Students the Way of the Future

Erica Rose is Coordinator and Advocacy Secretary for International Students at Stockholm University in Sweden. Erica visited the University of Illinois as part of a delegation from Stockholm University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and Karolinska Institutet for April's INSPIRE Summit. During her trip, she maintained a travel blog. The last entry, which is posted below, includes a discussion about the opportunities at the University of Illinois for studying the European Union through the EUC.

by Erica Rose

This is it, the final chapter in the trip across the pond. There was so much to take in I think it was good to have a break in between blogs (ok-this is more of a novel than a blog) and sort out the highlight of the trip that will benefit both Swedish and international students. Now where to begin, maybe the beginning of the day?

On the second day I was taking the elevator down to breakfast to meet some other delegates from Stockholm University when the president of KTH and the President of KI (Karolinska Institute) came into the elevator. I said hi and introduced myself and we all went to the breakfast area. I thought that would be the last time I would talk to them but I was wrong. As I went to sit down at a table near Stockholm University, the server must have thought that the two people I was talking with were also with me, so he put menus down for them right where I was sitting. Thinking it would be a quiet breakfast, I instead ended up eating breakfast and trying to speak Swedish (which is not easy to do early in the morning) with both presidents. –Which proves that you never know what´s going to happen- 9 months ago I was working in daycare trying to read in Swedish to one and two year olds- to sitting and eating breakfast with two of the presidents from some of the biggest universities in Sweden. Not bad for a Tuesday morning…

After that interesting morning, I went about the day and learned about what Stockholm University and University of Illinois (UofI) are setting up for you regarding jobs on campus, clubs, and studying the EU with an American twist. Again, the possibilities are endless.

For one, looking for a job on campus can be tough, and sometimes not always glorious (selling coffee, cleaning, etc.). But at the UofI, you can not only study but actually work in a field of your study right on campus. (And yes, even students from outside the US can use their study visas to work at these well known companies on campus.) It´s called Research Parks at U of I, where companies such as Yahoo, Autonomic Materials (self healing paint anyone?) and Deere & Company hire students to work or for internships. A real job on campus? now that´s pretty cool. While working for a big company is interesting, the Research Park also helps students with start up companies and has helped over 127 since 2001. (Research Park) To have a university offering real positions on campus gives you a leg up on everyone else when starting in the work force.  And not only that, the Swedish-American Chambers of Commerce is looking to get jobs for Swedish students coming to the USA, and vice versa. Sweden may be a small country, but they have some big friends elsewhere.

Secondly, I know I am always trying to push students to join clubs, but sometimes there may not always be a club out there that you think is for you. At UofI, this is not a problem as there are over 1,100 registered clubs on campus with a budget of $10 million dollars. Price is Right Fan Club, Archery, Board Game, Cooking, or Insomiac clubs? There is a club for someone and everyone.

Lastly, you can even study a couple courses or even the Masters on the EU at the European Union Centre. And yes, this EU Centre is officially certified by the EU Commision. Now you´re probably thinking, I come from the EU, why would I study that abroad? Well if learning about the EU with an American twist, seminars with guest lecturers such as Ambassador of Estonia and EU, UN interpreter, professors from around the world, international movie nights and multiple language courses options doesn´t pull you in, how about the chance to work or intern at an EU office in Washington or a trade office in Brussels? As one of the original 10 EU centres opened in the States, the EU Centre at UofI is opening doors for students that can benefit both students coming to Stockholm and studying abroad.

So in all, what I have learned the INSPIRE Summit at University of Illinois in collaboration with Stockholm University, KTH and KI is that it could really opening up the doors for students from many different disciplines from all over the world. The amount of interdisciplinary courses, shared research programs, job opportunities and internships that will be provided to students because of this increased cooperation between the universities will not only improve students quality of education and access to programs, but increase Stockholm University´s standing and make it a world competitor. This can only be possible if students at all universities involved show a willingness to participate. Students need to get involved in their education process on campus, studying abroad, and even looking at other universities to see if a collboration between the two is possible. Administration can take away the red taped barriers, but it is up to the students to take these opportunities to get involved and make a difference what ever and where ever you are studying.

