Next week the APSIA Western Europe Graduate School Circuit takes place, giving those living in or around Berlin, London, and Paris the opportunity to speak with admission representatives.

I hope to meet you if you are able to make it.  If you are going to attend, complete the free registration process and obtain the specific location of the events by clicking the links below.

Berlin: Monday, November 16th from 6:00 – 8:00 P.M. at the Hertie School of Governance

London:  Wednesday, November 18th from 6:00 – 8:00 P.M. at the Holiday Inn London Bloomsbury

Paris:  Thursday, November 19th from 5:00 – 8:00 P.M. at Sciences Po – Institut d’Etudes Politiques

I want to provide a quick update to those that have applied for Spring 2010 admission.  The Admission Committee is in the final round of meetings and we should have all of our decisions made by early next week.  We then need to double check to make sure that everything is entered correctly and will notify applicants that the decision letter is available to view on the application Web site.

We really appreciate your patience and once letters have been posted an email message will be sent instructing you to log in to check your decision.  The process should be complete by the end of next week.

Earlier this week I mentioned that SIPA has seven different degree programs.  One of the programs we offer is a one-year MPA in Environmental Science and Policy.  A great way to learn about this program is to attend an information session.  Details of an upcoming session can be found below.  If you have any questions about this program, feel free to contact Audrey Lapiner at ael2130@columbia.edu.

MPA in Environmental Science and Policy Information Session

Date:  Tuesday, November 10th

Speaker: Steve Cohen, Director, MPA Director, MPA Environmental Science and Policy; Executive Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University

Time: 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, International Affairs Building, Room 1501

Contact: Audrey Lapiner, ael2130@columbia.edu or call (212) 851-0261

To Register click here.

Web Site: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/mpaenvironment

The following was prepared by SIPA Student Joshua Huneycutt, a second year MIA student concentrating in Energy and Environmental Policy.

Image Courtesy of suburbanbloke via Flickr

As the world prepares for the upcoming global climate summit in Copenhagen this December, there’s a flurry of activity here at SIPA and Columbia.   Following British climate economist Lord Stern (link here) and controversial Danish environment minister Connie Hedegaard’s (link here) visits to the 15th floor of SIPA last month, there have been a number lively debates, lectures, and events surrounding the question of whether or not the US and the rest of the world can forge agreements and pass legislation to prevent a global climate catastrophe.

Columbia’s establishment of the Columbia Climate Center (link: http://climate.columbia.edu/) this past spring reaffirmed the university’s commitment to comprehensively tackling the issue.  With Columbia Law School’s hiring of leading climate law expert Michael Gerrard and SIPA’s appointment of Scott Barrett, a lead author of the IPPC’s second assessment report, to the SIPA faculty, climate policy issues have been put in the spotlight on campus.

On top of stellar new faculty and engaging events, SIPA gives students the opportunities to engage directly with agenda-setting organizations on matters related to climate change.  For example, I participated in a consulting workshop group that advised the World Bank on incorporating climate adaptation considerations into their lending mechanisms and helped to overhaul a computer-based climate risk analysis tool.

Regardless of what happens in Copenhagen, SIPA and the Columbia community will continue to expand their offerings to help those dedicated to finding viable solutions to these great challenges.  Check out a few climate-related events that took place:

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10/29 What is the Global Warming Intensity of a Vehicle Fuel?  Uncertainty, Life Cycle Analysis, and Time in the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard and Beyond.

We have the pleasure of welcoming Michael O’Hare, Professor of Public Policy in the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC-Berkeley, for an informational lecture and discussion on his research regarding the use of alternative fuels. A few months ago, the Air Resources Board of the State of California adopted a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), a 10% reduction in greenhouse emissions by 2020, and Professor O’Hare’s team at Berkeley was responsible for a large amount of the policy’s supporting research.

