International Summer School at Jamia

[Following is an official Jamia press release dated July 4, 2013]

Jamia Millia Islamia in collaboration with the International Summer School (ISS) Education Initiative and Ministry of Tourism through its Incredible India campaign has established the International Summer School at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi for the purpose of promoting international goodwill and cultural understanding at the level of young minds as they learn about India and its role in the twenty first century.

The ISS is Jamia’s six-week academic programme which is taking place under the banner of the Ministry of Tourism’s acclaimed Incredible India campaign. The International Summer School has an intensive academic programme that will bring together students from all over the world as they study and interact with one another over the course of a summer in New Delhi, India.

After screening over 500 applications, 20 students from ten different countries were selected to attend this year’s ISS.  A desire to better understand the diverse socio-political perspectives of the region encouraged Omar Achy to attend the ISS this year.  From Morocco, Achy is the South Asia Bureau Chief with the Agence Maghreb Arab Presse. Like him, other students from India, Japan, Iraq, Syria, Australia, South Africa, Bhutan, Turkmenistan and the US are attending the summer school to engage with India through a unique and intensive academic experience.

Ryosuke Takaya, a Japanese national says, “My stay is turning out to be very interesting. The programme is quite informative and the lectures and teachers are very intelligent. We have students from across the world studying with us. It is a great experience.”

The institutions being represented at this year’s ISS are also quite impressive.  Leading universities such as the University of Tokyo, Royal University of Bhutan, University of Oxford, University of Queensland and the University of Witswatersand, among others have sent their students to attend the inaugural sessions and moreover, the ISS has also partnered with the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia to carry out various aspects of the programme.

The Inaugural Session of the International Summer School (ISS) is currently underway at Jamia Millia Islamia.

Apart from their lectures, the students have a packed schedule which will allow them to witness first-hand the various facets of contemporary India.  They have already toured the various monuments of Delhi including the Red Fort, Qutub Minar and Humayun’s Tomb and have had interactions with eminent persons such as Dr. Waiel Awwad who is the President of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia, Hon’ble Justice Madan B. Lokur of the Supreme Court of India, Mr. Venu Rajamony who is the Press Secretary to the Hon’ble President of India which took place at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.  Further sessions have been scheduled with leading intellectuals and Government officials.

The students are now into their third week of classes which cover numerous topics in Indian Politics, the Indian Economy, Indian Sociology and Indian History.  At the end of week four of the programme, the students will travel to Rajasthan for a volunteer experience with Ritinjali which will also comprise of the Fieldwork component of the academic course and during this experience, the student will have to make linkages between the various topics they have learned about in class and their real world implications.

“Among other aspects, the aim of the programme is to foster goodwill on behalf of India at a youth level,” says Amjad Ali Khan, the ISS Director who has also conceptualised the initiative. “The programme is a unique opportunity to help students understand contemporary India and refine their understanding of our country so that when they take up leadership roles in the future and engage with India, they will know what to expect and how to formulate strategies,” adds Khan.

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