SAIS Europe celebrates its 60th Anniversary

SAIS Europe, formerly known as The Bologna Center, celebrated its 60th anniversary on February 22, 2015.  

To commemorate the event, keynote guest speaker Pier Carlo Padoan, Italian Economy and Finance Minister, was in attendance. SAIS Europe Director Michael Plummer welcomed guests and provided remarks on the history of SAIS in Bologna and its strong link with the City, which has hosted the institution for six decades. 

Minister Padoan (right) and Director Plummer

SAIS's campus in Bologna was founded in 1955 by C. Grove Haines, who believed there was a need to set up a school of international affairs where young European and American scholars could learn from one another and work together to reach common international goals. As an intellectual hub of Italy, Bologna was the perfect location for SAIS to establish its European presence.

Sixty years later, SAIS Europe welcomes students from over 35 different countries each year with a common: to train the leaders of tomorrow to study international affairs, history, economics and languages.

During his remarks, Minister Padoan commented positively on the European Commission’s agreement to extend Greece's financial rescue package by four months.  He also emphasized the need for reforms both at the Italian and the European levels. 

Minister Padoan also used this platform to announce Italy and Switzerland’s recent agreement to exchange tax-relevant information as part of wider negotiations on contentious financial issues between the two countries.

The well attended event brought together students, alumni, faculty as well as prominent members of the city; Bologna Mayor, Virginio Merola, the Rector and Vice Rector of the University of Bologna and many others.

Amina Abdiuahab

At the end of the year....I was indeed transformed

As the admissions cycle moves forward, we thought we would share a post from an alumna. Amal Ali, from the UK, was at SAIS Europe in 2011 and received her Master of Arts at our campus in DC in 2013. 

Below she tells us about her experience while at SAIS .


When I was a prospective SAIS student, I remember reading numerous blog posts authored by former students that all started with that fateful sweltering August day.  My story won’t veer from this beginning.

Amal Ali

I arrived in Bologna August 21st 2011. The city was in a deep slumber as most of its inhabitants had left the sticky August month for the cooler air of the coast. I was 22, passionate about international affairs, and rather keen to get my teeth stuck into economics.

I suppose I hadn't prepared myself for all that I was to experience in those months. SAIS Bologna –like for others—was a year of new for me. I had never studied international relations or economics, it was the first time that I had properly left the UK, and God knows that I hadn't looked at algebra since high school.

During that year, I felt that I was learning something new each day: be it personal, academic or both. At the end of the year, I felt like—whilst holding to the same moral values that had shaped me—I was indeed transformed. I take those 10 months as a lesson in life: nothing significant ever occurs when you’re comfortable or complacent, but it is fearlessly (or fearfully) plunging yourself into new and challenging environments that you truly flourish.

Whilst this might seem like a romantic tale about growth, be assured that there were some troughs in my peaks. My shameful midterm results in Microeconomics can attest to that. But I did pass the course, and I believe that if I can get through it—everyone can do it too. Resilience and perseverance were certainly key in that endeavor.

In fact, I believe that it was the skills and experiences that I picked up in those two years—multitasking, embracing some elements of failure, working under pressure, coming up with solutions, thinking out of the box, and taking each challenge head-on—that allowed me to land my first job at a reputable international corporate communications consultancy in London. And thereafter  my current role at the World Bank.

Another great perk I’ve found is that the SAIS world never quiet leaves you: personally or professionally. My closest friends are SAISers (in fact I had them round for supper last night, and we couldn’t stop laughing about our Bologna stories). A SAISer hired me for my current role, and every once in a while I bump into a SAISer or two at the airport, or at my Monday morning meetings.

I suppose I didn’t know what I would find when I arrived in Bologna that August afternoon, but boy I am glad to have been gifted with those two years.

Amal Ali

BC12/DC13

Meet the new Director of Student Recruitment and Admissions at SAIS Europe

SAIS has named Daniela Francesca Coleman as Director of Recruiting and Admissions at its campus in Bologna, Italy. 

Daniela is an experienced professional in higher education specialized in admissions and alumni affairs, career services and project management. She joins SAIS Europe from the TRIUM Global Executive MBA program in Paris, France, where she served as the head of alumni relations. Prior to TRIUM, she spent four years at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) in New York. 

Daniela holds a Masters in European Politics and Administration from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium and a Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Affairs and Italian Language and Literature from the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, VA, USA. A dual Italian and US national, she speaks English, Italian and French fluently.

Daniela began her role at SAIS Europe on January 1. 

Daniela Coleman

Working for SAIS is an exciting opportunity. As a truly global institution that offers students an international perspective on today's critical issues, SAIS has a presence on three continents.

I am based out of its European campus in Bologna, Italy, a city which is home to the oldest university in Europe. In the short period of time that I have been here, I have immediately felt a warm welcome from the tight knit community of students, faculty and of course, the local ‘Bolognesi’.

Over the next few weeks, I will be reading your applications and interviewing many of you.  I want to wish you all good luck in the admissions process and I hope to personally welcome you to Bologna  in the near future.

Admissions: Application deadline today (January 7)

As a friendly reminder, today is the deadline to submit your application for the SAIS MA, MAIA, MIPP and Diploma programs. 

You can access  your online application here. If you are interested in pursuing your studies at the SAIS Europe Campus, please make sure to highlight this in your application.

We encourage you to submit your application even if some of your supporting documentation is pending.

If you think there will be a substantial delay in receipt of your documents, be sure to let us know. You can reach us at sais.eu.admissions@jhu.edu

We wish you the best of luck in the admissions process.

