The short intensive course will run on annual basis and is aimed exclusively at lawyers, policy-makers, NGO workers, international agency staff and others working in the field of international and EU migration and refugee law. It will offer 12 sessions on both the EU and international law aspects of the contemporary crisis, such as the rescue operations and the fight against smuggling of migrants at sea; reception of asylum-seekers and migrants and the functioning of ‘hotspots’; the protection needs of vulnerable groups in transit; the question of integration of protected persons in Europe; border controls and the Schengen acquis; return of migrants, Dublin revision. The themes of the session will adjust according to the exigencies of the migration flows in Europe. Each session will be delivered by an expert in this specialized field. Participants who will have attended at least 8 of the 12 sessions will receive a Certificate of Attendance formally certified by the AthensPIL and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Participants will be assigned readings in advance of the Short Intensive Course and will be expected to have prepared for the sessions prior to the commencement of the Course.