Students the Way of the Future

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Anna Stenport Discusses INSPIRE

INSPIRE, the Illinois-Sweden Program for Educational and Research Exchange, is a program with the goal of establishing a transnational partnership alliance between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) and three leading research universities in Stockholm, Sweden. INSPIRE is funded in part by European Union Center grants, and EUC-affiliated faculty members are at the forefront of the initiative. One affiliated faculty member and an INSPIRE faculty liaison, Anna Westerståhl Stenport, was interviewed for the April 19 edition of Inside Illinois to discuss INSPIRE. Check out the full article below or by clicking here.

by Mike Helenthal

The odds are good you won’t see an umlaut above the university’s legendary “Block-I” logo anytime soon.

But an Urbana campus summit with the leaders of three prestigious Swedish universities April 25-26 shows just how big a partnership with Sweden is becoming.

“It’s innovative and unique,” said Tim Barnes, director of the year-old Illinois Strategic International Partnerships. “There’s never been anything like this; we are looking to build very broad and deep collaborations, sustained over time, of mutual benefits, and which affect all of the core missions of the partner institutions.”

The summit’s origins go back two years, after officials from Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology approached university officials about investigating a mutually beneficial academic partnership.

An agreement was signed and the consortium held a symposium on the Urbana campus in 2010, and a second at KTH last May in Stockholm, attended by a contingent of more than 40 UI faculty members and academic leaders. The effort also led UI leaders to form the Illinois Strategic International Partnerships and its pilot program, INSPIRE, Illinois-Sweden Program for Educational and Research Exchange.

The upcoming summit will continue facilitating the search for identifiable, cross-disciplinary collaborations, but it also could lay the foundation for an expansion of the INSPIRE partnership to include two of Sweden’s other prestigious universities, Stockholm University and Karolinska Institutet.

Leaders of the two institutions, which already have extensive collaborations with KTH in strategic areas, also will participate in the symposium, as will civic leaders invited from both countries.

“They are basically the CEOs of these universities and it’s very unusual to have them all together in the same place,” Barnes said.

Mirror images

Barnes said adding the institutions to the consortium would broaden its academic reach and round out the partnership, considering Stockholm University features comprehensive liberal arts, natural science, law and education programs, and Karolinska Institutet is a world-class medical research and teaching university.

“We see great opportunities that align with campus priorities,” Barnes said. “We’re all looking at the same science questions and it makes great sense to look at some of these things together.”

In all, the Swedish three-campus footprint is very comparable to the UI structure, with 70,000 students and a broad realm of academic and research activity. 

“The (April) symposium is all about trying to foster those interconnections,” Barnes said, noting that higher-education research partnerships normally form at the personal level – an inherent weakness that makes them difficult to sustain over time. He said that’s why university officials have worked so hard to ensure the Swedish partnership – and others in the future – goes beyond one-to-one contacts and becomes integrated throughout the institution.

“It takes the will and desire of the individual faculty and departments to make those connections really happen,” he said. “Then it’s a matter of corralling them and pulling them all together. By pooling our limited resources we can do much bigger things. It becomes mutually beneficial if you do it right.”

Urbana Chancellor Phyllis M. Wise said partnerships such as the one with Swedish education leaders are tantamount to sustaining the UI’s world-renown reputation.

“These types of partnerships can have an almost exponential effect,” Wise said. “And not only do they lead to new relationships and research that produce new and innovative ideas and partnerships, they create answers.”

Beyond the obvious academic benefits, the defined partnership with Sweden’s top universities presents cost-saving, economy of scale opportunities and a regional presence with a European Union member, Wise said.

“Our future as a top-tier research university depends on maintaining global pre-eminence in an ever-changing competitive environment,” she said. “That can only be achieved by reaching out, discovering new opportunities and then adding our footprints.”

Barnes said the partnership is further enhanced by the fact that Sweden has a high population of English speakers. The country also is ranked among the highest in the world for its investment in research and development (as a percentage of gross domestic product) and the number of citizens who hold doctoral degrees, on a per capita basis.

