NEW YORK, October 26, 2012 — Building on a robust history of bilateral cooperation and a shared commitment to excellence, Columbia University, the London School of Economics and the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (known commonly as Sciences Po) are joining together to create the TransAtlantic Consortium on Education and Policy.
The consortium will explore how three institutions with similar values and aspirations can forge new paths in today’s highly interconnected world. It will capitalize on existing models for teaching, research and service; benefit from a large network of collaborations; and imagine new approaches for globalizing their endeavors.
“This new partnership among our three institutions gives us a framework for deepening and broadening our cooperation for many years to come,” said Columbia Provost John Coatsworth when asked about its importance.
Columbia, LSE and Sciences Po share long traditions of excellence in research and teaching and take seriously an obligation for societal engagement. Each is located in a major world center, and for nearly fifteen years has worked in bilateral partnerships to develop dual degree programs, support faculty and student exchanges and foster opportunities for joint research.
"International collaboration is vital today - and especially exciting with three world-leading institutions that bring both distinctive strengths and a shared passion for social science that informs public life," said LSE Director Craig Calhoun.
The consortium will build on that foundation to create new trilateral opportunities which complement existing relationships such as the existing Columbia-Paris Alliance. It will utilize the wealth of international resources and diverse theoretical perspectives that exist among them to expand current offerings, increase and intensify faculty exchanges and collaborative research, and deepen cooperation in the field of public policy executive education. The consortium will serve as a vehicle for pushing the boundaries of the traditional university model.
“We live in a challenging world where we are stronger and better when we collaborate, exchange and share ideas and values. The TransAtlantic consortium opens new ways and designs new concept in education and policy,” said Hervé Crès, Interim Director of Sciences Po.
Individually and jointly, the three universities have already implemented global strategies that include creating programs and centers in every region of the globe, developing exchanges with major research and educational institutions throughout the world, and welcoming greater numbers of international students to their campuses. They are now committed to working together to find new ways to advance these relationships.
Specifically, the consortium will focus on undergraduate education, graduate training in global policy, and the challenges and goals of globalization in higher education.
Columbia, LSE and Sciences Po share a common philosophy about the purpose and goals of undergraduate education in today’s world and will work together to deepen their existing collaborations in undergraduate education, drawing on their distinct traditions of excellence at the undergraduate level. They will enhance student mobility by utilizing the campuses, internship models and global centers of the three partners and weaving them into new models for student engagement and learning that will prepare tomorrow’s multilingual, multicultural leaders.
The three universities have been working together for several years to develop and provide globally oriented graduate-level training that is rooted in the social sciences and reflects today’s more interconnected policy world. This work has involved institutions in Brazil, Germany, Japan, Singapore and elsewhere, and has sought to take account of traditionally less-represented regions. It offers a set of dual degree programs leading to the master’s of public affairs which allows students to pursue a year of study in each of two locations and earn two degrees. The three universities also work together with an institution in China to train its civil servants on issues of policy and governance. Through these and other related activities, they intend to foster collaborative research and public debate on the pressing issues of a changing world order.
In the area of globalization generally, the three partners will further augment their collaborative research and teaching programs with a renewed commitment to flexible, dynamic and creative interaction across a full spectrum of activities. From expanding existing student and faculty exchanges and dual degree programs to harnessing the promise of distance education to imaging new ways in which students can be trained and collaborative research conducted, the consortium will offer a vehicle for pushing the boundaries of the traditional university model.
With these objectives as their goals, Columbia, LSE and Sciences Po and their faculty will work together to design structures for the consortium that enhance their mutual creativity, innovation and diversity and that offer educational excellence to those who want to think differently.
About Columbia University
Among the world’s leading research universities, Columbia University in the City of New York continually seeks to advance the frontiers of scholarship and foster a campus community deeply engaged in understanding and confronting the complex issues of our time through teaching, research, patient care and public service. The University is comprised of 16 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools, and four affiliated colleges and seminaries in Northern Manhattan, as well as a wide array of research institutes and global centers located in major cities around the world. More than 40,000 accomplished students, award-winning faculty and professional staff define the University’s underlying values and commitment to pursuing new knowledge and educating informed, engaged citizens. Founded in 1754 as King’s College, Columbia is the fifth oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.
About the London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) studies the social sciences in their broadest sense, with an academic profile spanning a wide range of disciplines, from economics, politics and law, to sociology, information systems and accounting and finance. The School has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence and is one of the most international universities in the world. Its study of social, economic and political problems focuses on the different perspectives and experiences of most countries. From its foundation LSE has aimed to be a laboratory of the social sciences, a place where ideas are developed, analysed, evaluated and disseminated around the globe.
About Sciences Po
Sciences Po is a higher education and research institution in the humanities and social sciences that devotes 35% of its budget to research. The institution is remarkable for its international outlook, including a network of 400 partner universities and more than 35 dual degree programmes. Sciences Po has 12 000 students, of whom 46% hold a nationality other than French and who come from 130 countries. Sciences Po invests heavily in its social responsibilities and has made social and cultural diversity a cornerstone of its identity. In 2011, 27% of students hold a scholarship, up from 6% in 2000. A three-year undergraduate programme is offered in seven campuses in France. There are three graduate schools and more 20 Masters degree programmes, which are designed to prepare graduates for the professional world, and a flourishing doctoral school.
