Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies programme who have passed courses of the first two years of the International Studies programme worth a total of 100 EC
Description
Practising International Studies is an academic collaborative project course where teams of students reflect and analyse societal issues presented by organisational partners that operate in international environments. These leaders appeal to student teams to use their area-specific and multidisciplinary background in International Studies as well as their research capabilities to provide them with novel and critical insights to assist their future decision-making.
This course teaches students to merge their International Studies background in practice. Students learn to, conduct holistic research using their multidisciplinary grounding, that is, historical, cultural, economic, and political—as taught from a Humanities perspective, and area expertise, to finally balance globalisation and contextualisation to further progress on contemporary societal challenges.
Course objectives
This course aims to:
apply theories, key concepts, and various ideas from International Studies as practical tools of critical reflection and analysis (bridging the theory-practice gap);
equip students with the tools to employ their critical thinking skills to engage with the challenges and opportunities of the contemporary world as encountered by international organisations;
further develop research skills such as formulate problem definition; search, analyse, and critically review academic literature; develop a theoretical framework connecting predictor and outcome variables; formulate research questions; conduct case research through secondary data collection, i.e. search and analyse available qualitative and quantitative data;
further develop the ability to give and receive feedback in constructive dialogues with peers and Research Coach, and integrating feedback to further the project;
expand teamwork competencies and team role skills, the ability to listen, discuss and integrate perspectives through (sub)teamwork, individual role fulfillment for the group and collaboration under collectively agreed norms towards desired team goals;
further build skills to write, present and discuss research findings in a professional and structured way in dialogue with practice;
build the ability to critically assess and advise in complex cases of international organisations to the benefit of society thereby advancing research with societal impact.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
(Guest-) Lectures, project tutorials, workshops, presentations.
All sessions are mandatory. For teams to function and make progress together, all Academic Consultants should be actively involved in all the components of the course and contribute valuably to team discussions and collective research as agreed in their team’s social contract. This ensures that your input is represented in decision-making and consultancy deliverables. In the event that you cannot make it for a good reason, make sure you inform both your team and your Research Coach ahead of time. Engage in respectful and professional communication with team members, teaching staff, and organisational representatives, and be accountable and responsible towards your (sub)team as Academic Consultant.
Assessment method
In terms of assessment, within the course there is a combination of individual and team assessments of a series of project components and deliverables, such as Academic Portfolio, Consultancy Report, and Consultancy Pitch.
Further specification of these steps in the academic consultancy process to be announced in the syllabus.
Reading list
To be announced.
Registration
For Practising International Studies (PRINS) you need to register via an online survey available via the Brightspace course page: 2425-S2 Practising International Studies.
Please note that it is NOT possible to participate in this course without registering via this survey.
To register through the survey:
1) On Friday 13 December 2024 you will be automatically enrolled for the PRINS lectures by the Student Information Desk, which gives you access to the Brightspace page. There you can peruse six diverse consultancy projects by partner organisations.
Please review the six projects to orient and inform your ranking of preferences from 1 (MOST preferred) to 6 (LEAST preferred).
2) The survey link will become available via course page announcement on Monday, 16 December 2024 14:00 (C.E.T) for entering your ranking.
The survey will close on Friday, 20 December 2024 14:00 (C.E.T). Make sure to fill it out in time!
Based on all survey registrations, by 3 January, 2025 you will be assigned to a consultancy research project, to participate as part of a specific team with an optimal mix of area expertise to encourage a fruitful collaboration.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Student Affairs Office for BA International Studies
Remarks
All other information.