International Network of Customs Universities (INCU) Recent Developments and New Initiatives WCO PICARD Conference 2010 Abu Dhabi 23-25 November 2010 INCU Objectives Overview WCO-INCU Areas of Co-operation Current INCU Affiliates Recent Developments New INCU Initiatives 1
INCU Objectives INCU is an international not-for-profit organisation established to: promote the academic standing of the customs profession; promote academic excellence in customs law and administration; generate greater public awareness of customs matters; INCU Objectives (cont.) provide the World Customs Organization and other organisations with a single point of contact with universities and research institutes that are active in the field of customs research, education and training; manage the production of the World Customs Journal; and provide a global resource for governments and the private sector, and an educational source for students and researchers wishing to further their knowledge in customs and related fields. 2
INCU Collaboration with WCO WCO Capacity Building Directorate INCU Management Group PICARD Program Cooperative Initiative Cooperative Initiative Columbus Program WCO Initiative INCU Support Professional Standards WCO Initiative INCU Support World Customs Journal WCO Support INCU Initiative INCU Network WCO Support INCU Initiative Current INCU Affiliates As of 22 November 2010, there are 88 affiliated institutions in the INCU, which comprise: 35 Universities/Research Centres 53 Other Affiliated Institutions 21 new affiliated institutions joined INCU since last year s PICARD conference 3
Countries Represented in INCU There are currently 56 countries represented in INCU: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, Egypt, England, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA, Zimbabwe. Underline indicates that there are 3 or more affiliates from that country Recent Developments This year INCU celebrates its 5 th anniversary INCU launched INCU Newsflash newsletter, which is distributed to over 1000 subscribers Since last year s PICARD conference INCU has published 2 editions of the World Customs Journal and the next edition is coming soon. (Eight editions of WCJ published since 2007) In 2010, INCU has assessed 4 applications for WCO recognition of customs curricula, and provided its recommendations to WCO 4
New Initiatives Members-only Area of the INCU website Customs Research Database New Membership Structure, including individual membership Official Membership Certificates Members-only Website Area Access to Customs Research Database Access to the World Customs Journal Please Note: In future the two most recent editions of the Journal will not be available to the general public free of charge until 1 year after publication Standard features (eg. change password, update profile, upload logo) Proposed future features (eg. published customs tenders, customs job advertisements of an academic nature, online forum for members) 5
Customs Research Database Comprehensive database on the INCU website comprising: Published material (research papers, journal articles, books, book chapters, etc) Unpublished material (completed research which has not been published yet, unpublished papers, etc) Current research activities/projects (including papers and other publications currently in progress) Future research activities/projects New Membership Structure Institutional Membership (Affiliates) Individual Membership Universities/Research Centres Other Affiliated Institutions Fellows Members Associates 6
Institutional Membership Eligibility Criteria Universities/Research Centres: available to academic institutions and establishments that have a status of university or research centre an applicant must be able to demonstrate an active interest in customs matters Other Affiliated Institutions: available to any other institutions or organisations involved in customs-related activities an applicant must be able to demonstrate an active interest in customs matters Individual Membership Eligibility Criteria Fellows: available to any individual who has at least 10 years experience in customs or related fields OR at least 10 years experience as an academic OR as an executive of a firm involved in customs-related activities; and holds professional academic qualifications at a Doctorate level or equivalent; and able to demonstrate an active and significant contribution in promoting the academic standing of the customs profession at national, regional and/or international level. 7
Individual Membership Eligibility Criteria Members: available to any individual with an active interest in Customs matters. Associates: available to any current full-time and part-time students must be able to demonstrate current enrolment as a student Institutional Membership Benefits and Privileges Official INCU certificate showing category of membership Free annual subscription to the World Customs Journal, published twice a year (electronic/pdf copy) To be officially acknowledged on the INCU website as an affiliated institution (including display of the institution s description, logo, contact details, services and/or courses) Admittance to the annual PICARD conference (free admission for 2 delegates) Admittance to all conferences, seminars, workshops and other events organised by INCU free of charge or at a special discounted rate 8
Institutional Membership Benefits and Privileges (cont.) Industry networking opportunities and exposure to a wide network of professionals Free access to Members-only Area of the INCU website INCU Newsflash containing current reporting, INCU and PICARD programme news and announcements, event notices and other information on customs matters of an academic nature and other noticed issued only to members Ability to use INCU logo on a member s website indicating affiliation with the INCU Ability to advertise on the INCU website and in the INCU Newsflash their seminars, workshops and other events Individual Membership Benefits and Privileges Official INCU certificate showing category of membership Free annual subscription to the World Customs Journal, published twice a year (electronic/pdf copy) Admittance to the annual PICARD conference free of charge Admittance to all conferences, seminars, workshops and other events organised by INCU (either free of charge or at special members rates) Industry networking opportunities and exposure to a wide network of professionals 9
Individual Membership Benefits and Privileges (cont.) INCU Newsflash containing current reporting, INCU and PICARD programme news and announcements, event notices and other information on customs matters of an academic nature and other noticed issued only to members Free access to Members-only Area of the INCU website Entitlement to use the post-nominals such as FINCU (Fellow of INCU) on business cards and other publications FINCU for Fellows MINCU for Members AINCU for Associates To be included in the Annual INCU Directory of Members (optional, on request) 10
Yearly Membership Fees Universities/Research Centres 360 Other Affiliated Institutions 360 Fellows 150 Members 80 Associates 30 Membership Rules INCU Membership Rules will be released in January 2011 covering the following aspects: Categories of Membership Membership Eligibility Applications and Admission Membership Rights and Obligations Cessation of Membership 11
Thank You Questions? www.incu.org www.worldcustomsjournal.org 12