Who are the Europe and Liberty seminars participants ?
Hundreds
of students have already been involved with the Institute's programs.
The participants are junior, senior, or graduate students and recent
graduates but they are also young scholars or entrepreneurs. They
usually describe it as a week which had a tremendous impact in their
intellectual life and which has proved helpful for careers in
academies, law, journalism, and other idea-oriented fields. It is also
a great experience from a personal point of view, since for a week,
students and faculty members, coming from everywhere in the world, get
to live together, to speak and to debate. They get to learn from each
other and are in contact with different cultures, education and ways of
life.
The
Institute usually organizes 3 seminars during the summer in July,
August and September. Summer break makes it possible for the faculty
members to come and lecture for us. Most of them are very skilled and
well-known professors from all over the world who believe in the ideas
and in the goal of the Institute and who are taking some time to join
us to provide some wonderful lectures of a very high quality. It is a
great opportunity for European students to experience the American way
of teaching and for American students to meet with the European way of
learning. It is also a way to discover Western and Eastern Europe, even
for the Europeans.
Why participating in a Europe and Liberty seminar ?
The
seminars offer interdisciplinary introduction to the tradition of
classical liberal thought scholarship. Subjects covered include
economics, history, moral and political philosophy, law,jurisprudence. The main aim is to approach these fields from a liberal point of view. The
seminars are an unique opportunity to boost your understanding of the
classical liberal principles of individual rights, private property,
and free markets and their applications on today's issues.
What happens during a Europe and Liberty program ?
A
traditional Europe and Liberty seminar lasts 6 days from Sunday to
Saturday. The day is divided into 3 sessions of lecture, discussion
groups and discussions with the speaker. Every session lasts 2 hours
and is followed by a coffee break, lunch or dinner. The
week is an intensive week of lectures and discussions. After each
lecture the participants break into small groups to probe and debate
ideas they have just heard. A highlight of the seminar are the evening
discussion groups; guided by faculty members, participants continue
their exploration of the day's themes. During the week, participants
will have to interact constantly with each other and with the faculty
members who not only lecture but join the participants for meals and evening discussion groups and socializing.
The selection
IES
staff select the future participants according to the recommendations
of professors, the level of studies, the motivation and the
comprehension to write the language in which the seminar will be held(English or French). About 30-35 students are selected for each seminar. The applicants willreceive
the answer beginning of May as well as information about the seminar.
About three weeks before the beginning of the seminar, the students,
who have confirmedtheir attendance of the seminar, will
receive a booklet to prepare the texts and articles which will be
discussed during the week. IES
Europe will cover all expenses (tuition, accommodation, food, and
excursion bus) for this week, except travel ones (no grants are
offered).
How can you participate in a Europe and Liberty Seminar ?
The
Institute has to make a selection among the great number of application
forms it receives every year.
You can apply by
using "My IES" but must read the information about the
application procedure
Then, if it's the first
time you apply to IES click on "You haven't begun to apply to IES yet
".
Follow the
procedure and enter the required information and picture.
Make
sure to have a scan of your identity picture (face) in jpg format. Its size
must not exceed 200 Kb and must be 3 x 4 cm.
Make
sure that the fax of your university results or diploma does not exceed 3
pages. Make sure to send it before May 15. (OTHERWISE, you can also scan them
in a REASONABLE SIZE and in JPG format and send them to contact@ies-europe.org)
Submit and
then you will receive an email with your log in and password.
Make sure to save
that email as you will need them each time you need to modify something in your
info.
You won't be able
to modify your seminar choice after 15 May though.
(2)
You will have to go
back to "Access my IES account" with your log in and password.
This is the second
phase.
Click on
"Select your seminar".
You will be asked
to write 4 "essays.
Here are the
questions:
(a) What are your
reasons for wanting to attend the seminar?
(b) What are your
plans for the next two years (150 words)?
(c) What are your
intellectual influences (150 words)?
(d) Discuss this
text (200 words) : TBC
Don't forget to check the box "I want to apply to this year's seminars"!
Because
of "Time-out" problems during the submission of long documents, write
your essays BEFORE with Word or Pad and THEN copy / paste them in the
appropriate page.
Submit. A message
in green at the top of the page says thank you for submitting.
Please
note that personal essays really have to be of the required number of words
more or less 10 %, really have to be personal and are systematically checked.
Copied-pasted material from the internet will involve a direct rejection of
your application
Summer Seminars in 2009
