terms of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) this is comparable to EQF level 6.
• good command of the English language at minimum B2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, with a language certificate of this equivalence. Native speakers with English as mother tongue are not required to submit a language certificate.

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STRUCTURE

The EJMP is a part time fully academic programme that consists of 6 modules totalling 46 ECTS and one module of 14 ECTS representing the module of the Master Thesis. All modules are compulsory and the EJMP will be delivered within 2 years. The EJMP shall imply blended learning and a restricted number of residential phases, which involves the mobility of teachers and students.

No.	Module	Duration	ECTS
1	General Introduction and Methodology	12 weeks 100 hrs	4
2	International and Comparative Policing	12 weeks 200 hours	8
3	Governance and Strategic Aspects of International Police Cooperation	12 weeks 200 hours	8
4	Legal and Regulatory Aspects of European Police Cooperation	12 weeks 200 hours	8
5	Operational Aspects of European Police Cooperation	12 weeks 225 hours	9
6	Management and Leadership Aspects of European Police Cooperation	12 weeks 225 hours	9
7	Master thesis	18 weeks 350 hours	14

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COSTS

Studies are free of charge for students from EU Member States that have adopted the CEPOL regulation 2015/2219. CEPOL will pay for flights, accommodation and meals including study costs in line with the budget approved by the CEPOL Management Board. CEPOL can fund a total of 30 students; however, it is also possible to accept up to further 10 self-paying students nominated through the CEPOL network.

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THE MASTER IN DEPTH

Students responsibilities

Students must attend all the residential modules specified in course timetable and follow the rules relative to the university/police facility implementing the module. A short absence may be authorised for personal reasons. A code of conduct will need to be signed by all students.

Methods of delivery

The European Joint Master Programme will be implemented by the way of blended learning. Each of the six learning modules encompasses a residential week in the organising institution. The Master thesis has to be defended, and the thesis defence can be performed by means of a video conference.

The CEPOL learning environment is part of the learning structure, including an e-learning environment. The European Joint Master Programme rests on an integrated cooperation between CEPOL and the participant universities in the EU Member States, in which CEPOL provides a unique e-learning environment and academic facilities such as documentary resources. Webinars and online modules are an essential part of the content. Additional e-learning facilities can be provided by the university awarding the diploma.

Specific learning materials as manuals, textbooks, readers etc. are developed to meet the specific interests of the students and to cover the specific subjects of the European Joint Master Programme. The teaching and learning methods will be distributed according to the logic of curriculum consistency and coherence.

Detailed module descriptions, teacher’s manuals, study guides, compulsory and recommended literature will be provided insofar as necessary by the institutions responsible for a certain module. The learning and teaching methods used during the two years’ master programme serve the development of professional and intercultural competences of the students, and have a direct link to competences which have to be improved and to the learning outcomes of the modules.

Examples of methods of delivery are:

• Panel discussions
• Lectures
• Case studies
• Group works
• Learning café

Dates of implementation

The EJMP is 2-year programme. Please note that the following dates of implementation may be subject to changes:

Module	Country	Pre-learning phase	Residential week	Post learning phase	Comments
1	Hungary	02/09/2017 – 08/10/2017	09/10/2017 – 13/10/2017	14/10/2017 – 24/11/2017
2	Finland	25/11/2017 – 14/01/2018	15/01/2018 – 19/01/2018	20/01/2018 – 16/02/2018	Holiday 23/12/2017-05/01/2018
3	Italy	17/02/2018 – 25/03/2018	26/03/2018 – 30/03/2018	31/03/2018 – 11/05/2018
4	Lithuania	12/05/2018 – 17/06/2018	18/06/2018 – 22/06/2018	23/06/2018 – 03/08/2018	Holiday 04/08/2018 – 26/08/2018
5	Romania	27/08/2018 – 23/09/2018	24/09/2018 –28/09/2018	29/09/2018 – 09/11/2018
6	Netherlands	10/11/2018 – 09/12/2018	10/12/2018 – 14/12/2018	15/12/2018 – 15/02/2019	Holiday 22/12/2018 – 06/01/2019
7	Estonia	Thesis 16/02/2019 – 16/06/2019	Marking 17/06/2019 – 14/07/2019	Defense 15/07/2019 – 02/08/2019	Holiday 03/08/2019 – graduation October

More information about timetables and deadlines is available at CEPOL’s Learning Management System (LMS) on e-Net.

Assessment

To obtain the Master Diploma it will be necessary to get a minimum marking of 50 out of 100 in each module and pass the Master Thesis.

The oral defence represents a maximum of 20% of the mark for the Master Thesis, and the written part corresponds to maximum 80% of the mark.

The Board of Examiners will have right to give the final validation of the Master Thesis.

Assessment criteria are distinguished under 5 headings which indicate the level of the performance of an academic professional in different gradations for the same dimensions. The dimensions of the “assessment grid” refer to the level of quality of:

• the selection, reading and analysis of literature;
• the understanding and articulation of the relationship between theoretical perspectives and practical circumstances;
• the organisation of the material;
• the accuracy of referencing;
• the extent of bibliography;
• the relationship between questioning and process of study;
• the clarity and logic of the arguments, premises and conclusions;
• the discernment and expression of reasoning.

If a student fails an assessment, he/she will have a second opportunity. With regards to written exams including online tests, the second attempt will take place after the conclusion of the residential week.

Concerning the elaboration of a written assessment, if the student fails he/she will have to prepare and submit a new work to the examiner following his/her instructions.

Students will also have a second opportunity when failing the Master Thesis. This second opportunity will be granted on the following Master Thesis defence session at his own expenses.