Media contacts:
Columbia: Robert Hornsby, r.hornsby@columbia.edu, 212-854-9752
LSE: Helen Carasso, pressoffice@lse.ac.uk - +44 207 955 7060
Sciences Po: Caroline Allain, Caroline.allain@sciences-po.fr, 00 33 1 45 49 72 98
Sciences Po strengthens cooperation with Japan, signing two new dual degree agreements with the University of Keio and the University of Tokyo
With the establishment of two new and innovative educational programs, Sciences Po is consolidating its ties with Japan, established over twenty years ago through visiting professor programs, exchanges of around thirty students each year and privileged relationships with a dozen Japanese universities.
- The dual degree (B.A.) agreement with the University of Keio, historic partner of Sciences Po in Asia, has created a degree program with a major in economics.
To be officially launched on the 22 October in Tokyo in the presence of Mr. Atsushi Seike, President of the University, the double degree (B.A.) established with the University of Keio will see Sciences Po host a dozen students jointly recruited by the two institutions in September 2012.
The students will spend their first two years studying at the Europe-Asia campus in Le Havre, on of the seven campuses of Sciences Po’s undergraduate College. A true melting pot, with 29 nationalities represented among the student body and one in three students coming from the Asian continent, the Europe-Asia offers Sciences Po’s core curriculum (law, economics, history, political science, sociology), adding a Euro-Asian dimension. Students will then spend three semesters studying at the Department of Economic Sciences at Keio.
Students will graduate with a B.A. from Sciences Po and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Keio. This double B.A. is contiguous with the dual Master’s degree established with the University of Keio’s Faculty of Economics in 2008. Students will be able to specialise in economics in 4th and 5th years if they wish to, and will have the advantage of two internationally-recognised degrees. Such a qualification will also open up the Asian employment market to them.
The establishment of this dual degree program follows on from similar agreements signed with Columbia University in 2011 and University College London (UCL), and is Sciences Po’s first such arrangement with an Asian university.
- The dual degree (M.A.) with the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Public Policy (GRASPP) strengthen cooperation in the field of public policy between Europe and Asia.
On the 18 October, Sciences Po signed a dual degree agreement at Master level with the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Public Policy (GRASPP). This program will allow young professionals to obtain Sciences Po’s Master of Public Affairs and the University of Tokyo’s Master of Public Policy.
At a time when international crises call for new models of governance, this dual degree will educate students about public policy from a comparative perspective and in a globalised environment.
Jointly recruited by the two institutions, the students will spend one year at Sciences Po’s Paris campus and one year at GRASPP. Classes will be taught in English. The program includes a professional capstone that can be undertaken either in Paris or in Tokyo.
Note to journalists:
Sciences Po is a higher education and research institution in the humanities and social sciences that devotes 37% of its budget to research. The institution is remarkable for its international outlook. Sciences Po has 10 000 students, of whom 40% hold a nationality other than French and who come from 130 countries. Sciences Po invests heavily in its social responsibilities and has made social and cultural diversity a cornerstone of its identity. In 2011 26% of students hold a scholarship, up from 6% in 2000. Sciences Po has a Europe-Asia campus in Le Havre.
Media Contact:
Caroline Allain
caroline.allain@sciences-po.fr / tel : +33(0)1 45 49 72 98
On Tuesday, former President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, became the 16th Doctor Honoris Causa of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques Paris and the first Latin American to receive this academic title.
Warmly greeted to the sound of the Batuka by Sciences Po students, former president Lula entered the Emile Boutmy amphitheatre amidst the applause of hundreds of students, including a number of Brazilians. Nearly 200 students from Sciences Po’s Euro-Latin American campus in Poitiers had come to Paris specially to attend the ceremony.
President of Sciences Po Richard Descoings hailed Lula for his contribution to Brazil’s social and economic development before an audience of students, teachers and dignitaries such as the former Portuguese Prime Minister José Socrates.
He declared: “You fought to give Brazil an international status. These days it is hardly possible to discuss any major issue without consulting the Brazilian authorities.”
Jean-Claude Casanova, President of the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, then gave a speech underlining the importance of the positivist movement in laying the foundations of the French and Brazilian republics at the end of the 19th century. Mr Casanova spoke of a number of positivist thinkers: “who seem to still underpin the soul and actions of Brazil. Positivism prefers industry to war, solidarity to struggle. It respects the independence of scholars. It privileges the spiritual – that is to say, science and knowledge – over the temporal – action. It makes simple courtesy a preserve of the authorities to foster the admiration of true virtues. It raises the proletarian to the same level as the engineer and submits the force of man to the gentle rule of women /…/ In the cultural heritage of Comte, we find only hope and generosity.” Mr. Casanova underlined the role played by President Lula in returning Brazil to economic prosperity, increasing its presence on the world stage and making Brazilian society more just and better educated.
Former president Lula opened his address by mentioning some of the achievement of his presidency, particularly in the field of education. “I am the first President of Brazil without a degree to open 14 universities, 126 university campuses and 214 technical schools.” His successor Dilma Rousseff has undertaken to increase the budget of the Ministry of Education from 5 to 7% of GDP. Lula concluded his speech by exhorting Sciences Po students to participate in political life after a parenthesis on the current European crisis. “What is happening in Europe requires political and not economic solutions.”
