Message from the Rector

Dear friends of UPEACE,

Today I begin my work as Rector of the University for Peace at our beautiful campus in Costa Rica.

I am very pleased to begin this new phase of my life. I hope that together we can further strengthen the foundations UPEACE has built so far. This can only be achieved with the support of the entire UPEACE community.

UPEACE is a unique institution, with a unique mandate, which has just completed a very successful revitalization programme. A great deal has been done thanks to my predecessors, but a lot remains to be done.

In a few weeks we will be starting a new academic year with a record number of admitted students. Offering them the best possible academic programme will, of course, be our first priority. But this is not our only priority; we have to achieve financial stability, to strengthen our regional activities, to develop our distance learning capabilities and to continue building a name across the world as a leading organization in Peace and Conflict Studies through education, research, training and other activities.

I will always be interested in your ideas and your comments so we can continue to ensure UPEACE’s present and its future.

Cordially,

John J. Maresca

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UPEACE Academic year ready to begin soon

UPEACE is expecting to receive some 150 new students from 53 countries next 22 August 2007 to begin the Academic Year 2007-2008. This is the largest group of students so far, since the revitalization process began in the year 2000.

The group is composed of students from the following countries: Armenia, Benin, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iraq, Italy, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi , Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Zaire, Zambia

This total number of students will enroll in one of the following MA programmes:

  1. International Law and Human Rights
  2. International Law and the Settlement of Disputes
  3. Gender and Peace Building
  4. International Peace Studies
  5. Environmental Security and Peace
  6. Natural Resources and Peace
  7. Peace Education
  8. Media, Peace and Conflict Studies

The group will include 28 students from the Dual Campus MA Programme in International Peace Studies, which began at the Ateneo de Manila University last April, and will continue their studies at UPEACE for six months, to later return to Manila for the last part of the programme. This group is composed of students from the following countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Peoples Republic of China, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam

In addition, 16 students from the Natural Resources and Sustainable Development Dual Campus MA programme, will return to UPEACE after their Internship period, to conclude their academic year at UPEACE. This group is composed of 10 females and 6 males, all from the United States of America.

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Educating in a fast-changing world

Beth Whitney
Director of
International Admissions,
Choate Rosemary Hall

 

From July 23-28, I joined a group of educators at the University for Peace to consider the urgent and fundamentally important question, “How can we create learning experiences to equip our students for a future that is constantly changing?” 

The week-long short course entitled “Educating for the 21st Century” offered via the UPEACE Centre for Executive and Professional Education, lead the group through readings, site visits and discussions that explored what knowledge, skills and values are essential and relevant to learners in the 21st century. Selected case studies lent to the meat of the discussions, while the pedagogical methodology studied was adeptly modeled by Professor Mohit Mukherjee.

We spent the first three days on the campus of the University, also making a site visit to the National Institute for Biodiversity (INBio) in Heredia, where we met with the coordinator of the Roots & Shoots program who demonstrated the immense value of experiential education.  On Thursday, after a highly interactive offsite workshop titled ‘Leadership Skills for Educators’, the group traveled to Monteverde, where we met with the Executive Director of the Monteverde Institute. This meeting gave us a look into the various pressures faced by the community in Monteverde and the educational role the Institute plays. These site visits collectively offered insight and encouragement toward the challenge of educating for sustainable development.

Participants in the course came from five continents, bringing experience in the classroom as well as in educational administration, NGO work, and for-profit and nonprofit business organizations. While our differing perspectives often served to enrich the discussion, consensus was reached when we were asked to evaluate our experience. If I could sum it up for our group, “It was a great opportunity to think big, learn a bit about Costa Rica and some of its innovative programs, make friends from around the globe, and take home inspired ideas as well as concrete, practical resources with which to implement them.”

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Initiative to support UPEACE students

The University for Peace (UPEACE) has recently launched an initiative named the Special Scholarship Fund to support students from developing countries, who need financial aid in order to attend the University during the academic year
2007-2008.

An online payment system has been put in place to support this initiative and a special website was created to provide additional information: https://collaboration.upeace.org UPEACE has also created a special email account for any questions about using the system: helpingstudents@upeace.org

The goal of the Special Scholarship Fund is to support the living expenses of the 16 students that were granted a full scholarship for the academic year 2007-2008. These students come from the following 13 countries: Armenia, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Pakistan, Romania, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Uganda and Zambia. Contributions to this fund will help UPEACE cover the cost (approximately USD 100,000) of the living expenses of these students. In addition, some 12 students received a full waiver of their tuition fee and 98 received partial waivers for the next academic year.

A letter inviting people to support this initiative was sent to several groups, including: UPEACE Council members, International Academic Council members, faculty members, senior management, UPEACE/US Board members, Council of Honour members, former UPEACE officials.

All contributions will be subject to UPEACE’s financial controlling system, including an annual external audit conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Support to this initiative will allow UPEACE to continue congregating students from many different backgrounds in its campus, making it a vibrant multicultural environment which in itself provides a highly rewarding learning experience.

Donations may also be deductible for US taxpayers through the scholarship fund created by the US Association for the University for Peace (UPEACE/US) a 501(c)(3) public charity in the US established to promote the mission and programmes of UPEACE.

If you are interested in supporting this initiative
please click here>>>

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Western Washington University Course at UPEACE



A group of undergraduate students from the Environmental Sciences Department of Western Washington University came to Costa Rica for a summer course in which the students researched several species in two National Parks.

As part of the UPEACE Summer Session programme they also received four lectures on Peace and Conflict Studies and Environmental Security, given by faculty members of the Department of Peace and Conflict and the Department of Environment, Peace and Security. The students also took advantage of this opportunity for using the UPEACE facilities for their research and meeting with faculty and staff.

The month long course took the students to Carara National Park and Corcovado National Park and it was facilitated by Prof. Troy Abel from Western Washington University. They made their final presentations at UPEACE and all staff and students were invited to participate in the sessions.

The UPEACE summer sessions provide the necessary arrangements to universities that would like to offer a course fully or partially in Costa Rica. For more information please go to http://www.upeace.org/academic/training/summer/

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Loyola Law School Summer Programme at UPEACE

 From 16 July until 4 August 2007, a group of 34 students and two professors, Professor Cesare Romano and Professor Jaume Saura, participated in a three-week Loyola Law School Summer Abroad Programme at the UPEACE campus. 

Participants had the opportunity to combine their academic training on International Human Rights Law and International Environmental Law with cultural exchanges with the UPEACE community and the host families in Ciudad Colon. UPEACE organized fieldtrips to Manuel Antonio National Park, Poás Volcano, and La Paz Waterfall Gardens, where students could further explore the richness of Costa Rican flora and fauna.

Commenting on their experience at UPEACE, Professor Romano, On-Site Program Director, expressed: “It was definitively an experience we would like to repeat and we hope we can turn cooperation between UPEACE and Loyola Law School into a long term partnership…We can’t wait to return to Costa Rica next summer….UPEACE facilities and staff put us in the best conditions to do effective teaching.”

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