A helping hand ... and giving back to SAIS Bologna

SAIS Bologna students face a host of challenges during their time here, but help is never far away.

There is the academic challenge: SAIS is a rigorous program for even the best prepared. Many students are experiencing for the first time a U.S.-style education, with its premium on class participation and thorough class preparation.

Students need to make fresh friends, familiarize themselves with a new city and, except for those who have lived in Italy before, cope in a new country with its charming but occasionally demanding idiosyncrasies.

Enter Margel Highet, the director of Student Affairs. Below she outlines her role helping ensure students have the most rewarding experience possible while in Bologna. 

Q:  What is your role at SAIS Bologna?
Highet: I work with the students in all aspects of their life here, from academic counseling to helping to deal with any personal issues that might arise during their stay. I also work closely with the Student Government. Together we work to make our students' time in Bologna productive, memorable and really enjoyable.

Q:  What are the key issues for incoming SAIS Bologna students?
Highet: The key issues we are dealing with now are questions about housing, insurance, where to buy a fan and, of course, lots of questions about the program and how to build one's course schedule to get the most out of your time here while preparing for your second year in Washington.

Q:  You worked at SAIS DC before coming here. What are the main differences between the two campuses?
Highet: The main difference between the campuses is the close-knit community of the Bologna Center. In Bologna, the student body is smaller, there is one main classroom building for students to get to know and there are very few jobs outside of the School. All of this means the students tend to focus their social life and and their time in and around the Bologna Center. It is much easier to get to know the other students in this type of environment. I should add that the travel opportunities in Italy might help the general sense of camaraderie as well.

In Washington there are three classroom buildings, many more students, and many of the students have internships off campus so there is not as much opportunity to build a general community feeling. Students typically find their programs to be their central focal point and get to know each other well through classes and other extracurricular activities. The bolognesi returning to Washington, of course, expand their circle to include all of their classmates.

Q: If you had one piece of advice to give to an incoming student, what would it be?
Highet: Take a deep breath and relax. It will all work out, and you will look back on this year as one of the best in your life!

If you are reading this via email, you can see the video here.

Nelson Graves

SAIS Bologna grads tackle tough issues in print

Syria, Kosovo, Mali and the euro zone crisis: recent SAIS Bologna graduates have tackled these thorny and pressing issues in well-known publications this summer before starting their second year of studies in Washington.

Their writing reflects admirable intellectual curiosity, consistent with the breadth and depth of the SAIS curriculum.

SYRIA
Niamh O'Sullivan examines the quandary facing outside powers as they watch fighting rage in Syria. "The dilemma of the Syrian conflict is how much longer the international community can sit by and watch as evidence of the regime's blatant disregard for human rights continues to mount," the 2012 SAIS Bologna graduate writes in a paper published by the Istituto Affari Internazionali.

Niamh O'Sullivan

Applying "Just War theory" to Syria, O'Sullivan concludes bitterly that "the conflict in Syria represents the tragic space between the unacceptable and the impossible."

"It is with heavy heart that I advocate that the international community stay out but that is not to say we should stand idle," she writes, endorsing stepped-up sanctions against the Syrian regime, non-military support for rebel fighters and relief aid to victims.

A 2010 graduate of Trinity College Dublin, O'Sullivan will soon be starting her second year at SAIS in Washington. Her paper -- "The Moral Enigma of an Intervention in Syria: A Just War Analysis" -- was published earlier this month by the Rome-based think tank.

KOSOVO

Pasqualina Lepore

Pasqualina Lepore, like O'Sullivan a 2012 graduate of SAIS Bologna, looks at the February 2012 "asterisk agreement" between Serbia and Kosovo that has allowed Pristina to represent itself at regional meetings with the nameplate "Kosovo*".

In a paper also published by the Istituto Affari Internazionali, Lepore concludes that the agreement has smoothed Kosovo's and Serbia's path towards the European Union but fails to address the key bones of contention between the parties, namely North Kosovo and Pristina's status.

Her paper, entitled "Beyond the Asterisk Agreement", calls on the EU to launch a more comprehensive and ambitious dialogue with Belgrade, Pristina and representatives of North Kosovo.

Lepore received a B.A. from the University of Bologna Forlì in 2009 and a master's in diplomatic and international sciences from the same university two years later before enrolling in SAIS.