This groundbreaking legislation was passed with the notable inclusion of “indirect land use change” (LUC), the conversion of land used to grow food into land used to grow corn specifically for ethanol, as a source of emissions, overcoming the intense lobbying efforts of the ethanol biofuel industry with indisputable research on the effects of LUC. Professor O’Hare will share many of his team’s discoveries, as well as comment on their potential and actual impacts on local, state, and national climate change policy.  Join us for a lively discussion of an important facet of the current climate change debate.

Thursday, Oct. 29th at 3 pm

Location: 1512 International Affairs Building

This event is being co-sponsored by The Earth Institute, the Columbia Climate Center, the Master in Public Administration program in Environmental Science and Policy, and the Master in Public Administration in Environmental Policy Studies Energy and Environment Concentration program.

10/30 LDEO Earth Science Colloquium: Assessing Resilience of Past Societies to Climatic Change: the Case of Angkor’s 15th Century Collapse and Reorganization

Speaker: Dan Penny, Australian Research Council (ARC) Fellow, University of Sidney

Friday October 30 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Location: Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Monell Building Auditorium

Web Site: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/news-events/earth-science-colloquium/2009-2010

Next week a representative of SIPA will be traveling to colleges and universities throughout North Carolina and Virginia to speak with students about our programs.  Four other schools will also be at these information sessions.  You can register for one of these events by visiting our registration page.  We hope to see you there!

SIPA offers seven different degree programs and as a reminder, this blog focuses mainly on our two-year, full-time MIA and MPA degree programs that have been in place for decades.  However, SIPA also started a new two-year, full-time degree program this year – the MPA in Development Practice.

While the skills developed in the MPA-DP are similar to our other two-year programs, it also has a unique focus on development issues in Africa and the entering class is much smaller.  You can learn more about the MPA-DP program through attending an information session and by utilizing the contact information below.

MPA-DP Information Session

Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Location:  Columbia University, Morningside Campus, International Affairs Building, Picker Center Conference Room

Contact:  Catherine Q. Aldrich, cqa2@columbia.edu or call 212-854-9610

RSVP:  Register Here

Event Description:

Speaker:   Glenn Denning, Director, MPA in Development Practice; Professor of Professional Practice, Faculty of International and Public Affairs; Associate Director, Center for Globalization and Sustainable Development, The Earth Institute, Columbia University.

The Columbia University Master’s of Public Administration in Development Practice (MPA DP) presents an information session for prospective students with Glenn Denning, Director, MPA in Development Practice; Professor of Professional Practice, Faculty of International and Public Affairs; Associate Director, Center for Globalization and Sustainable Development, The Earth Institute, Columbia University.  Open to the public.

For more information on the MPA in Development Practice click here.

Web Site:  http://sipa.columbia.edu/mdp

Application Deadline for Fall 2010: January 5, 2009

I am happy to say that several hundred applicants have already submitted Part 1 of their SIPA application.  As a reminder, the application is broken into two parts.

Part 1 simply requires the submission of the application form along with the names and contact information for the three individuals you have chosen to compose letters of recommendation and the application fee.  This process takes no more than 1 hour to complete.

Part 2 allows you to submit your personal statement, resume, transcripts, and test scores.  The test scores are self reported and the transcripts can be unofficial.  These requirements can be completed up until the deadline – January 5th, 2010.

We recommend that applicants complete Part 1 as soon as possible.  This will allow us to print your application and start a file for you.  The earlier Part 1 is submitted, the sooner we can get started on the process of getting your file set up for review by the Admissions Committee.

There are many ways to gather information about SIPA. Our Web site, this blog, and a visit to SIPA are just a few of the ways.

iTunes is another avenue you can use to obtain information about opportunities available to our students. When you open iTunes and visit the iTunes store simply type “SIPA” into the search box and you will find a long list of SIPA lectures, forums, and panels available for download. They are all free and we publish events as they happen so repeat the search on a consistent basis for updates.

The admission deadline at SIPA is very important.  All documents need to be submitted on time in order for us to guarantee review of an application.  The deadline for fall 2010 admission is January 5th, 2010.

Applicants have almost total control of the majority of the required documents; however there are two particular documents each year that a few applicants consistently have difficulty with around our deadline.  Like clockwork we receive emails from panicked applicants each year around the deadline concerning recommendations and transcripts.   Let me give you samples of two emails from the past application cycle.