“We’re looking at the INSPIRE alliance as a kind of gateway to Europe,” he said. “The university hasn’t had a go-to partnership like this that can take advantage of connections within the European Union.”

Teams approach

Collaborations between researchers at the two institutions started forming prior to the first meeting, according to two Urbana professors serving as faculty liaisons and involved with the INSPIRE process since its inception.

In fact, already there are more than two dozen collaborative projects being conducted between UI and Stockholm researchers alone. One of the projects with the most immediate impact is a joint interdisciplinary and co-taught class on the Arctic and climate change. The class is being offered at KTH over the summer.

The course, co-taught by a multidisciplinary team of Illinois and KTH faculty members, will provide UI students from a variety of programs with a well-rounded, multifaceted consideration of climate change and its effects on the Arctic, culminating with an up-front view through fieldwork in the Arctic circle, at a facility in the Svalbard archipelago.

Another new project has teamed researchers of the Illinois Rail Transportation and Engineering Center with the KTH Railway Group. The partnership led to a workshop last November and eventually could aid in the development of a federally proposed high-speed rail system in Illinois.

“A core feature of the two previous strategic research symposia was the comprehensive engagement across multiple colleges, schools and faculties, including engineering, natural and social sciences, arts and the humanities,” said Anna Westerståhl Stenport, a professor of Germanic languages and literatures and the director of the UI’s Scandinavian Program, who is currently on sabbatical at Stanford University.

She said those engagement possibilities will continue to be actively pursued at the April summit.

“Sweden and the U.S. both have a lot to gain from close collaboration in higher education,” she said. “INSPIRE is another way for faculty and students to gain access to more resources and help provide additional opportunities for global impact and significance. We know our Swedish partners see the partnership as a reciprocal opportunity to collaborate with a top U.S. research institution.”

Harry Dankowicz, a Cannon Faculty Scholar in mechanical science and engineering, a professor in the UI’s Information Trust Institute and a graduate of KTH, said he could see from the first meeting between the institutions that great things would arise from it.

“It became clear from the initial handshake that there was a natural match here,” he said. “Although one might have been content with a narrowly defined exchange agreement, that wasn’t the final destination of this partnership.”

One particularly innovative feature of the partnership, he said, is the integration of the core missions of the four universities: education, research, public engagement and economic development.

“By attending to the interest of all our stakeholders, namely students, faculty and the commercial and civic societies of the state of Illinois and Sweden, we aim to build an alliance that can provide global leadership in higher education, research collaboration and civic engagement,” Dankowicz said. “The upcoming April summit is an opportunity to bring these strategic components of the partnership into focus.”

Stenport said she sees a positive trajectory in the partnership as it gains momentum.

“The partnership is already adding value on campus,” she said. “Next steps will be to implement it as a valuable alliance across many different disciplinary areas. There is the potential to have a critical impact on the issues facing both countries, as well as the entire world.”

Anna Stenport Discusses INSPIRE

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EUC-affiliated graduate student wins prestigious German Chancellor Fellowship for Prospective Leaders

European Union Center affiliated graduate student Reneé Gordon Holley recently won the prestigious German Chancellor Fellowship for Future Leaders. Holley, a Ph.D. candidate in musicology, is a European Union studies graduate minor, has received four FLAS fellowships from the EUC, and has worked frequently as a graduate assistant at the EU Center. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate College recently published an article about Holley's success in winning the fellowship. Check out the article below or by clicking here.
Reneé Gordon Holley, Illinois Ph.D. candidate in Musicology, has received the prestigious German Chancellor Fellowship for Future Leaders. No more than ten awards are given to fellows in the United States annually.

Awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the fellowship provides an opportunity to young leaders from a broad range of professional and academic backgrounds who have completed at least a bachelor’s degree, have gained work experience and have shown outstanding leadership potential in their careers. The Foundation aims to foster future leaders who are able to act as goodwill ambassadors between Germany and their respective home countries by providing one year of support for a project of merit.