The ceremony concluded with a standing ovation from the audience.
June 02, 2011
Harvard Law School and Sciences Po Law School (SPLS) have launched a wide-ranging program that includes exchanges of faculty and students, both pre-doctoral and post-doctoral, and co-sponsorship of joint conferences on U.S. and European legal issues.
Sciences Po was established in 1872 and is France’s leading university for social sciences. In 2009, SPLS was created in order to train lawyers with an emphasis on critical thinking and creativity, as well as to equip them to play leadership roles in the worlds of both law and business.
On June 13, Harvard and SPLS will co-sponsor the first major event of the new partnership, a one-day conference entitled “Franco-American Legal Influence, Then and Now,” The conference, which will take place at Harvard, will explore historical and contemporary moments of intellectual influence and reception between French and U.S. legal thought. The conference will feature HLS Professors Janet Halley, David Kennedy, Duncan Kennedy, Jeannie Suk and Mark Tushnet; Harvard University Professor Homi K. Bhabha, Director of the Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard; and SPLS Professors Louis Assier-Andrieu, Frédéric Audren, Christophe Jamin and Mikhail Xifaras.
Under the new partnership, faculty from each school may participate in short-term exchanges for up to two weeks, giving lectures, discussing topics of common interest with contemporaries, or conducting research. Longer-term faculty exchanges will also be considered, in the hopes of fostering collaborative teaching, research, conferences and mentoring relationships.
“We are very pleased to create this opportunity for our students and faculty to share intellectual projects and educational experiences with counterparts across the Atlantic,” said Professor Jeannie Suk, HLS faculty liaison for the exchange program. “We are aware of the importance of such sustained and substantive conversations in a globalized setting for legal scholarship and education.”
The program grows from existing ties between the two institutions. HLS Professors Scott Brewer and David Kennedy have taught at SPLS previously, and Professors Morton Horwitz, Duncan Kennedy, Janet Halley and Jeannie Suk have recently lectured there. SPLS is also a co-sponsor of the doctoral workshop of the Institute for Global Law and Policy at Harvard.
Numerous HLS professors are taking advantage of the new partnership. This May, Professors Yochai Benkler and George Triantis visited SPLS for a one-week program. Professors William Alford, Charles Fried, Mark Roe and Carol Steiker, among others, also plan to participate in the HLS-SPLS partnership.
“For us at SPLS, this exchange presents an opportunity for challenging encounters between different legal cultures and traditions of thought,” said Mikhail Xifaras, Professor of Public Law at SPLS, who will teach at HLS next spring. “This is already creating fascinating moments of discovery, new understandings, and spaces for original ideas.”
The student exchange program allows HLS and SPLS pre-doctoral students to spend a semester studying law at the other institution, and doctoral students may spend up to one year abroad. An HLS SJD candidate and a SPLS doctoral candidate were the first to take part in the exchange this past year. This fall, four HLS Class of 2012 students will spend a semester at SPLS, studying international financial regulation, international business law, comparative and international law, international arbitration, and international and European law. Several SPLS students also will visit HLS in 2013.
For more information on the exchange program, click here.
PARIS, 26 May 2011 – With the digital age transforming journalism, the Sciences Po School of Journalism and Google have reached a partnership agreement to promote quality and innovation in their digital networks.
This partnership will result in the creation of a Prize for Innovation in Journalism to be inaugurated in September 2011, which will recognize innovative use of internet technology in the service of quality information. The annual prize will be awarded to a journalism student from a recognized program and to a professional journalist.
In addition to this prize, Google will finance a start-up scholarship in the domain of information, as well as merit-based scholarships for students of the Sciences Po School of Journalism. Google will contribute to the teaching of online referencing as part of the School of Journalism’s online training courses.
“I am delighted that Google will be financing such an important part of Sciences Po as the School of Journalism," declared Richard Descoings, Director of Sciences Po.
“This agreement is the expression of a mutual interest,” noted Bruno Patino, Director of the School of Journalism. “It is impossible for us to teach journalism without helping our students to master networked information, its tools, functionalities and transformations, online and on mobile phone technology.”
Senior Vice President in Charge of Development at Google, David Drummond, who was present for the signing of the agreement, stressed the importance of access to quality information and the fundamental role of the journalistic profession: “Journalism is a precious and vital ingredient in a democracy. That is why Google is delighted to sign this agreement with the Sciences Po School of Journalism, which is particularly cutting-edge in the way it teaches web technology to future journalists.”
“This partnership is in keeping with Google’s moves to promote access to information,” stated Jean-Marc Tassetto, Director-General of Google France. “Today, our technologies bring up over 50 000 sources all around the world. They also allow the emergence and development of new forms of journalism thanks to the use of cartographic tools and the posting of videos through community platforms. Promoting and aiding the development of online journalism is an important extra step in ensuring the continuing existence of high-quality content and encouraging freedom of expression.”
Further information on the partnership between Google and the Sciences Po School of Journalism
The four pillars of the partnership are:
1. The creation of a Prize for Innovation in Journalism
According to the agreement, the prize will reward the production of content demonstrating an “innovative use of the internet and new technologies in the service of quality information.” A jury will award two prizes in September 2011, the first of 10 000 euros for a journalism student in one of thirteen recognized courses, the second of 5 000 euros for a professional journalist.
