The Pécs Summer School 2021 Program has started

Online Summer School for Central European students about the European Union

The Pécs Summer School 2021 Program series started this week with an online program, titled 'EUtopia 2021-2027? Visions and Missions of Europe', presenting the current challenges and opportunities of the European Union. The course is supported by the CEEPUS program.

The virtual summer course is attended by 40 students from 18 universities. The participants come from 12 countries, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Albania, Austria, Kosovo, Moldova and Canada.

For the sixth consecutive year, the International Centre has been awarded a grant by the Central European Exchange Program for University Studies (CEEPUS) to organize a special course for students studying in member institutions of the CEEPUS network, coordinated by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The special interdisciplinary 10-day summer course focuses on the forthcoming 2021-27 period of the European Union and discusses hot topics such as the global pandemic and the post-COVID-19 era, along with how the EU can recover itself from political and economic points of view.

The speakers come from a wide range of disciplines (political science, economics, cultural studies). As part of the course, students formulate their own expectations and ideas about the European Union, proposing solutions to the identified political, social and economic challenges and opportunities.

In addition to the classes, students also take part in an online city tour. In the evenings, Hungarian mentor students organize engaging and enjoyable social activities for them in the virtual space (Intercultural Evening, Quiz Night, Game Night) and ensure that, although they do not physically meet each other, a real international student community is created.

The Pécs Summer School program was launched in 2016. The primary aim of the initiative is to create a "Summer Trimester" with an increasing number of international summer school programs on different topics. The academic programs are provided by different university Faculties, while the overall organization of the summer programs is carried out by the International Centre.

In the last five years, 30 summer schools have been organized by the International Centre over a period of 350 days. A total of 800 participants from 70 countries and 4 continents have participated in the programs facilitated by 200 lecturers. In addition to the University of Pécs lecturers, visiting lecturers from abroad were also involved. The International Centre has employed 80 mentor students during the past five years. The increasing number of summer school programs has made the University of Pécs a market leader in this field among Hungarian higher education institutions.

This summer, in response to the coronavirus situation, 5 courses will be offered online as part of the Pécs Summer School program.