Holley’s project centers on the European Union’s (EU) Cultural Program initiative. The EU sponsors musical events with the goal of increasing a sense of shared identity among the EU member states. Holley will examine if these EU programs have the intended impact on participating arts and audience members. “I want to see if the cultural events that the EU funds actually achieve the goals of the EU cultural programs [which include] the creation of transnational identity and a sense of belongingness.”

The fellowship will allow Holley to conduct research in Germany on musical performances supported by the European Union’s (EU) Cultural Program initiative. She will be centered in Bonn, where she will have access to a variety of German cultural organizations that are key to her project, including the European Choral Association and Germany’s Cultural Contact Point, the organization that supports those interested in applying for EU cultural funds.

Holley’s project is the result of the confluence of several key experiences. Her earlier studies in German and music, and her membership in several choirs led her to a semester of undergraduate study abroad in Salzburg, Austria, and one year of coursework in musicology in Freiburg, Germany via a Fulbright Scholarship. She has also won several shorter-term fellowships which allowed her to study in Germany and continue to improve her German language skills and knowledge of German culture and institutions.

For the past year Holley has worked as a graduate assistant at the European Union Center at the University of Illinois, which has led to a deepened interest in the EU, and a minor in EU studies as part of her doctoral coursework. When it came to her dissertation topic, it seemed a natural step for her to combine her love of musical performance and her interest in musicology with EU funded musical activities.

When asked what advice she might have for graduate students applying for fellowships, Holley recommends that they “do their homework” and tailor their proposal for the specific funding institution, noting that it took her two tries to develop a winning proposal. Her previous application for another fellowship did not yield results, so she talked with a couple of friends who were having more success to find out what they had done differently. She also met with Dr. Ken Vickery, director of External Fellowships in the Graduate College, who gave her advice on how to improve her proposal, and she conducted mock interviews with Dr. Rebecca Bryant, director of Career Services Office in the Graduate College, in preparation for her interview in Washington, D.C.

With the stress of the application process behind her, Holley is looking forward to her year abroad, and to one event in particular: “I am so excited that I will get to meet and have dinner with Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor!”

For more information about the German Chancellor Fellowship for Future Leaders, see the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.  Fellowship and career services resources for graduate students are available on the Graduate College website.



Photo by Shannon Leigh Anderson Photography

EUC-affiliated graduate student wins prestigious German Chancellor Fellowship for Prospective Leaders

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The European Union’s Involvement at the United Nations 56th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

by Alexandra Lively

Ambassadors, Ministers, and Heads of Government have gathered at the United Nations 56^th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN Headquarters in New York to discuss this year’s priority theme: The empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have sent delegates to the Session that lasts from February 27 – March 9, 2012, to issue statements, have general discussion, and join interactive events.

Opening Session of the United Nations 56^th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

Being so close, yet feeling so far away, it seems as though the Ambassadors, Ministers, and Heads of Government are somehow inaccessible. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

During the opening ceremony, the demands for systematic and comprehensive strategies, strong actions and accountability were consistently reiterated as Rural Women are key in providing change. Full use of treaties and rules must be utilized in order to protect all of their Human Rights. Rural Women are vital to economic prosperity, sustainability, development, agriculture, among other significant global impacts. For this reason, Rural Women will be a focus at the Rio +20 Conference in June. Rural Women need equal access, participatory roles in national and local government, and protection of their human rights. When women are engaged and competitive, they can lobby for their needs and rights to be heard and respected. This is exactly what the Conference offered them: a voice and a seat at the table.

As part of my Graduate research I have been primarily attending panel events dealing with polity and international declarations in order to gain information on how human trafficking and gender equality affects the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). 

The first panel given by Turkey, “Stop Violence against Women by Implementing International Standards,” addressed The Istanbul Convention and how hard they have been working on “The Draft Law on the Protection of Women and the Family Members Against Violence.” A multi-dimensional, multi-structural approach must target gender discrimination and all politicians must combine resources, as this is a Universal problem. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), is setting forth these new “set of teeth” to create a concrete set of binding provisions.