The competition will take place from 25 May to 29 July 2011. The submission criteria for candidates are as follows:
- The content submitted to the jury must be recent original work in the French language and published using a digital medium within the year preceding the date of submission.
- The content submitted must combine, on the screen which displays them, at least two formats (text, image, social network, card, video, etc.)
- The publication of content may have occurred all at once or over an extended period of time (for example in the case of a blog or application). The jury will only consider parts of the work published within the specified timeframe of one year preceding the date of submission.
- Content may include contributions from the audience and/or be modifiable by the audience.
- Content submitted must demonstrate journalistic ambition displayed through a willingness to use digital media resources. The jury will judge content according to: the quality of expression, mastery of narrative, discernment in the use of technology, appropriateness for the audience, quality of investigation and rigor of information.
- The final date for submission of content is Friday 29 July, at midnight.
2. Grant for entrepreneurial journalism, to help launch “start-up” businesses.
Throughout the entrepreneurial journalism course created in 2011 at the School of Journalism, students develop new journalistic ideas and imagine the economic model needed to transform them into genuine start-up businesses. To encourage these ventures, Google will award a 20 000 euro grant to the best start-up project in 2012.
3. Merit scholarships will be awarded to students of the Sciences Po School of Journalism. An overall sum of 34 000 euros will be attributed to the program and scholarships will be awarded based on criteria of academic excellence and encouraging diversity. These scholarships will allow recipients to gain overseas experience at partner universities and/or in professional editorial settings.
4. Teaching of SEO (search engine optimization or referencing) at the School of Journalism by a Google engineer to allow first and second-year students in the Master of Journalism to understand the core principles of content indexing on search engines.
About Google:
Every day, Google’s innovative research technologies allow millions of users to access a world of information. Founded in 1998 by Stanford University graduates Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google is today a leading Internet stock that is quoted on all major exchanges. Google’s targeted advertising program offers businesses of all sizes quantifiable results and allows users to fully exploit the potentials of the Internet. Google, with its head office located in Silicon Valley, runs commercial operations across the American continent, Europe and Asia.
To find out more, visit www.google.fr
About the Sciences Po School of Journalism:
The Sciences Po School of Journalism, located in Paris, offers two-year Master’s programs of an excellence recognized within the journalistic profession. With an international outlook and centered on online journalism, the School of Journalism offers a profound education in the social sciences, indispensable for future journalists, while teaching the practical aspects of the profession through training by renowned media professionals, journalists and editors.
To find out more, visit http://www.journalisme.sciences-po.fr
Contacts:
Cyril Delhay
Director of Communication at Sciences Po
cyril.delhay@sciences-po.fr
+33145497794
Anne Gabrielle Dauba Pantanacce
Google France
annegabrielle@google.com
+33142685366
Welcomed by a long standing ovation, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was the guest of Richard Descoings (President of Sciences Po Paris) and Ghassan Salamé (Dean of PSIA), Monday February 14, 2011 in Paris. Mr. Annan addressed a packed amphitheatre: over 500 students and faculty attended this event, which was not opened to the press.
The audience also included a number of Mr. Annan’s former UN colleagues, including Lakhdar Brahimi, former UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Alvaro de Soto, former UN senior adviser and envoy, both of whom are now visiting professors at Sciences Po’s Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA). The event was moderated by the Dean of PSIA, Ghassan Salamé, who worked closely with Mr Annan as Senior Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General (2003-2006) and Political Advisor to the UN Mission in Iraq (2003). Ghassan Salamé delivered a biographical introduction to the life and accomplishments of Mr. Annan, who started his career at the P-1 level at the UN and was sent into Iraq in the 1990s, where according to Ghassan Salamé, “Mr. Annan became a man of action, a field man, and was not someone just simply interested in running the organization but rather transforming and implementing its core mission for peace and security”.
The UN and the G20:
Mr Annan responded to “cyclical” criticisms of the UN as a “paper tiger” by stating that instead of viewing the UN as a “paper tiger”, we can work together to make the UN work better. In retrospect, Mr. Annan stated that it would be extremely difficult to invent the UN as it exists today, and cites the example of the G20. Mr. Annan stated, “We are accused of being a paper tiger, a talk shop, but our lives would be extremely complicated without the UN and its agencies.” He asserted that the G20 expanded from the G8 only due to the imperative brought on by the financial crisis; however there are still 172 countries that do not have representation in the G20, while the UN is more inclusive.
Mr. Annan stated that “when you look at norm-setting, the UN has been good, and the UN can be strong if member states accept it.”
Concerning expanding membership of the UN Security Council, Mr. Annan stated “We need to bring emerging countries to the table, if we do not do this, then there will be destructive competition.” He especially indicated the need for representation of India, Latin America, and Africa on the Security Council. Mr. Annan emphasized, “I put value on a forum where everyone can be represented.”
Concerning wealthy countries and permanent members on the Security Council, Mr. Annan stated “there are two things that are hard to give up, one, subsidies, and two, privileges.”
ECOSOC:
When asked about the efficiency of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Mr. Annan stated that there is an economic basis to conflict, and a tendency to focus on the political side and ignore the economic side of conflict. He asserted a need to reach out and establish partnerships to address the economic side to conflict.
