On Thursday 30 May 2024, a delegation of approximately twenty students enrolled in the Master of International Relations programme at George Washington University (GWU) undertook a visit to the Strategic Institute of Research (IRSEM) as part of a broader European tour.

Led by Erwan Lagadec, director of the Transatlantic programme at GWU, the delegation was welcomed by Assistant Professor Maud Quessard, director of the “Euro-Atlantic region - Russia” department at IRSEM, by Dr Wendy Ramadan-Alban, Head of international development and institutional relations, as well as by a number of IRSEM researchers. Through a Q&A session, the UGW students were able to familiarise themselves with the themes and methodologies practised at the Institute.

This meeting also provided an opportunity for the PhD students funded by the French Directorate General for International Relations and Strategy (DGRIS) to have informal discussions with GWU students.

Based on an educational initiative, these exchanges further institutionalise a scientific collaboration between members of IRSEM and  GWU that has already begun through the “Collectif de recherche sur la Russie Contemporaine pour l'Analyse de ses Nouvelles Trajectoires” (CORUSCANT). CORUSCANT, which is hosted by the “Institut Français de Géopolitique” (IFG) and directed at the IRSEM, by Dr. Maxime Audinet, is the European branch of the "Russia Programme" based at GWU. This initiative, which brings together a number of personalities and institutions, aims to redefine the way in which knowledge about contemporary Russia is produced in the face of academic obstacles that have developed in the context of the War in Ukraine.