Next Europe

A diverse group of students gathered in a lecture hall at the Geschwister Scholl Institute of Political Science at Munich’s renowned Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) on Wednesday, July 3rd to attend the opening convocation of LMU’s seventh annual European Studies program, entitled “Next Europe: In search for its narrative.”

The European Studies program, a partner program of the Munich International Summer School (MISU), is designed to offer undergraduate and graduate students from outside Europe an intensive three-week introduction into the history, structure and culture of the European Union. This year, the program welcomes more than 80 students from seven of LMU’s partner universities in the People’s Republic of China, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tongji University and Zheijiang University.

The program takes place under the patronage of the Center for Applied Policy Research (CAP) at LMU Munich, in collaboration in the Viennese Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM) as well as the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Salzburg, where to the students will also be heading for additional courses and experiences.

After a video introduced the students to LMU Munich, its facilities and its history, the program’s coordinators and instructors Dr. René Rieger, Dr. Christoph Schnellbach, Ludwig Schulz, and Kai Wede gave introductory speeches welcoming the participants to the Bavarian capital and encouraging them to make the most of their stay in and outside the classroom. Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Werner Weidenfeld, director of the Center for Applied Policy Research, welcomed the students by reflecting upon the program’s title – Next Europe – and taking a look at past and present challenges and achievements of the European Union, noting: “I used to explain to my students which areas of governance the EU was responsible for. Now it’s much faster to just list the few areas that it isn’t involved in.” Professor Weidenfeld urged students to engage with Europe and its current challenges both through the courses and on their own time.

The first day of the students’ almost three weeks summer university ended with an open air reception at the LMU in the center of Munich.

by Victor Brechenmacher