MDGs:
Several students asked about the future of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as the 2015 deadline draws closer. Mr Annan stressed that major advances have already been achieved in many countries, where millions have been lifted out of poverty. It is important that countries keep striving to meet their MDG targets even after 2015, while those that have already done so should continue to surpass them.
Giving an example of development progress, Mr. Annan reminisced, “I am old enough to remember hearing about the poor little Chinese children…now it is the poor little Chinese who are keeping our global economy afloat.” Mr. Annan emphasized that countries also learn from each other.
Mr. Annan added that in a time of economic crisis it takes courage for governments in wealthy countries to explain to their citizens the necessity of providing development aid, however in an interconnected world this is both an economic as well as a moral imperative. Mr. Annan also emphasized “the imperative to find innovative sources of funding, as climate change will cost billions”. He cited the levy on air tickets as an example of renewable sources of funding to address climate change.
Mr Annan told the gathering about his life-long commitment to fostering civil society, both through his attempts as UN Secretary-General to reach out to civil society and the private sector, and through his involvement in conflict resolution in Kenya and as Chairman of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa since leaving office in December 2006. The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa aims to assist African small holder farmers increase food production and move beyond subsistence farming, as 60-70% of Africans work in agriculture, most of whom are women.
Political Unrest in Africa:
He expressed hope for the future of the African continent, citing the increasing organisation of civil society groups, often led by women, in pushing for political and social reform and greater environmental sustainability. When asked about the current intensity of political unrest in Africa, Mr. Annan stated, on a positive note, that “civil society groups are becoming very robust, many of these groups are headed by women, and they are increasingly putting pressure on governments to become more accountable to civil society.”
When asked for his reflection on the disputed elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe, Mr. Annan responded, “In Kenya, there was no clear winner, whereas in Zimbabwe, it was clear who won the election in the first round. It is necessary for leaders to understand that if you enter elections, you lose or you win. Nearly 1200 people died in Kenya and they need to agree to a major program of reform. From the beginning, I insisted on one mediation process.”
Engaging Civil Society:
When asked about the role of the UN in engaging civil society, Mr. Annan responded, “I made a conscious effort to open the UN up to civil society, universities, and business.” He cited the achievement of the Landmine Treaty as an accomplishment achieved by UN engagement with civil society. Mr. Annan underlined the importance of the relationship between the UN and civil society.
Cooperation with Regional Organizations:
Mr. Annan also addressed a question concerning the role of the UN with regional bodies such as the EU and NATO, and responded that “Since there is a strong regional element to conflicts, as in the case of the Sudan, the UN has worked together with regional bodies such as the African Union (Sudan), NATO (former Yugoslavia) and the Organization of American States (Haiti).” He also stated that “The EU is timid in using its power. The EU waits for the US to lead.”
Experience as Secretary-General:
When asked whether there was anything he wished he could have achieved as Secretary-General, Mr. Annan cited the “painful disappointment” of being unable to prevent the 2003 war in Iraq. Mr. Annan acknowledged that the process of evaluating lessons learnt in peacebuilding during his tenure led to the creation of the Peacebuilding Commission Mr. Annan stated that the Peacebuilding Commission is a relatively new, but important institution with potential to prevent the re-emergence of conflict, as it addresses socioeconomic factors underpinning and mitigating conflict.
Mr. Annan also spoke at length about the urgent need to reform and expand the Security Council to make it more representative. Despite the complexities and obstacles (such as the question of whether or not to grant veto power to new members, and whether they should be given permanent membership or “semi-permanent” regional membership with elections every 6 years or so), Mr. Annan declared that such reform is vital to ensure that all regions of the world have a voice at the table.
Reflecting on his tenure as Secretary-General, Mr. Annan stated “I had a good team, and whatever little I did, I could not have done it without those around me, including advisors, governments, and civil society.”
At the end of the discussion, Mr. Annan received a second standing ovation from the audience.
His Excellency Dr Salam Fayyad, Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, this afternoon addressed a full amphitheatre of students, faculty, dignitaries and international media at Sciences Po Paris at a seminar entitled “Rendez-vous with Freedom.”
Dr Fayyad, who holds a Ph.D. in economics from Texas University and was first appointed Prime Minister in June 2007 after a career with the International Monetary Fund, took the unusual step of abandoning his scripted speech at the outset in favour of an open dialogue with the audience, saying that he would prefer to engage in a lively debate and field questions from the audience.
Dr Fayyad said 2011 could be the year of the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state, despite the obstacles the peace process has been encountering. He described two elements of his government’s program for achieving statehood: on the one hand, capacity-building to establish well-functioning institutions capable of effective service-delivery and guaranteeing basic political freedoms, and the political process of peace negotiations. He said the political process is vital and gives purpose to state-building, while capacity-building lends credibility to the peace process. However, he said this can only be achieved if Palestinians – and the international community – come to see the establishment of a Palestinian state as inevitable. The Palestinians, he added, have an appointed “rendez-vous with freedom” and intend to show up on time.