Email One:

Help!!!!!!  The deadline is only a few days away and I just learned that one of the people writing a letter of recommendation had to leave the country and he will not be able to complete it for me.  I have been planning on attending SIPA for a long time and now I am afraid that my chances are in jeopardy.  I cannot see a way that I can contact another recommendation writer in time.  I am so sorry, will you please help me?  What can I do?

Email Two:

URGENT.  I wanted to make you aware of a situation I face that I hope will not eliminate me from admission consideration.  I just contacted the Registrar’s Office at my University and I got a message back saying they are closed for the holidays.  They will not reopen until after the SIPA deadline has passed.  What can I do?  Does this mean my application will not be reviewed?

In exceptional cases the Admissions Committee may be willing to process an application that is completed after the deadline, but with hundreds of people applying each year we want to make sure that those that complete their application on time are given priority in the admission process.

I therefore highly recommend that applicants pay particular attention to keeping in contact with those composing letters of recommendation as well as obtaining copies of transcripts as early as possible.  SIPA will accept unofficial copies of transcripts for admission consideration and we prefer that the transcripts be uploaded via the application site.

Avoiding complications regarding the submission of these documents will help to alleviate stress around the application deadline and submitting your documents in advance of the deadline will allow us to forward your application to the Admissions Committee without complication.

As is typical, it is a busy week at SIPA.  The following events are all taking place this week.  Kind of makes you wonder when students have time to go to class.

Monday, October 26

The Harriman Institute

Conference: Brussels and the Western Balkans: Next Steps for the EU Integration Process. Join us as we address the following: Since the EU committed to enlarge the Western Balkans at its 2003 Thessaloniki Summit, the countries of the region have made little progress in their efforts to join the European Union.
All Day Event
International Affairs Building, Room 1501
To register: https://calendar.columbia.edu/sundial/webapi/register.php?eventID=34924

The South Asia Institute

Distinguished Lecturer Series presents Abhijit Banerjee, Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm
Knox Hall, Room 202 (122 St. between Broadway and Claremont Ave)

The Weatherhead East Asian Institute

Lecture: The Great Crash of 2008 and China, with former Australian Ambassador to China Ross Garnaut, professorial fellow at the University of Melbourne.
4:30 pm to 6:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 918

The UN Studies Program Working Group, the SIPA Pan-African Network (SPAN), the Arab Student Association, the Gender Policy Working Group

Panel Discussion: Female Circumcision: A Multilevel Discussion on a Multidimensional Issue. This panel explores the complexity of female circumcision by bringing together practitioners, scholars and activists with different views on the issue.
6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Lindsay Rogers Room 707

Tuesday, October 27

The Alliance Program and the European Legal Studies Center

Discussion: Trade and … Problems: What’s New at the WTO? with Hélène Ruiz-Fabri, professor of International Law, Universite Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne on how trade liberalization accentuates problems of management in other areas, such as environment or health, which is related to the problem of the fragmentation of international law and the logic of competing norms.

12:15 pm to 1:15 pm
W & J Warren Hall, Room 600

The Microfinance Working Group, Microfinance Club of New York, Microlumbia and NYU Microfinance

Mixer: Microfinance Happy Hour. You are invited to mingle at the mixer and meet other NYC practitioners and students in the microfinance field.
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Slate Plus
54 W. 21 St.
New York, NY 10011

Wednesday, October 28

The Weatherhead East Asian Institute

Brown Bag Lecture: Hong Kong’s Sinking and Shrinking Middle Class in a Rising Asia, with Helen Siu, professor of Anthropology, Yale University.
12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 918

The Center for the Study of Human Rights

Presentation: The Trail of Blood—The Search for an Intercommunal National System in Lebanon and Iraq, with Visiting Scholar Hanna Ziadeh, who will introduce his research, a comparative analysis of nation-building processes in Lebanon and Iraq.
12:15 pm to 1:45 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 801