MALI
Jamie Bouverie looks at the effects that Mali's political crisis is having on Timbuktu -- what he calls "one of the world's most fabled cities."

Jamie Bouverie

"Timbuktu has been gravely and irreversibly affected by Mali's current dual crisis," he writes in "Timbuktu: The End of Tourism?", published by ThinkAfricaPress.

His article concludes that if the Islamist extremist group Ansar Dine retains control of the northern cities, "then Timbuktu will probably wave goodbye to tourism once and for all."

If the Islamist group were evicted by either the Malian army or insurgents, "a slow and difficult recovery may just be possible," the 2011 graduate of Cambridge University writes.

Still, he concludes, "it seems more likely that the Islamists will further assert themselves in northern Mali, making the long term decline of Timbuktu inevitable."

EURO ZONE CRISIS

Matthew Melchiorre

Matthew Melchiorre shows scant mercy towards advocates of euro bonds in his article, "Angela Merkel's Bismarckian Euro Diplomacy," published by Forbes.

"Their implementation would signal German support of profligate euro zone governments in perpetuity," he writes.

Pursuing his comparison of the German chancellor with her 19th century counterpart Otto von Bismarck, Melchiorre says, "Just as the Balkan conflict was the bane of Bismarck's careful diplomacy, the inevitability of default in the euro zone periphery is the canary in Merkel's coalmine."

Both Bouverie and Melchiorre will be joining O'Sullivan and Lepore at SAIS DC this fall.

Nelson Graves

A summer in pictures

Dusty villages, sprawling cities. Arid deserts, verdant fjords. Weaving wool, bungee jumping.

The summer experiences of the incoming SAIS Bologna class were as diverse as the students.

For a glimpse, check out this slideshow:

If you are reading this via email, click here to see the slideshow.

Nelson Graves

Meeting our faculty: Prof. Plummer

Michael Plummer is a resident faculty member at SAIS Bologna and does some heavy lifting in the Economics Department.

Many incoming students this year will be studying Microeconomics with him in Pre-term. In the fall semester he'll be teaching both International Trade and International Monetary Theory. Then in the spring, in addition to Trade he'll be teaching Asian Economic Development.

Prof. Plummer studied at SAIS Bologna before getting his Ph.D at Michigan State University. In May he spoke to us about his latest publication, the Oxford Handbook of International Commercial Policy.

Last but certainly not least, you can hear his drumming with the BC Fuzz band in this slideshow on the end-of-year ceremony in May.


What courses are you teaching?
International Trade Theory, International Monetary Theory, Asian Economic Development, Microeconomics.

Your degrees?
Ph.D and MA from Michigan State University; Bologna Center Diploma from the Johns Hopkins University Bologna Center; BA, University of Michigan.

Where have you taught?
I have been a professor at many universities. However, before coming to SAIS I was at Brandeis University for 8 years. In terms of visiting/one-year or more appointments, I’ve taught at Kobe University (Japan), the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and Albion College. Universities where I’ve taught 1 or more courses:  Sciences Po (Paris), Bocconi University, Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, University of Bologna (Bologna and Forlì campuses), Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, Doshisha University, University of Milano-Politecnico, University of Carlo Cattaneo, Harvard University, University of Hawaii, and Michigan State University.

How long have you been teaching at SAIS Bologna?
12 years, with a two-year leave as Head of the Development Division of the OECD.

A link to a recent publication by you?
http://www.iie.com/publications/pb/pb12-16.pdf

Anything special about SAIS Bologna?
Great interaction between students and faculty; great colleagues; wonderful academic environment.

Anything special about Bologna?
La dotta, la grassa e la rossa (bricks, that is; not politics).

Your favorite book?
Too many to single out one.

Hobby?
Running, music.

A quote?
"In the long run, we are all dead."

Finding your apartment in Bologna

Salvatore's keyboard

SAIS Bologna students have started to arrive. It's nice to see them meet and socialize in the hallways, at Giulio's Caffè and at the most prominent gathering point of the moment: Salvatore's office on the second floor.

Every morning and afternoon, groups of students mingle there before venturing out to search for a new home in Bologna.

I decided to follow one of the first groups of students on their tour and captured some of it on video. It was fun and reminded me of how easy the search can be.

SAIS Bologna students live in apartments, and Salvatore has been helping them find flats for more than three decades. He even found my colleague Nelson Graves's apartment in 1981!

