Summer Schools
UPS is a main organiser of summer schools, most of them also hosted by the University.
The Euro-Atlantic Summer School, in the co-organisation of the Ministry of Defence and the Hungarian Defence Forces, and with the support of NATO, was organised for the 17th time in 2016. The idea of creating a summer school dealing with security and defence policy was closely related to Hungary’s adhesion to NATO.
In recent years the training centre of the Hungarian Defence Forces at Szolnok served as the venue of the event, offering special programmes, such as visits to a helicopter base.
Global Minority Rights Summer School
The Global Minority Rights Summer School was organised by NUPS in 2013 for the first time and has been gaining popularity since then. The summer school is co-organised each year with the British Middlesex University and the Hungarian Tom Lantos Institute. Traditionally NUPS hosts the one-week-long event in Budapest. In 2016, the venue was the newly rebuilt Ludovika Campus and the newly built Ludovika Residence Hall. The summer school hosts about 30 participants from all over the world who could share experiences and discuss current research projects, relevant issues related to minorities with leading experts and practitioners in the field of international human rights law, political science, international relations, economics, and journalism. They also have the chance to take part in interactive and informative cultural events.
The annual one-week long Visegrad Summer School organised by the Faculty of International and European Studies is mainly for university students from the V4 countries who pursue their studies in the field of international relations, political science, European integration, law or related fields preferably at a Master’s level. However, in line with the spirit of the Visegrad cooperation the Summer School discusses not only regional questions but also EU and global issues, which are the hot topics of our world. Also highlighting the importance of cooperation (V4+ format) with other regions, the Summer School is open to a few selected students from other countries and regions. NUPS invites lecturers and experts from the Academia and also from diplomacy, EU and public institutions and leading think-tanks. The aim is to provide a venue for East Central European students and scholars to discuss issues related to European integration from a regional perspective in theory and practice. Furthermore, each day the programme provides opportunity for informal networking with the key young professionals in political, economic decision-making, the private sector, or the Academia.
Summer School in Hydrometry & Hydrogeodesy
The objective of the Summer School is to provide participants hands-on experience in designing and executing field measurement campaigns under various hydrological and hydraulic conditions, as well as to give an insight to state-of-the art analyses, data management and concepts of hydrodynamic modeling. The Summer School takes place at 3 locations, with a centre in Baja, at the Faculty of Water Sciences. After a two-days introductory theoretical training, a 2-times 4 days field measurement practice will take place on the slopes of the beautiful Mecsek-hills in Magyaregregy and near the mighty river Danube in Érsekcsanád. Participants will work in small teams led by experts. Apart from getting to know contemporary technology, techniques and methods, it will be a unique experience to prepare maps, calculate results, write reports and build up a model on the data the student group measured together.
The Ludovika-UPS International Directorate prepared a number of events for the spring semester and the summer period. Unfortunately, the COVID19 pandemic hit Europe right at the beginning of the spring semester, destroying all our plans.
For March 20, we planned a lecture by American visiting professor Aaron Wolf. However, we were unable to hold it due to a health emergency. Unfortunately we had to cancel the events of the Ambassadors’ Fourm at Ludovika, in which H.E. Tibor Bial ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to Hungary would have been our guest. Thanks to modern technology, we had the opportunity later in June to hold the event online in the University own Tv Studio.
During the summer break, we also took part in organizing three summer universities:
Global Minority Summer School
The Tom Lantos Institute (TLI) and the Ludovika-UPS, in cooperation with Minority Rights Group International and Eurac Research would have organized their eighth international summer school on minority rights, which this year would have a special focus on “hate speech”, social media and minorities. The 2020 Global Minority Rights Summer School would explore these and other issues, bringing together policy makers, civil society activists, academics, and other key stakeholders. The five-day interactive summer school would have examined contemporary trends, challenges and case-studies, and also discussed concrete solutions. Two United Nations Special Rapporteurs, on minority issues (Fernand de Varennes) and on freedom of religion or belief (Ahmed Shaheed), would have participated in the summer school as speakers, and would have discussed their mandates and the work they have done since being appointed. Participants would also have been allocated time to make presentations on relevant subjects of interest to them.
V4 Summer School
For the fifth time, the Visegrad Summer School would have been held under the auspices of Ludovika-UPS, primarily for university students from V4 countries. The aim of the summer university is to provide participants with an opportunity to discuss theoretical and practical issues of European integration from a regional perspective. The event, which was planned with the support of the NKE International Office, would have received speakers from universities, the field of diplomacy, the EU, public institutions and research centers. In addition to a number of lectures at the summer university, several simulations on the topic were planned for the participants, who would have visited the Parliament, among other cultural events.
The Ordered Liberty Summer University, planned for Budapest, is a joint collaboration between the American University of Louisville and the National University of Public Administration. Every summer, law professors from the United States and Hungary gather in Budapest to hold courses around the legal concept of “ordered liberty”. The Ordered Liberty Summer University in Budapest strives to help students correctly place the concepts of justice, law and freedom in their own country.
The concept of “ordered liberty” dates back to the work of Aristotle and Cicero, but the most complete formulation was given in his writings by 18th-century Irish statesman Edmund Burke. In the face of the radical decadence of the French Revolution, Burke made it clear that a good society is not created by utopian human constructions, but by three timeless virtues: a judicious consideration of the principles of justice, order, and freedom. We find challenges to this concept in many countries around the world, following the process by which political communities come to terms with new forms of technology and communication.