The Weatherhead East Asian Institute

Lecture: Is Chinese Science Really an Exotic Subject? with Nathan Sivin, University of Pennsylvania.
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Kent Hall, Room 403

The Center for International Conflict Resolution

Conversation with Ambassador Alvaro de Soto and Mr. Martin Griffiths on International Conflict Resolution in the New Millennium, the third encounter of the Conversations with Alvaro de Soto lecture series.
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Jerome Greene, Room 101
To register: https://calendar.columbia.edu/sundial/webapi/register.php?eventID=36288

The UN Studies Program

Panel: Protection of Civilians in UN Peace Operations—What does it mean, what does it take? Including the following panelists H.E. Augustine P. Mahiga, permanent representative of Tanzania to UN and David Haeri, chief, Best Practices Section, UN Department of Peacekeeping  Operations and moderator Prof. Elisabeth Lindenmayer, director, UN Studies Program.
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1501

The Earth Institute’s Columbia Water Center and Scientists and Engineers for a Better Society

Film Screening: “A Civil Action,” with speakers: Patricia Culligan, professor, Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Columbia University; and Upmanu Lall, Alan & Carol Silberstein Professor of Engineering, Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University; Director, Columbia Water Center, The Earth Institute, Columbia University.
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Alfred Lerner Hall, Room 569
For more information: http://water.columbia.edu
Registration is requested but not required: https://calendar.columbia.edu/sundial/webapi/register.php?eventID=36415

The Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life

Conversation with Jon Meacham, the editor of “Newsweek” magazine and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography “American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House,” as well as “American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation,” and moderator Randall Balmer, professor.
6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Journalism Building, Lecture Hall (3rd Floor)

The Middle East Institute

Book Talk: “A Country Called Amreeka,” with author Alia Malek.
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Lindsay Rogers Room (707)

Thursday, October 29

The Harriman Institute and the Weatherhead East Asian Institute

Brown Bag Lecture: China and Energy Security in Central Asia, with Pan Guang, director and Professor of the Shanghai Center for International Studies and the academic director of the Institute of Eurasian Studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Science.
12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1219

The Center for Brazilian Studies at Columbia University, the Jornal do Brasil and Casa Brasil

Conference: Brazil and the Future. Brings together leaders of various sectors of Brazil’s economy and industry to analyze its emerging role as a global power.
1:45 pm to 5:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1501
To register: https://calendar.columbia.edu/sundial/webapi/register.php?eventID=36420

The Institute of Latin American Studies

Screening of the documentary “Los Demonios del Eden,” a film based on the work of Mexican activist and writer Lydia Cacho. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles.
6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 413

The Harriman Institute and the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures

Screening—“Vanished Empire,” a new Russian film.
8:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Hamilton Hall, Room 703

Thursday, October 29 and Friday, October 30

The Harriman Institute and the Davis Center, Harvard University
Forum: A Globalizing Russia? Join us for The Second Annual Russia/Eurasia Forum on how Globalization affects a myriad of sectors including culture, business and energy, the environment and public health, security, telecommunications and the internet, human rights, and migration.
All Day Event
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1

The Arab Student Association at SIPA, the Russian Cultural Association of Columbia University and USPolyResearch

Conference: Sustainable Development of Hot Deserts. Will present a novel interdisciplinary approach to the problem of desertification and the development of sustainable settlements in hot deserts. Keynote speakers include: Dr. Nikhil Chandavarkar, Secretary, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Ms. Florence D. Hudson, IBM Corporation, Mr. Sydney W. Kitson, Kitson & Partners – Developer of Babcock Ranch, Florida.
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Lerner Hall, Roone Arlidge Auditorium
To register: www.globalecoinnovation.org/default.aspx?tabid=7

Abibata Shanni Mahama is a second year MPA student concentrating in Economic and Political Development.  I asked her to share about her internship this past summer and she wrote the following.