Asked about his meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday, Dr Fayyad expressed gratitude for Europe’s long-standing economic support for the Palestinian people, without which many important infrastructure and social welfare projects would have been impossible. He acknowledged a sense that Europe wants to become “a player, not a payer” and stated that there is a shared French and Palestinian interest in having Europe play a more effective and active role in the peace process given shared economic, social and cultural ties and the importance of Europe’s financial contribution. A donor’s conference hosted by France, ideally to be held around June this year, would represent just such an opportunity and be a chance for all the parties to commit to using the conference to advance the political process and promote the imminent “birth” of a Palestinian state.
In answer to questions from audience members – including Dr Lakhdar Brahimi, distinguished former UN envoy and member of “The Elders,” a peace advocacy organisation founded by former South African President Nelson Mandela – about the current upheaval in the region, Dr Fayyad replied that the Palestinian Authority sees events in Tunisia and now Egypt as expressions of a genuine and normal desire for change, enfranchisement and greater rights, which is in tandem with the Palestinian people’s struggle for justice and dignity. He believes the failure to resolve the Palestinian cause, while not directly responsible for these uprisings, has contributed to a sense of frustration in the region. He lauded the “immense power” of non-violent resistance.
Asked whether a Palestinian state would pursue economic independence from Israel, he replied that in a globalised world, economic independence is neither possible nor desirable; “Success these days is measured in terms of dependence, integration, and interaction, with independence being associated with isolationism.”
A Palestinian student from Jerusalem, President of the Adala Association at Sciences Po, asked how Sciences Po could promote capacity-building in higher education in Palestine. Dr Fayyad pointed to Sciences Po’s support in terms of faculty and student exchanges and university partnerships, and in particular the “great benefit” Birzeit University has drawn from Sciences Po’s support. He added that institutions of higher learning should be faculties where students learn to think critically and question political and social norms, and that there was definitely room to expand on the relationship with Sciences Po in this area.
Sciences Po Paris and the Middle East
The Middle East is a major area of teaching, research and university partnerships for Sciences Po.
Over one hundred students from the Middle East are enrolled in study programs at Sciences Po, including three Palestinian students.
An in-depth education at the Undergraduate and Master’s levels
At the undergraduate level, Sciences Po opened a Middle East-Mediterranean campus at Menton six years ago. Through its openness to the Middle East, the Mediterranean and the Gulf states, the Menton campus offers an entry point for students to develop a better understanding of many of the major geopolitical issues of tomorrow through reflection on questions surrounding energy, migration, security and public health, analysis of cultural and religious contexts in the region and an examination of its economic and financial dynamism. The campus also emphasises the importance of language studies as a key to the region, teaching Arabic, Turkish and Hebrew.
The Middle East is just as important to Sciences Po students at the Master’s level. Inaugurated at the beginning of the academic year 2010, the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) offers a range of courses comprising 20 professional specialisations. One of these, the “Middle East” regional specialisation, has already attracted nearly 100 students this year.
At Sciences Po’s Doctoral School, around 30 doctoral students are working on thesis topics related to the Middle East.
Teacher-researchers internationally recognised as regional specialists
Sciences Po prides itself on the expertise of such professors and researchers as Farida Adelkhah, Alain Dieckhoff, Jean-Pierre Filiu, Béatrice Hibou, Gilles Kepel, Stéphane Lacroix, Laurence Louër, Luis Martinez and Ghassan Salamé and has an outstanding tradition of research on the Middle East and the Arab world initiated by Rémy Leveau. A number of major international specialists and regional actors are also visiting professors at PSIA, including Miguel Angel Moratinos, Fawaz Girgis, Stefan Hertogg, Lakhdar Brahimi and Alvaro de Soto.
Numerous partnerships at the highest possible university level
Sciences Po has developed over twenty partnerships with universities in the Middle East-Mediterranean zone. These include the American University of Beirut, the Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut, the University of Cairo, the American University of Cairo, the University of Damascus, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, al Quds University and the University of Tel Aviv.
Such partnerships allow Sciences Po to send and host exchange students. A Sciences Po student is currently on exchange at al Quds University and 54 Sciences Po students are undertaking study or an internship in the Middle East.
These partnerships also encourage the mobility of professors: thus Astrid von Busekist, Professor of Political Science at Sciences Po, is currently on a two-year posting to the University of Tel Aviv, thanks to the support of the Ministry of National Education. From September 2010 to January 2011, Stéphane Lacroix was a visiting researcher at the Cairo Centre for Juridical Studies and Documentation in Egypt (CEDEJ).
These exchanges will only intensify. Sciences Po is now part of the Erasmus Mundus Consortia that have just been selected for the Israel and Palestine programme. Sciences Po is the only university to be part of both consortia.
The Israel consortium includes 4 Israeli universities: Ben Gourion University, the University of Haifa, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya.
The Palestine consortium includes 6 Palestinian universities : the Arab American University – Jenin, Birzeit University, Hebron University, al Azhar University, An Najah National University and al Quds University.
This programme allows students, doctoral candidates and professors from these partner universities to apply for travel scholarships.
Sciences Po is also part of the consortium of French Universities supporting the Law Faculty of Birzeit University.
The Law School at Sciences Po is teaming up with France's leading independent law firm to found the Gide Loyrette Nouel Chair.
