The Development Office leads a consortium working on a service contract (EuropeAid/126282/D/SER/JO) for the European Commission and the University of Jordan in Amman, aimed at developing a Master's degree programme in regulation and competition. The project fits in a larger EU-funded framework programme called ‘Support for Regulatory Reform and Privatisation in Infrastructure’ in Jordan.

The Project (start July 2008 – end March 2010) was set up to reinforce the capacity of the state apparatus in the mid-to-long term and to counter the challenge of an emerging skills deficit in the fields of regulation and regulatory reform, with the objective of creating an influx of trained regulators into the labour market in Jordan and in the region. The University of Jordan has been chosen as the incubator for a Master’s Programme, in English, to answer the developing need to provide a training environment for future competition and regulation experts.

The role of the consortium, led by the College of Europe, is to assist the University of Jordan in the development of the curriculum and to provide capacity-building support throughout the first academic year of the programme. In August 2008, a project office was set up in Amman to host a team of European experts, professors and consultants, led by Professor Colin Kirkpatrick.

A team of experts selected by the College and Jacobs & Associates works side-by-side with professors from different departments of the University of Jordan to deliver courses covering the fundamentals of economics, law and public policy and sector-specific aspects related to energy, transport and telecommunications. The strategic planning for the future of the programme also looks at non-utility sectors (such as health, environment, finance), where new utility regulatory offices and newer forms of regulation are emerging.

In view of the sustainability of the Master’s programme, research activities related to the courses are stimulated at the University. An existing structure, the newly established Economic Observatory within the University’s Department of Business Economics, harbours these research activities.

Developing the curriculum at the University receives important attention and support from natural stakeholders in the project: the regulating Authorities, ministries, regulated firms and consumer representatives. A number of events like stakeholder meetings, workshops for specific economic sectors and an international conference are organised to link the programme more closely to its stakeholders in the country and the wider region.

On a yearly basis, the programme welcomes 20 students from Jordan and the countries in the region. In line with standards at the University of Jordan, the minimum period for the Master’s programme stretches over 3 semesters, starting in September and ending in January the year after. All teaching is done in English. More information about the programme can be found on the UoJ website.

The project management, backstopping and management of the local office in Amman is taken up by the Development office. The professors from the University of Jordan involved in the project also participate in one of the Regulatory Impact Analysis training courses organised bi-annually in Bruges.