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SCUOLA di STUDI INTERNAZIONALI
Rappresentanti
Programma
OBIETTIVI
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
1
This academic year, more than any other, calls for inventive approaches to student engagement. Because a large portion of students enrolled in master’s programs at the School of International Studies come from international settings, they may be following the courses from their countries of origin. It is therefore of vital importance to find innovative ways of fostering interaction and a sense of belonging among students. Student engagement may be encouraged in a variety of ways, spanning from the academic to the recreational. The activities may include online office hours with mentors, online conferences, as well as fun social activities
CREDIT DISTRIBUTION
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A number of students have reported an unbalanced distribution of credits in proportion to the workload expected of them. That is to say, the number of credits attributed for a certain course is often disproportionately low compared to how complex and time-consuming the assignments are. Addressing this issue would call for a rethinking and redistribution of credits as well as an objective evaluation of the amount of work required for each course
INTERNSHIPS
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FOREIGN LANGUAGE OFFER
Students graduating from the School of International Studies are groomed to be skilled actors in international settings. For this reason, it is undoubtedly important that linguistic abilities gain more prominence. The School describes itself as providing students with an advanced level of linguistic competencies. While this may very well be true for the English language, the second foreign language inserted in the curriculum is highly neglected. The introduction of additional activities in the chosen foreign language (be it projects, presentations, workshops, or seminars) would be helpful in compensating for the lack of attention given to second foreign language requirements
4
Differently from most master’s degrees, the Master’s in European and International Studies does not have a mandatory internship as part of its requirements. While this does ensure a certain amount of continuity within the program, it does undoubtedly put MEIS students at a disadvantage compared to their counterparts. Admittedly, the prospect of formally including an internship in the program may be too ambitious; it may, however, be more realistic to include internship-type projects on a smaller scale. These would, in any case, serve the purpose of establishing contacts within the job market before students have ended their career at MEIS
5
SUMMER AND WINTER SCHOOLS
A number of students have expressed great enthusiasm in participating in Summer and Winter Schools organized by the School of International Studies. However, under current circumstances, these types of activities have mostly been suspended. Summer and Winter Schools can be reinvented to suit a telematic format, thus allowing for participation on a greater scale
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MOBILITY PROGRAMS STUDENTS COMMUNICATION
Another opportunity for fostering fruitful cooperation among students is that of setting up a communication system between outgoing mobility students and students who have completed their period abroad. These exchanges would undoubtedly be extremely beneficial to outgoing students and, if used correctly, might even reduce useless interactions with administrative offices
ALUMNI NETWORKS
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Establishing a network of alumni who have been successful in entering the job market would no doubt be an invaluable advantage for current SIS students. While there has been a first attempt at institutionalizing communication between current students and alumni in the form of seminars, this format has the potential to be further developed and become truly helpful to students setting out to enter the job market
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