Five law professors for the Gide Loyrette Nouel Chair
The Chair for visiting law professors has been set up with the support of Gide Loyrette Nouel, a close partner of the Sciences Po Law School, and will welcome five law professors from universities around the world:
• Richard Gold, professor at McGill University,
• Katja Langenbucher, professor at the Goethe Universität,
• Martijn W. Hesselink, professor at the University of Amsterdam,
• Calixto Salomao Filho, professor at the University of São Paulo,
• Amr Shalakany, professor at the American University in Cairo.
They join other visiting professors at the Law School: George A. Bermann (Columbia), Nathaniel Berman (Brown), Scott Brewer (Harvard), Benoît Frydman (ULB), Ludovic Hennebel (ULB), David Kennedy (Harvard), Yasuto Komada (Tokyo), Rainer Maria Kiesow (Frankfurt), Lewis A. Kornhauser (NYU), Christopher L. Kutz (Berkeley), and Geoffrey Samuel (Kent).
The visiting professors are selected each year by the Law School Director and the departmental heads of studies: international law, legal history, legal philosophy and theory, intellectual property law, economic law, Islamic law, etc. They come from different continents and represent different legal traditions from around the world. The 16 visiting professors are fully integrated into the Law School's scientific community which also comprises 14 tenured professors, 5 associate professors, around one hundred adjunct professors (lawyers, judges, researchers, etc.) and 11 PhD candidates.
The Sciences Po Law School pursues its international outreach
The policy to invite visiting professors is evidence of the Sciences Po Law School's strong international outlook. Students come from all over the world and are drawn from 32 nationalities. At the School they follow an international programme with much of the teaching in English. They can also take an English Track from the first year of the Master's degree through to the last year of their PhD studies and follow an exchange programme thanks to partnerships that the School has set up with top-tier foreign universities.
"We are delighted to contribute to the development of the Sciences Po Law School and to support its international ambitions. Through the visiting professors who are invited by the Chair - all eminent specialists in their respective fields - students will discover different legal systems. This will help to prepare them for the time when they come to practise in an increasingly globalised world and its markets. It is a major advantage for these young graduates" stresses Christophe Eck, Managing Partner at Gide Loyrette Nouel.
The foundation of the Chair forms part of a long-standing partnership between Gide Loyrette Nouel and Sciences Po which also includes the Firm's sponsorship, now in its third year, of an annual scholarship worth EUR 12,000. This latest initiative is a sign of the Firm's commitment to training high-flying lawyers.
The Sciences Po Law School
The Sciences Po Law School welcomes students with a bachelor's degree from a wide variety of academic backgrounds. It offers internationally-focused programmes and research facilities. Sciences Po graduates are ideally equipped to enter the legal profession and many go on to join leading law firms.
The Sciences Po Law School - facts & figures
• 354 students in 2010
• 32 nationalities
• 2 Masters programmes, 8 tracks,1 PhD programme
• 14 tenured professors, 5 associate professors, 16 visiting professors, and over 100 adjunct professors
• 14 foreign law school partners
• 20% of candidates passing the examination of the École Nationale de la Magistrature (French National School for Magistrates) in 2009 were Sciences Po Law School graduates
• 40% of Law School graduates become lawyers
• 1 English track from the first year of the Master's programme to the last year of PhD studies
• exchanges with Berkeley School of Law, Columbia Law School, Cornell Law School, University of Frankfurt, University of Keio, University of Kyoto, McGill University Faculty of Law, Northwestern University, Faculty of Law at the University of Sao Paolo, University of Turin
• The Economic Globalisation Law track welcomes students from 7 American law school partners (Columbia Law School, Duke University, Cornell University, Georgetown University, Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia)
About Gide Loyrette Nouel
Gide Loyrette Nouel is a premier international law firm and the first to have originated in France. Founded in Paris in 1920, the Firm now operates from 19 offices in 15 countries. It has 650 lawyers, including 103 partners, drawn from 50 different nationalities. Gide Loyrette Nouel offers some of the most respected specialists in each of the various sectors of national and international finance and business law. For further information, please visit our website: www.gide.com.
Sciences Po Press Contact:
Cyril Delhay, Communications Director
Tel. 01 45 49 72 98 - cyril.delhay@sciences-po.fr
Gide Loyrette Nouel Press Contact:
Béatrice Vojvodic - Communications & Marketing
Tel. +33 (0)1 40 75 98 81 - vojvodic@gide.com
Maria Souvorov - M: Communications
Tel. +44 20 7920 2327 - souvorov@mcomgroup.com
After two important grants allocated to Professors Bruno Latour and Jean-Marc Robin by the European Research Council (ERC) at the end of 2010, Sciences Po’s scientific community has once again been honoured by a major international scientific authority.
Out of 52 projects selected by an international jury appointed by the National Research Agency to fund high-level scientific “equipment of excellence” (“Equipex”) projects, Sciences Po’s proposal came equal first, even though only 5 projects were chosen in the social and human sciences (SHS) field.
Launched on the initiative of research teams at Sciences Po, led by Laurent Lesnard, Director of the Centre for Socio-political Data (CDSP), developed with the support of Amélie Antoine-Audo and Sciences Po’s European Office for Research (MER) and supported by the PRES Sorbonne Paris Cité, this project will benefit from the most important financial allocation awarded to a SHS project: 10.4 million euros over 10 years.
