Fourth Session of the International Summer School Successfully Comes to an End

NEW DELHI: With around 40 students representing 20 different nationalities and some of the world’s leading universities, the International Summer School, New Delhi (ISS, www.issnewdelhi.in) has successfully concluded its fourth session.

The ISS is an intensive, six-week higher educational programme that brings together students from all over the world to study and interact with one another over the course of a summer in New Delhi. The programme is convened annually under the banner of the Government of India’s Incredible !ndia campaign, and as an initiative backed by the Centre for Escalation of Peace (CEP).

(ISS 2016 student in a classroom lecture at JNU Convention Centre)

The aim of the ISS is to promote international goodwill and cross-cultural dialogue amongst promising young individuals, with the hope of developing their potential as future leaders in government, business and civil society. With India as a study model, the programme offers undergraduate course modules and experiences that introduce students to a range of issues and debates shaping contemporary developing societies world over.

(ISS 2016 students at the India Gate during their sight seeing tour of Delhi)

Since its inception, students from over 30 countries have taken part in this innovative programme, studying alongside peers from India as well. The student body is representative of some of the most prestigious global institutions, including the University of California, University of Tokyo, University of Oxford, National University of Singapore, Royal University of Bhutan, and the University of Adelaide.

The ISS is also the beneficiary of crucial support from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in the form of country or region-specific scholarships, including ten India-ASEAN Goodwill Scholarships. Additionally, the India-Bhutan Foundation and the High Commission of India in Dhaka have extended their kind support in order to establish scholarships for two students each from Bhutan and Bangladesh, respectively.

(ISS 2016 students at the JNU Convention Centre)

The 2016 session, which started on 26 June, took place with the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Convention Centre as its academic venue.

The academic programme allowed students to undertake rigorous studies in India’s vast and complex history, politics, sociology, and her economy, each course taught by renowned professors from leading educational establishments. Students were also given the time and opportunity to extensively experience and discover Delhi’s sites and vast historical attractions.

Moving beyond mere academics into the field of participation in civil society, in collaboration with NGOs Ritinjali and Swaraj, the students embarked on a two-week fieldwork and volunteering programme held in Rajasthan. During this time, they engaged with a variety of local social welfare causes, including education and the empowerment of women, allowing them to make a veritable change to the lives of others.

(ISS 2016 students volunteering as teachers at a Government school in Jhalawar Rajasthan as part of their two-week fieldwork for ISS)

Students were also able to enrich their academic experience by meeting a number of prominent Indians who are the forefront of Indian political, social and cultural life. Over the course of the programme, special interactions were arranged with Justice Madan B. Lokur of the Supreme Court; Ambassador Preeti Saran, Secretary (East) in the MEA; Mr. Nakul Anand, Executive Director of ITC Ltd; Ambassador Jayant Prasad of IDSA; Mr. Vikas Swarup, the Official Spokesperson of the MEA; prominent journalist, Ms. Suhasini Haidar; Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs; and eminent historian, Mr. Sohail Hashmi, among a few others.

To mark the end of the programme, a High Tea was hosted by Amjad Ali Khan, the programme’s Executive Director, where H.E. Maj. Gen. Vestop Namgyel, Ambassador of Bhutan and H.E. Ma. Teresita C. Daza, Ambassador of the Philippines were Guests of Honour. Other guests included delegates of various Embassies and High Commissions, especially from those countries being represented at ISS 2016. Eminent senior international journalist, Dr. Waiel Awwad was Keynote Speaker.