Failing twice in the same assessment will impede the progression from one module to the following, and the student will be expelled from the Programme.

The expulsion of the student will be decided by the Master Programme Committee after receiving all the information from the consortium partner implementing the module. An appeal procedure to the Steering Board is available.

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WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM THIS PROGRAMME?

Students and employers must both be aware that this is a comprehensive part-time academic study in English, and the study will be both difficult and time consuming.

However, students who succeed in their studies can look forward to a unique, CEPOL-endorsed pan-European Master Diploma recognised by every university in the Bologna space.

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What is the EU Strategic Training Needs Assessment (EU-STNA)?

EU level training* that is qualitative and evidence based facilitates the work of law enforcement officials in addressing crime threats that affect the European Union.

The EU-STNA aims at identifying those EU level training priorities in the area of internal security and its external aspects to help build the capacity of law enforcement officials, while seeking to avoid duplication of efforts and achieve better coordination.

It is a collective, EU-wide effort that requires participation from all stakeholders, so that training providers can deliver better, more targeted training to the European law enforcement community on the top priority topics!

EU-STNA Report findings in a nutshell

Core capability gaps in law enforcement training:

• Cyber-investigations
• Open source intelligence
• Financial investigations
• Fundamental and human rights
• Crime prevention and forensics
• Links between crime areas
• Document fraud
• Information exchange and EU cooperation tools

21 thematic training categories prioritised by EU Member States:

1. Facilitation of illegal immigration	12. Drugs – Production, Trafficking and Distribution of Cannabis, Cocaine, Heroin
2. Counter-terrorism	13. Border Management and Maritime Security
3. Trafficking in Human Beings	14. Crime Prevention
4. Cyber-crime – Child Sexual Abuse and Sexual Exploitation	15. Forensics
5. Criminal Finances and Money Laundering	16. Corruption
6. Cyber-crime – Attacks on Information Systems	17. Missing Trader Intra-Community Fraud
7. Illicit Trafficking, Distribution and Use of Firearms and Explosives	18. Environmental Crime
8. Organised Property Crime	19. Excise Fraud
9. Drugs – Production, Trafficking and Distribution of New Psychoactive Substances and Synthetic Drugs	20. Fundamental Rights
10. Cyber-crime – Non-cash Payment Fraud	21. CSDP Missions
11. Document Fraud

Eager to learn more? Read the EU-STNA Report here or check the leaflet.

Download the EU-STNA Fact-sheet here.

How was EU-STNA carried out?

The pilot EU-STNA has been launched by the presentation of the CEPOL Acting Executive Director to the Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security (COSI) on 25 September 2017.

The methodology behind the EU-STNA process was developed with the support of the European Commission and in close cooperation with the Member States and the key stakeholders like Europol and Frontex.

EU-STNA consists in step-by-step analysis of strategic level EU documents detailing crime threats that were then discussed in expert and focus groups by Member State and EU specialists with a view to extract capability gaps and training needs that should be addressed by training implemented at EU level.

After a thorough analysis of more than 130 policy documents, the first step of the EU-STNA (desk research – mapping and analysing policy documents) has been completed by CEPOL in December 2017.

During January-May 2018, CEPOL was running EU-STNA consultations with the Member States’ and EU law enforcement experts and professionals in order to identify what are the main challenges which law enforcement officials are facing countering cross-border criminality and whether these can be supported by training. Through the discussions based on the professional experience, law enforcement officials were identifying which areas should be addressed by the EU level training.

In total, 21 thematic groups have been consulted and discussion outcomes consolidated.

Further, the identified 184 EU level training needs in 21 thematic categories have been prioritised by the Member States and shared with the JHA agencies, EJTN, ESDC, EUCPN and EUIPO for their opinion on prioritisation and potential training coordination.

At the end of the analysis phase, an EU-STNA Report was drawn up by CEPOL and presented to the Council of the EU for endorsement, and to the European Parliament for information. The EU-STNA Report was be presented to the Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security (COSI) of the Council of the European Union on 22 November 2018. The presentation at the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs took place on 25 February 2019.

The EU-STNA shall result in a split of tasks among EU level training providers, and shall inform and facilitate planning.

Each EU-STNA cycle shall cover a four-year period. In 2020 CEPOL will evaluate the impact/progress.

Who does what?

Member States are crucial in the EU-STNA process, as their experts assessed capability challenges in law enforcement and corresponding training needs, and their policy makers prioritised those EU training needs.

The Council of the European Union together with the European Parliament are the main addressee of the EU-STNA Report, which provides background for law enforcement training policy development for the upcoming years.

The European Commission (DG HOME) has a key validation, liaison and consultative functions during the EU-STNA process.

Justice and Home Affairs agencies were invited to share their flagship and analytical products for desk research, participate in the expert groups, provide their opinion on the training needs prioritisation and identify potential training organisers.

EU law enforcement training providers are invited to take a closer look at the EU-STNA Report and align their offer to fill in the capability gaps identified.

CEPOL is the implementing agency of the EU-STNA: its role is to manage an inclusive and consultative EU-STNA process and deliver the EU-STNA Report for approval by the Council of the European Union.

Who we are?

CEPOL, the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training is dedicated to develop, implement and coordinate training for law enforcement officials. CEPOL runs, organises and finances (in-line with the applicable CEPOL financial regulation) all steps of the EU-STNA.

For more information contact the EU-STNA team at

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*EU level training activities refer to strands 3 and 4 of the Law Enforcement Training Scheme as identified in Commission Communication COM (2013)172, and namely 1) thematic policing specialism and 2) European Union civilian missions and capacity building in third countries. STNA will only look at EU level priorities, as national training and bilateral/regional training cooperation remains outside of the scope of the exercise.