Sciences Po’s Equipex project – code named “DIME-SHS” – centres on the collection, processing and analysis of data in the social sciences. It aims to provide the social and human sciences in France with the means to take a major qualitative leap forward in investigation methods. Its originality lies in its use of the Internet and, more generally, information and communications technology (largely thanks to Sciences Po’s medialab) to achieve progress in three essential stages of research protocols in SHS: data collection; storage and distribution of qualitative investigations; and tools to analyse the web as a corpus of data in itself. The network, led by Laurent Lesnard, brings together research teams from Sciences Po and the following institutions: the Group of National Schools of Economics and Statistics (GENES), the National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED), Télécom ParisTech, EDF R&D and the Quetelet network.
The success of this technological equipment project in service of the social sciences is a validation of Sciences Po’s scientific policy over the past few years of developing research teams and state-of-the-art tools in the social sciences. The highly demanding and rigorously scientific nature of this project – in terms of both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and processing – has been one of the key elements of its success.
Sciences Po is also included in one of the other 5 SHS projects selected amongst the winners of the “equipment of excellence” category of the Investments for the Future (Investissements d’avenir) program.
First French public university to become member of the pre-eminent U.S. organization that administers the SAT program.
Sciences Po has become the first French public university to be granted membership of the College Board, the prestigious U.S. non-profit organization that connects students to colleges across North America.
Membership of the College Board will enhance Sciences Po’s status in the U.S. as a French international university of excellence, and help it to recruit students more effectively in North America and beyond.
The College Board maintains a comprehensive database of seven million students from 23,000 high schools, which its members can access for their recruiting. It also administers the SAT standardized college entrance test and the Advanced Placement programs that are routinely used by U.S. universities and colleges in their admissions procedures.
Membership will provide Sciences Po with access to the extensive network of high school counselors who play an important role in advising American students on universities that might best fit their academic level and interests.
“We are delighted that the College Board has approved our membership, and proud to become the first French public institution to join,” said Francis Vérillaud, deputy director of Sciences Po and head of the International Affairs Division. “This is an important step forward for us. 40% of our students already come from 130 countries.”
College Board President Gaston Caperton said he was proud to welcome Sciences Po to the organization. “The College Board and Sciences Po share similar values – we both strive for excellence and opportunity in education – and we look forward to a collaborative relationship that will benefit the diverse student populations that we serve.”
The College Board, which was founded in 1900 has about 5,900 members, the overwhelming majority of whom are based in the United States. The only other French member is the Ecole Parsons in Paris, a private school that grew out of the Parsons New School for Design in New York.
For further information, contact:
Cyril Delhay, Communications Director, Sciences Po
cyril.delhay@sciences-po.fr
+33 1 45 49 77 94
Peter Gumbel, Director of the Center for the Americas at Sciences Po
peter.gumbel@sciences-po.fr
+33 1 45 49 83 12
General David H. Petraeus addressed a gathering of government officials, international relations specialists and students in the historic Emile Boutmy Amphitheatre at Sciences Po this morning.
He stressed the importance of the NATO alliance and the ability of a coalition of countries to surmount difficulties and obstacles that no country could face alone. In response to a question from an audience member, he also emphasised the increasing internationalisation of the Afghan mission that he has presided over, with the chain of command passing from direct US control to the NATO ISAF structure
He highlighted the key contribution of French military theorists such as Joseph Gallieni and notably David Galula to the development of counterinsurgency theory as practiced today. He also praised the role of the French forces in Afghanistan, and in particular their role in training Afghan forces and leading development projects to improve the lives of Afghan people noting that “wherever they are stationed, they are living up to the French military’s long tradition of courage and creativity.”
The General gave an overview of the ISAF strategy since he took command. He stressed the importance of “getting the inputs right” – building the organisations, structures and human capital required to achieve the mission’s core objective: to ensure that Afghanistan will never again be a sanctuary for al-Qa’ida and other transnational extremists as it was prior to 2001;
He described the “Anaconda” strategy, which seeks to squeeze the life out of insurgency movements and prevent their regeneration by destroying their safe havens, cash flows and sources of recruitment. He discussed his philosophy that in order to win the war of ideas, it is also vital to promote inclusiveness by helping the Afghan authorities to achieve governance that is seen as legitimate in the eyes of the people, particular by ensuring that exclusive criminal patronage networks are not privileged.
Following the General’s address, audience members, including a number of Sciences Po students, had the opportunity to ask a variety of challenging and thought-provoking questions about the feasibility of the projected handover to Afghan forces in 2014, aid distribution, corruption issues, and the role of other countries in the region. General Petraeus answered each question at length, emphasising the complexity and difficulty of the situation in Afghanistan but maintaining that a great deal of progress has been made, for instance through the establishment of a “Transparency” task force, the funding of small-scale rural aid projects and ISAF attempts to promote local industry – using the example of the decision to train local Afghan manufacturers to produce regulation boots for Afghan troops rather than importing them.
Press Contact: Cyril Delhay, Director of Communications cyril.delhay@sciences-po.fr / Tel :01 45 49 50 79
Sciences Po
27 rue Saint-Guillaume
75337 Paris Cedex 07
Tel. : 01 45 49 50 50
Fax. : 01 42 22 31 26