____________________

My summer vacation was in two folds. On the one hand, it was fun and exciting to re-unite with my family after being away in school for several months. I spent quality time  with my kids and husband, friends and other family members for about a month. However, after this period, I got very tight with my internship at the Institute of Economic Affairs, Ghana. It offered me the opportunity to relate my academic work to industry because the organization has four main departments: Economic and Policy Analysis, Governance, Research and Programs.

I had insight into the processes involved with the formulation and implementation of government policies from the series of round table discussions that were held at the organization by eminent professionals. My passion for teamwork was mostly at play by my engagement in consultative and round table discussions that characterized programs of the organization.

My duties at the Institute of Economic Affairs included the following:

1.    Prepared a contact list of all members of parliament of Ghana containing the names, political parties, constituencies and the contact addresses and a segregated list of leadership of the house of parliament.

2.    Built a list of cabinet and non-cabinet Ministers with their respective ministries locations and contact details.

3.    Assisted in compiling the list of leadership of select stakeholder institutions in civil society and public sector, as well as distributing invitation letters and contacting them on phone to remind them of in-house and off-site workshops or meetings that are organized by the Institute of Economic Affairs.

4.    Helped in organizing logistics and preparing venues for meetings that are to be held at the IEA.

5.    Worked as scribe in caucus and platform meetings with the leadership of political parties where government policies are evaluated  and debated.

6.     Took part in discussions of the various meetings and discussions, most of which were of significant national interest. This was a great learning experience for me.

The Institute of Economic Affairs has contributed immensely to the deepening of democracy and promotion of good governance as the premier organization in public policy in Ghana. The tremendous effort that the Institute has installed in the Ghanaian populace regarding issues of democracy is highly remarkable. IEA creates among others, forums where opposition parties and the ruling party meet to deliberate on issues of national importance once every month.

In my view, this practice enriches democracy and paves the way for transparency. They also hold workshops, seminars and round table discussions with stakeholders, politicians and experts periodically at their premises where I benefited tremendously because I had the opportunity in participating actively to discussions at these forums. Besides, I gained a lot of experience in public policy concerns, professional ethics and I built a great network with stakeholders, policy makers and experts from different fields.

Being a citizen of Ghana, I was able to provide significant input on policy guidelines needed to shape local issues particularly relating to my native region, the Northern region of Ghana. In fact, IEA is a great institution that does my course-related policy and governance issues. My internship with them has indeed received commendation across board.

The following are photographs of me at round table discussion on “Improving the Trade Policy in Ghana”.

Workshops at SIPA apply the practical skills and analytical knowledge learned to a real-world issue. Students are organized into small consulting teams and assigned a substantive, policy-oriented project with an external client.  Clients include public agencies (from the local to national level), international NGOs and multi-national organizations, and major firms in the private sector.  Student teams, working under the supervision of a faculty expert, answer a carefully defined problem posed by the client.  Each team produces an actionable report at the close of the workshop that is designed to translate into real change on the ground.

Essentially, capstone workshops give students not only a chance to further refine their skills and knowledge, but to make a positive contribution to the world around them.  And capstone projects provide valuable experience and contacts for post-graduate employment.

One example of  a workshop took some SIPA students to Uganda.  People and communities who understand their property rights are usually more empowered to defend them. In a SIPA Capstone Workshop, a student team traveled to Uganda to develop a system intended to track the progress of the Women’s Land, Housing and Property Rights Project. The project is attempting to empower and educate women about their rights with respect to land, housing and property ownership. You can read the team’s final report by clicking here.

I was recently informed of a tremendous resource for those from Latin American countries. The  Latin American Network Information Center has published a page on financial aid opportunities for applicants living in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.  I highly recommend that applicants check out the page for more information on the types of funds available and the associated deadlines.  Happy hunting!

Next week I will be traveling to colleges and universities throughout Colorado and Wyoming to speak with students about our programs.  Four other schools will also be at these information sessions.  You can register for one of these events by visiting our registration page.

The Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP) Fellowship Program is a program of the UNCF Special Programs Corporation that is now in its 16th year. The Institute seeks to enhance U.S. national security and global competitiveness by promoting excellence, international service, and awareness among a representative cross-section of the American citizenry. The IIPP also seeks to broaden access to international education and training opportunities for underrepresented minority college students.