President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Jean-Claude Mignon, agreed with the initiative. The panel addressed the importance of keeping in mind that words matter because of the values they reveal. Therefore, the Convention broadens the spectrum in terms of specific definitions like stalking, psychological violence, and invoking any justification for any act of violence. The panel stressed that Non-European States need to apply these Treaties and join hands with the UN to extend these standards. The panel invited all states to become party to the Convention and join forces in constructing a world without violence and discrimination against women.

President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Jean-Claude Mignon, with his translator answering a few of my questions.

The next panel I attended was held by the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations on “Engaging Young Women and Men in Advancing Gender Equality.” The panel included the Deputy Head of Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, Ioannis Vrailas, the Minister for Gender Equality in Denmark, Mr. Manu Sareen, the Minister of State for Disability, Equality, Mental Health and Older People in Ireland, Ms. Kathleen Lynch, T.D., State Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Equality in Portugal, Ms. Teresa Morais, and the Belgian Representative of the European Women’s Lobby Board, Ms. Viviane Teitelbaum.

The main focus was breaking gender stereotypes in young children, even down to the types of toys they are “supposed” to play with. When these stereotypes are removed from children’s perceptions, this is a step toward advancing gender equality. For instance, Minister Sareen stated that even in Denmark, one of the most gender equal countries in the world, the majority of people still think that men are the head of the household and that men are better managers than women. Minister Lynch stressed that we must have a gender sensitive educational system in terms of the actual education, administration, and policy. These gender stereotypes and traditional roles hinder the ability to construct an equal, democratic and efficient society.

Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to the United Nations, Ioannis Vrailas.

In addition to panels, receptions are being held with the most inspiring and knowledgeable people gathering to share information and to listen to one another. Most recently, an NGO CSW Reception was held at the Turkish Center in the United Nations Plaza, where Ms. Mirna Cunningham Kain was awarded the Woman of Distinction Award.

Soon-Young Yoon, Chair of the NGO/CSW/NY, presented Ms. Cunningham Kain with her award for her outstanding dedication to rural women and indigenous peoples’ issues.

In a previous blog, “Discourse Surrounding the Final Declaration of the 64^th Annual United Nations DPI/NGO Conference,” I mention the issues with semantics when dealing with Draft Declarations at the UN. Indigenous people used to be placed under “etc.” or “other.” I was able to speak with Ms. Cunningham Kain and thank her for work as well as have a very interesting discussion on how much representation and definitions matter. She accepted the award in honor of all the indigenous people who have suffered and tragically died where peace was not established, and for those indigenous people who continue their fight today.

Ms. Mirna Cunningham Kain: The 2012 NGO CSW Woman of Distinction Awardee

Soon-Young Yoon, Chair of the NGO/CSW/NY, pointing to my “Michigan Hand Map” showing me where she used to live in Michigan.

Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations, His Excellency Ertuğrul Apakan, attended the Reception as well, and I had the honor of discussing his commendable achievements for gender equality in Turkey. Counselor Ömür Budak works for Ambassador Apakan and also studied European Union Studies while attending College. We had a very interesting discussion on the advancements both Ambassador Apakan and the Deputy Minister of Family and Social Policies in Turkey, Dr. Aşkın Asan, have had in fighting for gender equality and combatting violence against women in Turkey.

Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations: His Excellency Ertuğrul Apakan

His Excellency Ertuğrul Apakan and Counselor Ömür Budak.

I look forward to the upcoming panel discussions and compiling a full report on how gender equality and human trafficking affect the CFSP in the European Union. For personal growth, I am determined to listen to the struggles of rural women who came to share their story. I am determined to gain knowledge pertaining to the issues of gender, race, and class, and its implications for food and water shortages, sovereignty, conflict and peace. 

Alexandra Lively is a first-year MA student in European Union Studies and an EU Center FLAS fellow. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Advertising at UIUC, with a double minor in Business and Communications. She graduated with High Honors and as an Edmund J. James Scholar. Her research interests include telecommunications, consumerism and trade within the EU.

The European Union’s Involvement at the United Nations 56th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

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