Parents Night
It has already become a beloved Schiller Madrid tradition to host a Parents Night, and 2019 was no different.
We know choosing a university is a defining moment in someone’s life, and the ones that are normally more involved, aside from the student, are his or her parents. They are the unsung heroes, working behind the scenes, checking every single detail of the institution that will prepare their child for their future career. To honor that effort and welcome an opportunity for them to network, we created this parents night where, as an institution, we get to share the latest updates about academics, events, results and the future of SIU.
During the event, parents from all over the world had the opportunity to join and talk to our professors and staff, getting to know the ones that are shaping the future of this generation. This was also a great opportunity to talk about the students academic development and their future career outside of the walls of our university.
We hope everyone enjoyed this gathering, as well as reassured their trust in our institution, to continue to develop the international leaders of tomorrow.
Welcome to Moldova
Here at Schiller we didn’t just throw the word International in our name as a publicity stunt, it is a part of our DNA. This is why our Student Council creates trips for the students to enjoy and learn from. This time around our students had the opportunity to visit Moldova, a country greatly under appreciated by the tourism community.
After the Moldovan Ambassador came to our university and everyone got to enjoy Moldovan food and wine, our student body knew they had to discover more about this country. Having a Moldovan in our midst (hello Catalina!) it was the perfect time to organize a visit and discover the country.
And as they say over here in Spain “lo bueno, si breve, dos veces bueno.” So instead of booking a big trip, the students prepared a quick discovery tour of the country. Once our students arrived they were able to see how the culture and life was distant from what you might have initially thought. The prices are affordable, people are warm and have a very high level of English. Since discovering the gastronomy and the winery of the country was a must, that was the first stop after the flight, and no one was disappointed!
During the trip students had the opportunity to visit some of the most iconic locations, such us the Parliament, where our SIU family had the great opportunity to meet with a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a quick guide on Moldova’s foreign policy.
A big thank you to those organizing this adventure. Everyone on the trip had the opportunity to discover a country many have yet to know about.
Entrepreneurship Seminar
Ideas move the world, or at least that is what they say. But how can ideas move the world if they are not put into action? This is precisely what our SIU Alumni came to show us, how an idea through action can become an entrepreneurship project.
Led by Jose Antonio Sarrado, PH D in Law, expert in International banking, and SIU Alumni Iñigo Gastón, Daniel Lorente, Álvaro Lozano and Juan Bartolozzi, the chat inspired us to put our different dreams into action.
To give you an idea of the event, Juan Bartolozzi spoke about his Cybersecurity company, giving us examples of how important it is to invest in our internet security. Daniel Lorente shared about his Events company and how you need to know the legal framework in order to create your company. Iñigo, while still developing his idea, wanted to emphasize how important timing is in business, and finally, Alvaro Lozano spoke about his Catering company and how an innovative idea or the right strategy can lead to starting a great business. Also, we had the opportunity to taste some of his work, take a look at the pictures below!
As always big thank you to our Student and Career Services Department for organizing this amazing event, as we all grew from this experience. Understanding that a business is not only something you can be hired for, but also create.
From the Office of the President and Provost
The Schiller International University learning community shares the world’s concerns related to the ongoing impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). As the events from these unprecedented times continue to evolve, we want to assure our students, faculty, staff, alumni and other international community stakeholders that we continue to monitor this situation. Based upon campus-specific governmental directives in France, Germany, Spain and the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC), we are continuously putting processes in place to ensure our learning communities are safe and that our students continue to academically succeed in their programs of study.
Thus far, our response strategies have included quick, well-deliberated and communicated actions, continued instruction that is compliant with accreditation and academic partnerships, cultural contextual components such as international travel requirements, and adopted plans for prevention based upon recommendations from CDC. If any members of our university community have questions, concerns, or need encouragement, please contact one of our Campus Directors. We are committed to continuing the teaching and learning process that includes delivery of high quality academic programs to new and existing students. Our goal is to ensure student progression that promotes on-time graduation.
Campus Directors can be emailed directly at:
- Heidelberg Mrs. Tanja Ward – Tanja.ward@schiller.edu
- Madrid Mrs. Isabel Campbell – icampbell@schiller.edu
- Paris Dr. James Brown – jbrown@schiller.edu
- Tampa Bay/Online Ms. Jeanette Espinal – jeanette.espinal@schiller.edu
Thank you for your support through these challenging times.
Dr. Manuel Alonso
President
Dr. Craig McClellan
Provost
Africa Visits SIU Madrid
When we think about higher education we normally think of big classrooms, heavy books and hours and hours of studying. While this is certainly the case most weeks, there is only so much you can learn from reading a book. At the end of day those are simply ideas jotted down on a piece of paper therefore, there must be another way to get that information.
