Titled ‘The Migrant Crisis within the Greek context’, the Summer School 2017 was completed successfully and proved to be an exciting experience for the international group of participants (including students from the University of Sheffield, UK) who joined this year’s course. The Summer School was jointly organised by the University of Sheffield Politics Department and by the University’s International Faculty CITY College and took place between June 30th and July 8th at the main campus of the International Faculty in Thessaloniki.
The course succeeded in making students aware of the migrant crisis and its wider political, economic and social implications while at the same time proved to be a particularly positive and fulfilling experience for both students and lecturers.
The summer school comprised of 4 basic pillars: Academic Knowledge, Practitioner's Insight and Experiential Learning through Coaching Sessions and onsite volunteering, which gave insight on the migration crisis in Greece.
Prof Nicola Philips (Head of Politics Department, University of Sheffield)
Dr Owen Parker (Senior Lecturer, Politics Department, University of Sheffield)
Dr Alexandra Prodromidou (SEERC Research Associate, Lecturer, Business Administration and Economics Department, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield)
Dr Dimitris Tsarouhas (Associate Professor, International Relations Department, Bilkent University)
Dr Pavlos Gkasis (SEERC Research Associate, Lecturer, Business Administration and Economics Department, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield)
Dr Miltiadis Sarigiannidis (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Aristotle University)
The academic part of the curriculum was enriched by a series of practitioner guest speakers who shared with participating students their experience with working daily on the field with migrants. Guest speakers included organizations like the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration, the Norwegian Refugee Council, WaHa and the Arbeiter Samariter Bund, as well as, local and state authorities dealing with the migrant crisis, like the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the Ministry for Migration.
The on-site visits at refugee settlements were very powerful experiences and gave invaluable insights to students.
Participating students reported that the programme exceeded their expectations and left very positive feedback:
• “The Summer School was a great experience and very well organised”
• “(I liked) the up-close and personal experience we had at the refugee camp”
• “The first hand information refugees gave us so valuable. It gave us a different perspective…”
• “Had an amazing time”
• “This was one of the most meaningful experiences I had in a while and it would be amazing if more students would have the chance to experience this”
• “The Summer School was well organised and would definitely recommend it to anyone”
The International Faculty organizes Summer Schools every summer on different timely topics and welcomes students from various countries across the region, including students from the University of Sheffield, UK.