U21 Summer Schools

Since 2004, there has been an annual U21 Summer School. Each Summer School has had a global theme and attracted some of the best students from around the U21 network to engage in an exchange of culture, experiences and intellect.

The Summer Schools have been hosted by National University of Singapore, Lund University, Hong Kong University and most recently the University of Virginia. Themes have included: Leadership in a Global Society, Asia as the Global Future and Sustainable Development in a Global Society.

In 2008, the Summer School will be hosted by the University of Birmingham and have the theme of Embracing Diversity through Creativity, Culture and Innovation. The Summer School will draw upon the Birmingham’s reputation as a modern multicultural environment and brings together a fusion of creativity, diverse cultures and innovative practice in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary ways. The event will be open to students in U21 institutions from across all disciplines.

2008, University of Birmingham

The 2008 Summer School took place from 30 June to 12 July at the University of Birmingham, with Embracing Diversity through Creativity, Culture and Innovation as the theme. 

A report will be posted here in the coming weeks.

2007, University of Virginia

The 2007 Student Summer Conference took place from 1 to13 July at the University of Virginia with the theme of Leadership in a Global Society.  The programme was designed to help participants understand and develop their own personal leadership skills by exploring the lives of leaders from different disciplines and different areas of the world.

The curriculum had a strong experiential learning component and makes extensive use of cross-cultural groups. Inspiring lectures from knowledgeable professors were integrated with structured opportunities for thoughtful discussion, field trips, films, active learning activities and service learning opportunities.

Click here for a full report

2006, University of Hong Kong

The 2006 Summer School was hosted by the University of Hong Kong from 3 to 23 July 2006 with the theme of Asia as the Global Future.  It offered a programme on Asian Studies organised by the University of Hong Kong's Centre of Asian Studies and Faculty of Social Sciences. The goal of the Summer School was to expose students to carefully designed lectures, seminars and experiential learning with site visits in Hong Kong, Beijing and Macau so as to enhance their awareness of the importance of Asian and world affairs.

Click here for the full report

2005, Lund University

The U21 Summer School in Lund from 4 to 15 July 2005 was the second of the kind organised within the Universitas 21 network. In all, 74 students from the universities of Glasgow, British Columbia, Auckland, Melbourne, Nottingham, Birmingham, Virginia, Singapore, Queensland, Edinburgh, Korea, Hong Kong, McGill (Canada) and Fudan (China) participated alongside students from Lund University. Fifteen visiting lecturers from a range of academic disciplines joined academic staff from Lund to lead this two-week activity.

Click here for the full report

2004, National University of Singapore

The inaugural U21 Summer School & Symposium - a new initiative by the U21 network - was hosted by the National University of Singapore from 5 to 12 July 2004. With a theme of Global Technology Entrepreneurship, the aim of the initiative was to inculcate a global and entrepreneurial mindset among the students through interactive learning and exposure to opportunities outside their own countries.

Click here for the full report