At Schiller we know human interactions are the best way to learn, and while we can learn from everyone around us, there are certain people that deliver a far greater understanding than the average man or woman. Those are the people we look for and invite to speak to our students.
This time one of our Professors, Jose Pinto, invited the former Minister of Tourism and Culture, Guillermina Mekuy to speak at our event, Africa Visits SIU. Ms. Mekuy is a writer, Politian and businesswoman passionate about education and especially empowering women to help them overcome the current struggles of the XXI century.
During the event, Ms. Mekuy shared her experience as a young writer aged only 17 years old. She discussed her studies in Madrid which helped her start her career in politics and the opportunities and challenges which she came across.
She inspired our students to never let their young age hinder their career by emphasizing that we should never use young age as an excuse for our lack of determination. If she could do it so can every young man and woman with the right mindset, skills and opportunity.
Following the talk, we had the pleasure of enjoying several different recipes from all over Africa. As SIU Madrid students understood, food plays a big role in African culture, and everyone certainly agreed by welcome these delicacies and enjoying a meal with the SIU family.
Schiller Study Day on the Theme of Political Uncertainty
The Paris Campus of Schiller International University is organizing a Study Day on Wednesday, May 6th on the theme of political uncertainty.
The theme of political uncertainty is more than merely topical. If politics is the unexpected happening all the time as Hannah Arendt said, then it may be further said that the past fifty years of this university’s existence has accompanied the normalcy of ongoing disruption. Today’s uncertainty forces us to ask questions anew and even aspire to achieve a degree of lucidity known by past generations.
To pursue research on this question of political uncertainty, several angles of interrogation may be explored. First, having posed the existence of uncertainty, it may be judicious to question this very premise. That is to say, what are the conditions to determine what constitutes political uncertainty? Second, what are the lessons that can be drawn from history and past experiences of contexts which can be considered to have been described in terms of political uncertainty? Third, how may this problematic be developed according to different disciplines that study political phenomenon – history, political science, economics, sociology, etc.? Other lines of questioning may also be pursued with the hope that they join the aforementioned in a fruitful exchange.
We will have the special pleasure of hosting as invited speaker Mr. Edward Cross, economist, former MP (MDC) of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, and commentator on the economies and politics of southern Africa and Zimbabwe.
Each paper to be read will be allotted 30 minutes of presentation followed by Q & A sessions. Papers are ideally to be at least 2500 words.
Special consideration is given to graduate students.
Contributors may send a proposal of no more than 300 words to the following email address: paris@schiller.edu
Deadline for proposals/ call for papers: Friday, April 17th.
Only a select number of papers will be read due to limited time and space.
Location : Maison internationale d’Accueil Saint François d’Assise, 220 rue de la Convention, Paris 75015
Program (provisional) :
8h00 – 9h30 welcome café/tea/croissants
9h30 -12h00 workshops/presentations in conference room and amphitheater
12h00 – 13h00 lunch
13h00 – 15h30 workshops/presentations in conference room and amphitheater
15h30 – 17h00 closing session and remarks
For questions, feel free to contact the Director and Dean of the campus, Dr. James Brown, at jbrown@schiller.edu.
The World of Business Finance
When learning business, it is important the students understand it is not only about the books and presentations, but also how the day to day world of business works. To truly understand this, you need to get out there and discover it and it’s precisely what they did with Professor Alexandra Aaron!
Prof. Aaron took the students to visit the stock exchange, a place that historically used to be the busiest place for finance. This is to understand how the finance world is always changing, and it doesn’t stay stationary for long. Now with the technological advancements there is no need for a physical place to exchange stocks, but rather it can be done everywhere: office, home, even on the go…
Nevertheless, every city still needs a business hub, an area where companies can come together and know this is the place business happens. That area is shifting here in Madrid from Azca to Chamartin, where the 4 towers are, so a visit was mandatory. No better way to learn about business than outside the walls of the classroom.
Current Events
A Pause in Time
We start off the 2020 year with an array of courses emblematic of our diploma programs. It is worthwhile to note, however, that we are not so much commencing a new January term as continuing along with our monthly rotation of courses. At Schiller, courses last one month, meaning that students take but one course per month. This also means that their year is not scheduled in terms of Fall and Winter semesters. Rather, they pursue their studies scheduling, in general, a minimum of ten courses per year with a pause at any given point during the 12-month calendar year.
Continue reading “Current Events”