Before embarking on the afternoon excursion, Salvatore asked students for their housing preferences. He then started picking keys from the crowded board in the picture.

On the tour we saw some two dozen apartments, about one third of the flats that Salvatore administers. All of them were within 5-to-20 minutes on foot from SAIS Bologna on via Belmeloro. 

We walked to a few apartments on Via Belmeloro before hopping into Salvatore's mini-bus. It was hot, and walking up and down stairs was a challenge. Salvatore got water and ice cream for everyone. He may keep a poker face, but he sure knows how to put a smile on people's faces.

Below is a video that captures moments of the tour. Last year we did the same in this video. You'd be excused if, after watching one or the other, you agreed that finding housing is not something to worry too much about.

If you're reading this via email, you can see this year's video here.

Amina Abdiuahab

Next information session: Tuesday, August 28

Our next monthly online information session is set for:

Tuesday, August 28 at 2 pm Italy time (noon GMT).

These sessions give prospective applicants a chance to learn more about us and to ask any questions they like. We're happy to discuss our academic program, living in Bologna, financial aid, career opportunities, application procedures -- whatever participants want to discuss.

To participate, all you need is an Internet connection, plus a phone line to make a local or toll-free call for the audio portion of the session.

For details on how to connect to the August 28 session, click here. Please read them carefully.

In next week's session we'll give tips on making sure you can complete an application on time.

If you have any questions about the session, feel free to write to admissions@jhubc.it or call us at +39 051 29 17 847.

We'll be holding these sessions each month, at different times to accommodate different time zones. Here is our tentative schedule looking ahead and proposed themes; we have not yet set the times of sessions beyond September's:

September 18 at 4 pm Italy time (1400 GMT) - standardized tests
October 24 - letters of recommendation
November 28 - statement of purpose
December 19 - analytical essay

There will be separate instructions for connecting to these sessions between September and December. We'll circulate them via email and also on this Journal.

Nelson Graves

The early bird gets the worm

Here's a small dose of procedural priming for those considering applying to SAIS Bologna.

APPLICATION DEADLINE = January 7, 2013

Historically SAIS Bologna's deadline for applications has been February 1; you may yet encounter an odd piece of literature that has that date by mistake.

The new deadline for all applicants is January 7. This applies to all degrees and all nationalities.

Keep in mind that with our online system, you can start an application, save it and come back to it later. We're updating the application now and plan to have the revamped form ready by early September.

The earlier you start planning, the better. Some elements of the application take time to pull together: academic transcripts and letters of recommendation come to mind. You will want mull over your ideas for your statement of purpose and analytical essay. Questions you cannot foresee now will occur to you. Finally, you may want to leave yourself enough time to take the standardized tests more than once.

Some candidates can put together a dossier in very little time. But we find that the strongest applications come from those who have thought long and hard about why SAIS Bologna is for them. They have the best chance of getting in, and if they enroll they tend to thrive because they've thought things out in advance.

Mind you, not everyone knows in advance that they want to apply to SAIS. Some learn about us rather late in the process, and others take time to make up their minds. So it is not essential to start months in advance. In any case, we appreciate diversity!

FINANCIAL AID DEADLINE = February 15, 2013

If you want to apply for financial aid from SAIS Bologna, the deadline for requests is February 15. SAIS Bologna manages its own pool of aid, which is allocated on the basis of need and merit.

For more information on financial aid, click here.

Most students mix a variety of sources of funds to underwrite their costs: grants, loans, savings, earnings from part-time work. Rich uncles can help; so does creative thinking.

Candidates are urged to start exploring financing options early. While SAIS has its own pool of aid, many students receive grants from outside sources. For a partial list, click here.

Graduate school -- at SAIS or elsewhere -- is an investment for every student of time, energy and money. The truly determined candidates find a way to manage the challenge. If you have questions, be sure to ask them of us.

MAILING ADDRESS

While most elements of the application will be sent to us online, including letters of recommendation which can be uploaded by the referees, transcripts need to be sent to us by snail mail.

Our Admissions Office in Washington will be receiving the transcripts and uploading them into our system. Here is the address where they should be mailed:

SAIS DC Admissions Office
1740 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
U.S.A.

Questions? You can contact us by sending an email to admissions@jhubc.it, calling us at +39 051 29 17 811 or Skyping us at jhubc.admissions. Don't be shy.

Nelson Graves