May 2019 at BISLA
Matej Bílik, Michal Micovčin, Ivona Mičeková / June 20, 2019
( 3 min )
Dear friends,
Last week we succesfully finished another semester at BISLA. Therefore we would like to use this opportunity to thank you for all your support, it is because of you that BISLA is flourishing. We would like to wish all the best to our third years, who are in these days defending their bachelor theses. Have a nice summer, BISLA newsletter will resume again in September.
Scholars at Risk
BISLA is one of the four founding universities of the Slovak branch of The Scholars at Risk Network (Scholars at Risk). Coordinator of this section is Bratislava Policy Institute.
Liberal Education Students Conference 2019
Bard College Berlin
Fourth edition of Liberal Education Student Conference brought together around 70 students and alumni from liberal arts and sciences colleges and programs around Europe. The conference was a perfect place to discuss the role of Liberal Education in the future and how Liberal Education of the future should look like. Liberal Education is a very unique kind of learning, it calls for a certain retreat from society, by spending so much time with books written centuries ago. At the same time, it provokes its participants to engage and to transform the world to a better place. It is not one thing, every college and program has their own way of going about it, but that is what it makes so unique. We are connected in diversity, in unapologetic questioning of everything and lastly providing complex answers to complex questions. The conference ended with a call from our rector, Samuel Abraham, to stay in touch together, create a network of Liberal Education students and together create a better future.
Our rector, Doc. Samuel Abrahám, PhD. in Berlin
Komárno Trip
BISLA visited the beautiful historical town of Komárno as part of the course: International Conflict and Cooperation: Narratives of Peace, Conflict, and Justice taught by Dagmar Kusá, PhD. We visited the Komárno Fortress, The Courtyard of Europe and saw statues that are typical for this town.
City of Komárno.
History Field Trip around Slovakia
Our students were traveling around Slovakia as a part of the Modern European History course. They visited The Museum of the Slovak National Uprising in Banská Bystrica; The Military Museum in Svidník, Dukla Pass; Bardejov; Prešov and Špania Dolina.
BISLA students with James Thomson.
Presentation of Electives
Presentation of electives takes place at the end each semester. Teachers present the content and requirements of their courses. This makes it easier for students to choose.
Presentation of electives at BISLA
IAPSS World Congress 2019 - Madrid
International Association of Political Science Students (IAPSS) held its annual World Congress this May in Madrid which was attended by two BISLA students. It was a week filled with discussion and panels with students and experts from all around the globe. Dániel Cséfalvay presented his work on Iraq and changes in attitudes which were caused by ISIS presence in the region. Matej Bílik showed his view on the historical developments in Malaysia, from precolonial era all the way up to surprising election results in May 2018. In this way, we would like to establish BISLA as part of international academic scene and build partnerships across the world.
International Association of Political Science Students (IAPSS), with our students Dániel Cséfalvay and Matej Bílik.
Board meeting of ESU
Our student, Dániel Cséfalvay, who is the International Officer of the Student Council for Higher Education in Slovakia as well as the V4+ Students’ Alliance’s International Coordinator always remembers where he is coming from and proudly wear BISLA T-shirt. Dániel participated at the 76th Board Meeting of the European Students’ Union fighting for students’ rights!
BISLA student Dániel Cséfalvay
Philosophy Society
Throughout the semester, the philosophy society organizes different lectures. During May, we were fortunate enough to have two. The first lecture by Jaroslava Vydrová from Institut of Philosophy at the Slovak Academy of Sciences was on leisure from the perspective of philosophical anthropology. The second lecture was by Dimitris Vardoulakis, associate professor of Western Sydney University, called "What does Spinoza's materialsim have to do with Moses?".
BISLA students with Prof. James Griffith listening to the lecture of Prof. Dimitris Vardoulakis at BISLA
Press Conference with Prof. Harari
Two Bisla students went for a one day trip to Budapest, Hungary. The student journal Il Ponte had a chance to participate and ask a question at the press conference of the prominent and contemporary historian Prof. Yuval Noah Harari at Société Budapest. On the previous day he had a lecture at the Central European University (CEU). After the press conference, there was some time to meet at the CEU with friends and former participants of The Liberal Herald conference.
From the left: Zdravko Veljanov (CEU), Peter Sterančák (BISLA), Michal Micovčin (BISLA), Promise Frank Ejiofor (CEU).
Evening with Michal Vašečka
The evening of Michal Vašečka, entitled From Europe, to Europe, was dedicated to the only direct elections to the European Union and the threats that are disintegrating Europe not only from the outside but also from within. It is about the rise of populist parties, the rigidity and pragmatism of European authorities, the absurdity of bureaucratic procedures, or unnecessary nationalist passions. The participants were Dagmar Kusá and Grigory Mesežnikov.
From the left: Grigory Mesežnikov., Michal Vašečka, Dagmar Kusá.
The Solidarity Crisis
There was also a discussion on our premises entitled "The Solidarity Crisis: The Future of the European Left, organized by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Representation in the Slovak Republic." The participants of the discussion were Radovan Geist, Michal Polák, Richard Filčák and the moderator was Milan Ftáčnik.
Discussion at BISLA
Garden Party
To celebrate the end of the academic year, Bisla’s Student Council organized a Garden Party. The weather was sunny, and the attendance was satisfactory. Students, faculty members and alumni spent some pleasant time together.
BISLA students Michal, Arnold, Matej, prepare some delicous food during our Garden Party.
Meet: Spoznaj BISLA-kov
Interview with our great alumnus Barbara Kelemen. She is working in The International Institute for Strategic Studies and finishing her degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science. In this interview, Barbara is talking about her current activities and her relationship with BISLA.
You can read the rest of the interview at the BISLA website (unfortunately only in Slovak for now).
BISLA almnus Barbara Kelemen