The IIPP Fellowship Program provides students from underrepresented minority groups with education and training experiences critical to entry and advancement in international affairs careers. IIPP is a comprehensive program of summer policy institutes, study abroad, intensive language training, internships, graduate study, and student services that include mentoring and career development. Additionally, IIPP provides students with the education and training necessary to successfully enter, advance, and provide leadership in international affairs careers.

IIPP Fellowship Components:

• Sophomore Summer Policy Institute
• Junior Year Study Abroad
• Junior Summer Policy Institute
• Summer Language Institute
• International Internship
• Graduate Degree Program in International Affairs/International Relations

Eligibility Requirements

The IIPP welcomes applications from undergraduate sophomores who:
• Are enrolled full-time at an accredited, four–year baccalaureate-granting institution.
• Are U.S. Citizens or legal residents (documentary support required).
• Have a minimum 3.2 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale).
• Have a strong demonstrated interest in international affairs.
• Are an underrepresented minority (African American, Hispanic/Latino American, Asian American, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander).
• Plan to seek admission to a graduate degree program in international affairs.

Students from underrepresented minority groups, especially those from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Other Minority Serving Institutions (OMIs) are particularly encouraged to apply. Though not a requirement, applicants are strongly encouraged to complete at least one of the following courses before starting the IIPP Fellowship: international affairs, foreign policy, a foreign language, political science, sociology, macro/micro-economics, statistics and/or journalism.

IIPP Fellowship Funding Package

The IIPP Fellowship funding package includes the following:

• Sophomore and Junior Policy Institutes: housing and meals in university facilities; books and materials; field trips and excursions; a stipend; and travel from home or school.

• Junior Year Study Abroad: one-half of program costs and personal expenses for one semester of overseas study during a Fellow’s junior year, with the expectation that her/his school will supply the other half through financial aid or scholarships and a reasonable family contribution.

• Summer Language Institute: tuition and fees; room and board; books and materials; travel to and from SLI; a stipend.

• IIPP Internship: depending on whether the internship is domestic or international, IIPP may provide travel costs and a stipend.

• Graduate School: $15,000 in matching scholarship funds, provided the Fellow has completed each IIPP program component and will pursue a graduate degree in International Affairs at an Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA) – accredited program, or other program approved by UNCFSP.

How College Sophomores Apply

1. Visit www.uncfsp.org/IIPP and follow the link “APPLY ONLINE.” Please refer to the complete online application guidelines.

2. Complete all sections of the online application, including:
a) Brief statement of your career interests.
b) Essay # 1 (Personal Statement) – Maximum 500-word statement that tells us about yourself and why you should be selected as an IIPP Fellow.
c) Essay # 2 (Issue Analysis) – Maximum 750-word essay that explains why a current international issue is important to you and what you would do to address it if in a position to do so.
d) Work/Volunteer experience
e) Two online recommendations

3. Mail hard-copy supporting documents including official college transcripts, College or University Nomination Form, Financial Aid award letter and/or Student Aid Report. These items must be postmarked by the March 15th application deadline.

4. Application Deadline: March 15th. Applications from college sophomores are not considered complete until all documents have been received. Late applications, including those hard-copy supporting documents postmarked after the March 15th deadline, may not be reviewed by the selection committee. Decisions will be mailed no later than May 1st.

Email the IIPP staff with comments or questions at iipp@uncfsp.org.

“Women, Peace and Security. The Implementation of UN Resolution 1325/1820″
Seminar with Margot Wallstrom, Vice-President of the European Commission
6:00 pm-8:00 pm
Kellogg Conference Center, 15th Floor, International Affairs Building
Sponsored by the Alliance Program

Photo Credit to Wikipedia

Next week the APSIA East Coast Graduate School Circuit takes place, giving those living in or around New York City, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia the opportunity to speak with admission representatives.

I hope to meet you if you are able to make it.  If you are going to attend, complete the free registration process and obtain the specific location of the events by clicking the links below.

