The Barcelona International Summer School returns to face-to-face modality this summer
Contra el genocidi i contra la violació dels drets humans, a Gaza i arreu del món
Peace comes when you talk to the person you most hate. And that’s where the courage of a leader comes.
Desmond Tutu (1931-2021), first recipient of an honorary doctorate from UPF
These words, spoken by Desmond Tutu, the first person ever to be awarded an honorary doctorate by UPF, are more applicable today than ever. The UPF condemns, and will always condemn, the use of violence to settle disputes. At UPF, we advocate approaching political or territorial conflicts based on dialogue and respect for all peoples and minorities.
As a university, we also want to show our support to the academic community in countries at war. Universities and scientific institutions are more necessary than ever in these regions. Access to education and the promotion of critical thinking, in the context of strong independent institutions, are the way to ensure the informed debate and reflection that can open the door to new avenues for finding solutions.
At UPF, we are aware of the university community’s concern for the human rights violations we are seeing in the conflicts around us. That is why on this website you will find information about campaigns and actions related to current conflicts, as well as opinion pieces and institutional statements. We also offer a dedicated e-mail address – [email protected] – to contact the university and let us know about your interests and concerns.
The Barcelona International Summer School returns to face-to-face modality this summer
The return to the classroom will allow recovering the main principles of the programme: to strengthen the practical approach and to give prominence to Barcelona as the backdrop to the training. This year’s novelties include an extension of the catalogue of subjects with the introduction of audiovisual narrative.
The Barcelona International Summer School (BISS) will resume its face-to-face activities in its fifth edition to be held in the summer of 2022. It will see the return of international students to the classrooms and the practical aspect of the different modules of the programme.
In addition, this year new courses have been added to the BISS portfolio, which now offers a total of 26 face-to-face courses. The usual fields of knowledge, such as public health, the humanities, global justice, gender and artificial intelligence, will be joined by a strong commitment to audiovisual narratives.
The usual fields of knowledge, such as public health, the humanities, global justice, gender and artificial intelligence, will be joined by a strong commitment to audiovisual narratives.
Lucia Conte, UPF’s International Programmes director, explains that this return “allows the programme to regain its spirit and nature”. This will bring the focus back to the city of Barcelona as the backdrop to the training, which has been the intention since the beginning. “During the pandemic we continued to offer courses online”, she explains, “but now we will regain the focus on the city with which we have always sought to endow the BISS, through field trips, visits to museums, institutions, laboratories…”.
UPF students can register during the online registration modification period between 9 and 10 March and between 15 April and 16 June. UPF students will be able to enrol in BISS courses as part of the academic offer of free-elective cross-disciplinary training (FTLE) credits. For non-UPF students, the registration period is open until 15 June.
An internationalization-oriented programme
Conte defines the BISS as “one of UPF’s most strategic internationalization programmes”. “Both from the outside, because students from all over the world participate, and from the inside, because it allows us to bring the world to our campus, and make it easier for our students to live an international experience from here”, she adds. Previous editions of the BISS have received students from more than twenty countries around the world.
Previous editions of the BISS have received students from more than twenty countries around the world.
The courses give entitlement to recognized credits (ECTS) and will be taught in English, Spanish or Catalan. Structured into modules of different duration and intensity, they can be combined flexibly over periods of between one and four weeks. As Conte explains, this makes it easier to “make the curriculum of students more flexible, who will be able to take advantage of the summer to gain other knowledge”.
The BISS provides advanced training based on the University’s academic strengths. The courses involve renowned UPF faculty members who will share their current research with the participating students. The courses have been designed as an invitation to think and learn beyond the traditional disciplines, while approaching study topics from theoretical, methodological and practical perspectives.
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Contact
Catalan government
Catalan development cooperation aims to help prevent and respond to emergency situations. This page explains how you can collaborate on the provision of foreign aid both in general and to specific regions.
European Commission
Through cooperation and assistance programmes, the European Commission offers humanitarian aid and coordinates efforts with other international actors to promote peace and stability in war-torn regions.
Oxfam Intermón
Oxfam Intermón works in 90 countries. They have launched a fundraising campaign, which is more necessary than ever, given the magnitude of today’s wars. The NGO is also sponsoring a campaign to collect signatures to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is a medical-humanitarian action organization that provides assistance in 70 countries to people threatened by armed conflicts, violence, epidemics or neglected diseases, natural disasters and exclusion from medical care. They have also promoted a campaign to collect signatures to ask for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Red Cross
The Red Cross also provides emergency humanitarian aid in regions in crisis.
Legal Clinic
The UPF Legal Clinic regularly holds talks and roundtables on the protection of human rights in crisis regions.
Libraries Without Borders
The Libraries Without Borders programme, sponsored by the Catalan Development Cooperation Agency (ACCD), offers Catalan public library patrons knowledge and insight into situations of human rights violations and provides resources to take action.
Council for At-Risk Academics
The Council for At-Risk Academics, in partnership with universities and higher education institutions, provides urgently-needed help to academics in immediate danger, those forced into exile, and many who choose to work on in their home countries despite serious risks.