Friday, August 18, 2017

Summer School in Montenegro: A Once-in-a-lifetime Opportunity to Gain Different Perspectives on the EU Project and its Future

Every summer, the Center for Constitutional Studies and Democratic Development (CCSDD) and the Institute of Social Sciences in Belgrade organize a week-long European Union & Legal Reform (EULR) Summer School in Igalo, Montenegro.

Utpala Menon, a student pursuing the International Law concentration, who completed her first year of the Master of Arts (MA) at SAIS Europe, tells us about her experience.

Utpala Menon
Before attending Johns Hopkins SAIS, the Balkans was an unfamiliar place, both in terms of its geopolitical and cultural intricacies. Hence attending the EULR Summer School in Montenegro was more than just an academic exercise. The decision stemmed out of genuine curiosity about the region, fomented by the timing of the start of my journey at Johns Hopkins SAIS in 2016, a year marked by radical alterations in the EU project, and in attitudes towards populism politics and migration.

The Summer School’s lectures and round-table debates covered an array of subjects. We began the week discussing Brexit, especially through the lens of the UK's and other European countries' historical vision for the EU project. This was particularly interesting as students from the Region voiced a certain sense of unprecedented ‘Euro-skepticism’. The discussions exposed the full impact of Brexit, including its legal and economic implications on both Europe and the world.

We participated in a stimulating debate on whether candidate countries should express caution in their integration, asking questions like: "Are they ready for integration?" and "Is the EU ready for them?" In the wake of Brexit, this meant truly questioning the socio-economic consequences of EU integration for candidate and potential candidate countries, which include economies of the former Yugoslavia such as Montenegro, Serbia, and Albania as well as Eastern European economies like Ukraine.

Utpala (third from left) and
her classmates in Igalo, Montenegro
We also learnt about the legal nature of preambles and more abstract concepts of identities. These nuanced lectures proved useful in understanding what motivates some countries to move towards greater integration and differing attitudes towards the migration crisis. What is more, the expertise and contributions of faculty such as Prof. Justin Frosini, Director of the CCSDD, and Marko Milenkovic, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at SAIS Europe, added depth and breadth to this already enriching experience.

The Summer School was a once in a lifetime experience for me. It brought together students from diverse backgrounds with intriguing and inspiring experiences as prosecutors, lawyers, and economists. It allowed us to make new friends and to take field trips around the coast of Montenegro and to Tito's villa. Above all, in an age of transforming political and economic landscapes, the insightful faculty presentations, round-table discussions, and challenging debates provided a unique and unforgettable opportunity to learn about different perspectives on the EU project and its future.

Utpala Menon
MA Student
SAIS Europe 2017

Friday, August 11, 2017

The Online Application is Now Live

Prospective applicants interested in the graduate programs offered at Johns Hopkins SAIS can now open an account to begin an application for the 2018-19 academic year. 

You can start your application now by clicking on this link, you can save it and return to it as many times as you like. As you complete the application form, be sure to have the instructions at hand, which you can find on this page.


Applicants to SAIS Europe will be able to apply to one of the five programs offered at our campus in Bologna, Italy:

- Master of Arts (MA)
- Master of Arts in International Affairs (MAIA)
- Master of Arts in Global Risk (MAGR)
- Master of International Public Policy (MIPP)
- Diploma in International Studies

The programs have different requirements for admission as well as for graduation. In coming months we will host different online and in-person events to help prospective students learn more about our academic offerings.

Click here for a calendar of events. The next event will be an online information session on September 7, 2017 from 12-1 p.m. CEST during which you will have the chance to learn more about our programs, our application procedures, and you will be able to ask us any questions. To connect click on this link and enter as a guest. All you’ll need is a computer and an internet connection.

Amina Abdiuahab

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