New York City: Monday, October 19th from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.

Washington, D.C.:  Tuesday, October 20th from 4:00 to 7:00 P.M.

Philadelphia:  Thursday, October 22nd from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.

Anesa Diaz-Uda is a second year MPA student concentrating in Management and Institutional Analysis.  I asked her to share about her internship this past summer and she wrote the following.

_______________________________

I spent my summer in Washington, DC working as a Summer Associate for Deloitte Consulting. Deloitte is one of the largest professional services organizations in the world and is one of the Big Four auditors.  However, in DC I worked solely with the Federal Consulting Practice.   It was a pleasure applying the skills I’d garnered at SIPA, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity.  Here’s what I was up to…

My client was the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (USD(I)), and I worked with their staff on a Research and Development effort focused on cultural awareness programming.   We sought to employ commercial methodologies to rapidly build source networks capable of providing information to help frame issues in a rich socio-cultural context to answer Department of Defense (DoD) requirements.

The project had three distinct phases, and I was able to assist in the first two.  When I first started I conducted an online survey of Internet and classified systems to discover and catalog DoD programs providing cultural awareness products to DoD personnel. Upon completion, we created a metric to determine what programs constituted the DoD’s leading practices, and began conducting personal interviews of the top programs.

At this point, I was able to go out on my own to meet with the leadership of these various programs to better determine the strengths and weaknesses of each one.  From here, we began to synthesize our findings to offer a comparative analysis that would eventually become a commercial methodology for DoD cultural awareness programming.  Unfortunately, I had to leave at this point to return to SIPA, but I was impressed and proud of the work I was able to offer our client.

I never imagined myself working for DoD, but it was an exciting opportunity, and an area of our federal government I hope to learn much more about. As you can imagine, I was very apprehensive when I first started.  However, my team did an amazing job preparing me with the proper clearances as well as familiarizing me with necessary information and protocol.  I enjoyed my team immensely, and was constantly impressed by their level of expertise and knowledge as well as their kindness.

I also got to know my fellow interns.  There were seven of us from public policy programs around the country, and it was great to share stories about our schools, as well as learn more about the different projects we were staffed on.  Deloitte is growing its public policy community within the Consulting practice, and it was an exciting time to be with the firm as well and in DC.  I was and continue to be very pleased with my decision to work for Deloitte this past summer.

The Senior Associate Dean of SIPA, Rob Garris, recently informed me that he will be visiting Cairo and wishes to meet with those in the area that are interested in learning more about SIPA.  An RSVP is required and if you are able to attend, please send an email with the subject heading “Cairo Visit” to  sipa_admission@columbia.edu.

The meeting will take place at 7:00 P.M. on Thursday, October 15th.  The event will be held at the following hotel:

CAIRO SEMIRAMIS
CORNICHE EL NIL, GARDEN CITY • CAIRO, 11511 • EGYPT

Hotel Contact Information

Front Desk: +20-2-27957171

The room location has yet to be set so those who RSVP will need to check with the front desk or concierge for the specific room location.  We apologize for the short notice but if you will be able to attend please RSVP to sipa_admission@columbia.edu.

Kristoffer Tangri is a second year MIA student concentrating in International Security Policy.  I asked him to share about what he did during the summer break and he wrote the following and sent along the pictures as well.

_____________________________

It is 86 degrees Fahrenheit with an early morning breeze and the sun is rising over an endless sea of sand and granite rocks. Wadi Rum, a vast desert valley in southwest Jordan awakes to a magnificent spectacle of colors that already captivated T. E. Lawrence. While most SIPA students are off in search of work experience, I decided to travel the Middle East instead: Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey in two months. The Middle East has always fascinated me, its rich culture and history but also its current political, economic and security situation. This blog entry is too short to share all the many impressions and observations of my trip but can give a short introduction into this unique part of the world.

