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This course is archived
Course date
July 5–14, 2023
Location
Budapest
Application deadline
The application deadline has passed. We are no longer accepting applications.
ECTS Credits
2.0
Course delivery
In-person
SUN Packages
Fee-Paying
Tuition Waiver
Partial Scholarship
Full Scholarship
The course provides a platform to connect student leaders from around the globe and build their capacity to work on solutions for social issues by contextualizing their own leadership experiences within a transnational framework. Exploring historical, philosophical, and practical elements of civic engagement, students will consider the underlying question of what it means to be an engaged citizen in the early 21st century. Focusing on issues related to political participation, civil society, associational life, social justice, and personal responsibility, the class balances the study of theoretical notions of civic life while empowering students to be active participants in the communities in which they are situated.
Taking advantage of the international diversity of the faculty and students, the course reflects on the causes of social, political, economic, and environmental issues and explores potential solutions through a series of lectures, workshops, discussions, and reflections. Together students will learn how to articulate their responsibilities toward their local, national, and global communities to help “foster a sense of the “we” and encourage them to bring their talents, viewpoints, and skills to community work” regardless of the local context. The course enhances the skills and knowledge of students to help them become engaged citizens.
This is an intensive, eight-day course where student leaders from around the globe will strengthen their skills, knowledge, and understanding of civil society; expand their understanding of global threats to civil society outside of their own communities and share experiences and learn from their international colleagues. Students must demonstrate engagement in community work through student-led initiatives, community-based work, or other leadership experience.
Objectives
To enhance skills related to community organizing, project development, and coalition building on a local and international scale. To contextualize leadership within international and community frameworks. To understand how to center community knowledge through case studies, text, and lectures. To redefine notions of leadership through workshops and practical applications. To help students develop shared definitions of engagement. To expand students’ existing community projects beyond their current scope.
Course structure
OSUN faculty and civic leaders will run workshops, and lectures and organize site visits with local civic organizations to explore how communities and civil society operates. In coordination with CEU’s civic engagement programs and projects, students can learn from the ecosystem surrounding the university. As a local model, CEU will help faculty and students understand the role institutions can play within civil society as they explore their individual roles as civic actors.
This course is an experiential learning course that includes shared group projects, fieldwork, site visits, workshops, and networking with civic leaders. In this spirit, students will write short response papers and reflections and explore topics through storytelling. The culminating paper will be a project proposal and presentation that addresses the themes relevant to their own community-based project work.
Eligibility
Target Group
This course will provide a platform for students from across the globe to explore their own understanding of civil society both in a local and global context. The course is most appropriate for undergraduate student leaders who are already working within a community but can include graduate student leaders and is open to students throughout the OSUN network and beyond.
Pre-requisites
- A willingness to participate in experiential educational opportunities including discussions, workshops, and site visits.
- Demonstrated leadership experience, practice, or participation in volunteering, community service, or project development. Selection will be focused on students who are already actively engaged in their communities or who are already working on student-led initiatives. Students interested in continuing their community-based work will have the option to apply for microgrant funding.
- Relevant course experience in political science, sociology, human rights, or other related fields.
Students will not need to have academic prerequisites but must complete a short application form indicating their leadership experience including their participation in OSUN courses, workshops, programs, or projects.
Language requirements
The language of instruction is English; thus, all applicants must demonstrate a strong command of spoken and written English to be able to participate actively in discussions at seminars and workshops. Some of the shortlisted applicants may be contacted for a telephone interview.
Former participants said
"The course has really helped me to codify my thoughts around civic engagement issues. The theory has helped me understand how awareness campaigns should work and introduced me to new methods of working which I wouldn't have come across otherwise."
"I learnt many aspects of leadership and the importance of space-making. Similarly, I take with me a developed ability to manage projects and draft project proposals. Lastly, we had various insightful discussions on the role of social media and cross-comparative studies of civic engagement."
"There was immense potential for networking and learning from diverse backgrounds. Given the heterogeneous nationalities, we had valuable discussions and insights from various perspectives."
Application requirements
Please read the following directions carefully.
Below is the list of the documents you need to prepare or arrange for submission:
- Completed online SUN Application Form (see notes below)
- Full curriculum vitae or resume, including a list of publications, if any
Please upload your Curriculum Vitae or resume, including a list of publications, if any. - Statement of purpose (max.1 page)
In the Statement of Purpose, please describe how the course is relevant to your teaching, research, or professional work, and in what way you expect to benefit from it. Please list relevant courses in the field you have taken previously during your studies.
Please provide the name, contact email, and phone number of a person (a faculty member, job supervisor, etc.) who can be contacted by the course directors to attest to your abilities, qualifications, and academic/professional performance. - Personal Statement on Financial Aid
Those who are eligible and wish to apply for financial aid should specify their reasons in the “Personal statement on financial aid” section (Funding page of the application form).
Optional attachments:
You can upload further optional documents on the Qualifications page such as academic documents that you think may be relevant to support your application in the "Other Supporting Documents" section. All documents should be merged into a single PDF file not exceeding the size 2 MB. No passwords and encryption are allowed.
How to apply
Completed CEU Summer University Application Form
We strongly advise the use of Google Chrome to enable the full functionality of the form.
Notes:
- You may apply to a maximum of two summer courses. In case of being admitted, you can only attend both if the two courses do not overlap in time.
- If you applied to CEU before, please use your existing login and password to start a new application. If you do not remember your password from last year click on Forgotten Password. With technical problems, bugs, or errors related to the online application forms please contact the CEU IT Help Desk.
- Right after login, please select the ”Summer University” radio button from the "Type of course" list, and leave all other fields empty.
- All application materials must be submitted with the online application form(s). Materials sent by postal mail, electronic mail, or fax are not considered.
- The maximum allowable file size for upload is 2MB per file and the acceptable file formats are PDF, JPG, and JPEG. Ensure all security features (e.g. passwords and encryption) are removed from the documents before uploading them.
- Applications cannot be edited after submission. Please submit your application only when it is 100% final and complete.
- Further user instructions for the online application are included in the form itself. Should you have questions regarding the application form, check the relevant Frequently Asked Questions.
- Applications submitted after the deadline will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Inquiries
If you need help or more information during the application process, please feel free to contact the SUN staff via email.
Notification
The SUN Office will notify applicants about the selection results in April. Please check the 'Dates and deadlines' section on the relevant course websites for notification deadlines planned earlier or later. The final decision is not open to appeal.