Last 3 July saw the start at Pompeu Fabra University of the sixth edition of the Barcelona International Summer School (BISS), a reference summer programme to enrich the curriculum of students from UPF and other universities, both Spanish and  international, through a wide variety of face-to-face courses. It will run until 28 July.

Josep Ibáñez: “The BISS provides an extraordinarily enriching experience for all who participate, both students and teachers”

Compared to last year, enrolments have risen by 42.8% to a total of 251 students from 45 universities of 16 countries around the world. As has happened in most previous editions of the BISS, the biggest group of participants comes from the US, with 115 students. Other countries with a notable number of students are the United Kingdom (25), Italy (16), Switzerland (13) and Egypt (12).

According to Josep Ibáñez, professor of International Relations at the UPF Department of Law and academic director of the BISS, this initiative “provides an extraordinarily enriching experience for all those who participate, both students and teachers. It is something unique that students take back to their respective countries, this year more than fifteen, a particularly significant geographical diversity”.

A wide range of courses conceived as an invitation to think and learn

The BISS, one of UPF’s cross-disciplinary programmes, consists of eighteen different courses (three of which have been split into two groups), in addition to two groups of Spanish. They are taught by professors of the University’s various departments and are related to the following fields: applied thinking and skills, art and culture, economy and innovation, global cities, health and society, justice and rights, media and visual arts, methods and data, mind, life and environment, and social analysis and dialogue.

The courses, including subjects designed as an invitation to think and learn beyond the traditional disciplines, seek to approach the study topics from theoretical, methodological and practical perspectives. They last four, two or one week(s) (combinations are possible), are subject to credit recognition (ECTS), and will be taught in English, Spanish or Catalan, always in an international class atmosphere.

The ones in greatest demand, and of which a second group has been set up, are Barcelona on Stage: Documentary Workshop, a four-week practical course on documentary audiovisual production taught by Ricardo Íscar; the Brexit, EU and Global World: Current Challenges in European Politics and Society course on international relations, taught by professors Andrea Noferini and Francisco J. Granados, and Culture and Business: Spain's Top Brands, in which the lecturer Blanca Fullana reviews local marketing and business trends.

Other courses that have no vacancies are Art and the Law: How Aesthetic Concepts Shape Legal Disputes about Arts (Antoni Rubí), Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (Jeaninne Horowitz), and Venus on the Screen (Mónika Jiménez).

A programme of social activities giving added value

As a novelty of this sixth edition, the BISS offers participants a programme of activities to complement the teaching, which has helped to add value to the summer school.

It therefore involves members of the UPF community to lead various social activities, with the participation of teachers, doctoral students, members of the administration and service staff and the ESN student association.

For Josep Ibáñez, “the fact that the programme can combine academic standards with the possibility of enjoying Barcelona at a time of the year when there are no classes is fantastic”.

This point of view is shared by Naomi McDonough, a student of Newcastle University, who participated in the one-week course The Artistic Brain: Biology and Computation behind Music: “I really liked the course, the teachers were very interactive and everyone was very friendly. I learned a lot and would definitely recommend it. The social activities have really helped me to meet people and learn more about Barcelona. I would live to study here again in the future!”.