My first stop of the summer was Istanbul, Turkey’s grand city at the Bosporus and former capital of the Ottoman Empire. The city lives its history and at every corner you find magnificent remainders of its Roman and Ottoman eras. The Hagia Sophia, arguably Istanbul’s most superb landmark, was build as a patriarchal basilica in the 6th century and later turned into a mosque during the Ottoman Empire. In the 1930s, it was made a public museum under the secular movement of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The Hagia Sophia now stands in Turkey’s most modern and secular city.

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque also known as the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey

My next stop was Amman, the capital of Jordan, a city that has been around for several thousand years but has only grown into a real metropolis over the last decades, partly due to the economic rise of Jordan but also due to the influx of Palestinian and Iraqi refugees. Jordan, unlike its neighbors Lebanon and Syria, has diplomatic relations with Israel and has an important partnership with the United States. You can see American made police cars everywhere and Israeli tourist frequently come to visit one of the many historical and religious sites of the nation. Petra, the lost city, is without a doubt the highlight of the country. Tucked away in a valley hidden behind great mountains, the Western world has been unaware for centuries of the two thousand year old world heritage side’s location until it was rediscovered in 1812 by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.

Petra, a city mainly carved into stone, was once erected as the capital of the Nabataeans and is now Jordan’s most important source of tourist income. Other highlights in Jordan include a trip to the Red Sea at Aqaba, the Dead Sea, the Jordan river and of course Wadi Rum.

The ancient city of Petra, Jordan

The ancient city of Petra, Jordan

From Jordan I traveled onwards to Damascus, the capital of Syria. I stayed three weeks in Syria and enrolled in a summer school on Middle East politics, financed by the German and Syrian governments with German and Syrian students. Syria is a country with a highly ambivalent global reputation. Some people will think of the wonderful old town of Damascus with one of Islam’s oldest and most holy mosques, the Ummayad Mosque. They will speak of friendly people, the desert city of Palmyra, famous Crusader castles and the food in Aleppo. Other people will be reminded of George Bush’s “Axis of Evil” remarks in 2002, comment on the political system in the country and speak about Syria’s involvement in Lebanon and Iraq and the fact that Syria does not accept the existence of the state of Israel.

I travelled to Syria to learn more about both sides. I had the opportunity to meet foreign diplomats and Syrian government officials and went on several field trips, for example to a Palestinian Refugee camp or Queneitra at the Golan Heights. Sentiments against Israel and to some extend the United States are still widespread but people are fairly open minded and religious tolerance is rooted deep within the countries politics and society. Syria has mainly avoided civil unrest and religious conflicts within their own territory (with the major exception of Hama in 1982), but did get involved more heavily in their neighboring countries.

Visiting the Syrian parliament and meeting the president of the parliament with a delegation of students

Israel-Syrian border at the Golan Heights in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force Zone

Lebanon was the last stop of my Middle East trip and it was somewhat different than I had expected. Syria is still a more traditional society with very affordable living costs and people rarely speak English. Lebanon and especially Beirut, on the contrary, are highly modern, people speak fluent French or English and the prices in some parts of Beirut were even higher than in New York. Lebanon seemed to me like a surreal place. Only three years ago the country has been at war with Israel and less than two decades ago the bloody civil war ended.

Yet, besides the highly sectarian political system and its history and the fact that you have to pass dozens of military checkpoints with tanks while travelling through the country, Lebanon has established itself as a safe and welcoming tourist and party location. When going out to one of the endless clubs in Beirut you get checked frequently by police and when going to Baalbek, the ancient temple ruins in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, you will find a stage for Western rock concerts next to a Hezbollah exhibition.

The Martyrs’ Statue in downtown Beirut

Hezbollah exhibition in Baalbek

I had a wonderful time traveling the Middle East and have learned a lot about the region’s culture, history and politics. At SIPA I am concentrating on International Security Policy and Post-Conflict Development and my travels have helped me gain a deeper understanding of the conflicts of the Middle East region. Upon returning to Columbia I will be taking a course on Middle East history and politics and do a part time internship during my fourth semester. SIPA is very flexible with your internship requirement and many students do it part-time to replace or in addition to the summer internship.

Thank you very much, Kristoffer