Amina Abdiuahab

Learning outside the classroom and meeting Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome

Last week, a group of SAIS Europe students traveled to Rome to attend the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.

Laura Saiki Chaves, a current MA student from Peru in the International Development concentration, made it to Rome with her classmates. Below she tells us about her experience at the Summit.

The World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates is one of the largest and most influential events in the field of peacemaking, attended by Laureates and students like myself interested in development and humanitarian issues.

It is an annual event that is hosted around the world to focus on issues such as nonviolence, rule of law and environmental and sustainable development.

Originally set to be hosted in Cape Town, the 2014 Summit was relocated to Rome at the last minute
in order to accommodate the XIV Dalai Lama.

Laura (fourth from right) and some of her classmates at the Summit

This was an opportunity I could not miss. Bologna is just over a two-hour train ride from Rome and together with a group of fifty classmates, I traveled to the Italian capital to attend the Summit.

Throughout the three-day conference, I was able to attend panels which featured Laureates such as Tawakkol Karman, David Trimble, Leymah Gbowee, Shirin Ebadi, Jose Ramos-Horta and the Dalai Lama.

The main theme of the Summit this year was “Living Peace". The sessions and workshops were structured to provide us participants with more insight into the topic. Panel discussions ranged from stopping gender and sexual violence, to reconciling communities and promoting social activism.

Not only were we able to attend the panel discussions, many of us also participated in student workshops hosted by different organizations, including the Yunus Centre, the International Labor Organization and the United Nations Refugee Agency, among others.

My classmate Nicole Ahdiyyih said the highlight of the trip for her was meeting one-on-one with Laureate Shirin Ebadi: “Meeting an incredible woman like Shirin Ebadi – someone who fights tirelessly for the promotion of human rights and democracy – was most inspirational and motivating as she is an example of how one should act in serving humanity.”

Like Nicole, I was moved by the female speakers. Listening to Laureate Tawakkol Karman was absolutely inspiring.

For more information about the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, please click here.

Laura Saiki Chaves
(SAIS Europe 2015)

Adding breadth to the SAIS degree

SAIS offers a smörgåsbord of courses. 

Those who take the MA program, one of the several degrees offered at SAIS, pursue a concentration and specialize in an area of their interest. They can choose from regional or policy concentrations and, in some cases, combine the two.

SAIS offers a multi-disciplinary curriculum and students are encouraged to take courses outside of their concentrations.

Most concentrations leave room for several electives, which enable students to take courses across different disciplines.

These courses and professors have such an impact on students because they give insight into topics they may not have previously considered and illustrate that in the field of international relations, everything is related.

Below a few students talk about the courses they are taking outside of their concentrations.

Chelsea Boorman - American Foreign Policy
Though I'm an American Foreign Policy concentrator, I enrolled in Mark Gilbert's course on European Imperialism in the 20th Century. 

In taking the course I realized that without understanding colonial history, it's impossible to understand how the current global political system of states functions. 

The course has given me a new way of thinking about the world -- both in the past and in the present -- and in touching on Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, in addition to themes of conflict, strategy, and history, it's given me a new lens to approach U.S. foreign policy.

Ana Rasmussen - Energy, Resources and Environment
I decided to take Erik Jones's West European Political Economies course because I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to study European politics and economics while living in Europe.

SAIS students in Florence with Professor Cavina

As the semester progressed, it became clear that issues of energy, politics, and economics are inextricably linked. This was especially apparent in the cases of oil and power generation and the impact they have on policy making in a globalized economy.

Cara Bragg - Conflict Management
I enrolled in Anna Cavina's Italian Art History & Culture class

It was wonderful to have a change of pace from the traditional SAIS coursework, and being able to witness some of the history and iconic art of the country made me feel more a part of Italy. 

Together with in-class lectures, the walking tours in Bologna and day trips to Florence and Ravenna offered an opportunity to discover some of the great treasures of these cities that I might not have found on my own. 

And to top it off, Professor Cavina invited us to her home for a true cultural experience -- an Italian feast shared among friends.

Amina Abdiuahab

Speakers: Look who's been at SAIS this fall

Students at SAIS have access to policy-makers and world-class thinkers.

The Bologna Institute for Policy and Research (BIPR), runs the seminar series in Bologna. Student interns interview each speaker after their talk. Click here to view the "Three question interview" series and to read the report of the events.

Below is are some of the policy-makers and intellectuals who have engaged in conversation with students at SAIS in Bologna and in Washington.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with SAIS students on U.S. - China relations.

José Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States, discussed the future of U.S.- Latin American relations.

Souad Mekhennet, fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute and Journalist, discussed the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the implications of security for the Middle East and West.

Anis Nacrour, Chargé d'Affaires, European Union Delegation, Syria, provided his expertise on Syria and the Middle East region.

Antonio Missiroli Director, European Union Institute for Security Studies (Euiss), talked about security in Europe.

Antonio Missiroli

Charles P. Ries Vice President, International, RAND Corporation; Former U.S. Ambassador to Greece, Washington D.C., U.S., discussed Transatlantic trade and investment partnership.

Alicia Garcia-Herrero Chief Economist for Emerging Markets, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), discussed China's financial reform.

Ishaq Dar, Pakistan's Finance Minister, discussed Pakistan's economic recovery and its emerging role in the region.

Thomas Christiansen Jean Monnet Professor of European Institutional Politics and Co-Director, Maastricht Centre for European Governance, Maastricht University, The Netherlands, discussed China and the European Union.

If you are eager to learn who else has been hosted at SAIS, see the links below:

- Bologna
- DC

Amina Abdiuahab