Tuition updates from around the world

BRAZIL

While public higher education remains free, discussion continues about the introduction of some type of tuition fee for wealthy students - a proposal that has been vigorously rejected by academics, students and unions.

CHILE

Average tuition fees rose by 26 per cent at public universities, making it among the most expensive systems in the world.

CHINA

Tuition was frozen through 2011 at 2006 levels. But user fees have increase and tuition is expected to rise significantly in 2012.

NETHERLANDS

Students under 30 pay a statutory tuition fee. Tuition increased slightly in 2011 and is expected to go up to $1,925 in 2012. Last July, a law was passed requiring students who take longer than an extra year to complete their studies to pay $3,261 per year.

SWEDEN

Domestic students pay no fees, but a new rule has students from outside the European Union paying significant fees of as much as $15,552 per year. Early estimates suggest new enrolments from outside the EU fell by nearly 80 per cent.

UNITED KINGDOM

Capped fees at English and Northern Ireland universities has risen to $14,754, with about 30 per cent of English institutions planning to charge that as the standard fee in 2012.

UNITED STATES

Tuition fees increased substantially across all sectors of higher education. There is considerable variation between states and types of institutions. The percentage increase in tuition was highest in California (21 per cent) and lowest in Connecticut and South Carolina (2.5 per cent).

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Tuition+updates+from+around+world/6382973/story.html

Transparency International Summer School on Integrity, Lithuania

Deadline: 7 May 2012
Open to:  Foreign students
Costs: The course participation fee is set at 300 Euro. Students from the following countries can apply for a full scholarship: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Moldova, Morocco, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Syria, Sweden, Tunisia and Turkey.

Description

The aim of the Transparency International Summer School on Integrity is to provide student leaders from across Europe with an opportunity to learn first-hand from professionals working in the anti-corruption field. The School seeks to provide students with a peer-to-peer learning and integrity-building platform that links international experience with transparency and integrity to the current situation in post-communist countries.
Participants of the Transparency International Summer School on Integrity  learn about the causes of corruption and practical ways in which societies can become more transparent and accountable. The School staff  offer students state-of-the-art professional guidance and compelling case studies showing long-term sustainability through transparent and integrity.
The Summer School is organised by Transparency International Lithuania in cooperation with Mykolas Romeris University. Led by experienced anti-corruption professionals, the School seeks to create an environment that brings discussions about transparency and integrity from a high public policy level into the classroom and the everyday life of students.
University students earn 4 ECTS credits upon successful completion of the course. The language of instruction is English.
You can find the full programme here

Costs

For 2012 the course participation fee is set at 300 Euro. The fee covers accommodation, meals, study material and extra-curricular activities. Participants are expected to cover their own travel expenses (including visas, insurance, etc.). Students may be granted (partial) tuition fee waivers in exceptional cases.

Scholarship

A limited number of competitive scholarships is available. Full scholarships cover transportation, tuition and board expenses. Students seeking a scholarship are encouraged to apply as early as possible. Students may be also offered partial scholarships that cover a part of their expenses.
Students from the following countries can apply for a full scholarship: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Moldova, Morocco, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Syria, Sweden, Tunisia and Turkey.

Application

Applicants wishing to apply shall submit the following documents:

• Application form
• Europass CV

The completed application form with the CV should be both sent to admissions@transparencyschool.org. Only completed applications will be considered. The deadline for the submission of application documents is 7 May 2012. Non-scholarship students are accepted on a rolling basis.
For further questions regarding the application procedure, fees, scholarships or general enquiries, please contact admissions@transparencyschool.org.
The Official Website

TC for Young Bloggers and Online Activists

Deadline: 19 April 2012
Open to:  Young bloggers or young human rights activists, social media activists, young people involved in community benefit online projects, aged between 18 and 30 years
Costs: An enrolment fee of 60 Euros. Board and lodging for the training seminar are provided and paid for. Travel expenses and visa costs are reimbursed upon presentation of the relevant receipts
Venue:  Residential seminar: 20-27 May 2012 European Youth Centre Budapest; E-learning, campaign and network activities: May 2012 – December 2013

Description

The Council of Europe Youth Department invites all young bloggers and online activists concerned by human rights violations, hate speech online, discrimination and racism to apply for the training course taking place between May and December 2012, comprising a residential seminar between 20-27 May 2012 in the European Youth Centre Budpaest as a first stage in their involvement in a long term campaign against racism, xenophobia and discrimination.
Young People Combating Hate Speech On-line is a project of the Council of Europe’s youth sector to be run between 2012 and 2014. The project aims to combat racism and discrimination in their online expression of hate speech by equipping young people and youth organisations with the competences necessary to recognise and act against such human rights violations. The project stands for equality in dignity, human rights and diversity. It is a project against hate speech, racism and discrimination in their online expression. Centred around a training course and online campaigning, the project stands for action and intervention.
Project objectives:

• To mobilise young people, youth organisations and other stakeholders to promote human rights and take action against racism and
• discrimination in online space, with a particular focus on hate speech online;
• To provide young online activists and youth organisations with competences and tools, to take action for human rights in online space;
• To contribute to the democratic governance of Internet, by developing guidelines for policy and practice in respect to young people and youth organisations’ role in making the online space a human rights space and ensuring youth’s participation and contribution to the development of Internet governance initiatives that the Council of Europe takes part in;
• To map different forms of hate speech on-line, their impact on young people and ways to address them;
• To promote research about the forms and consequences of on-line hate speech on young people;
• To create and train a network of 60 young European online activists in human rights, online campaigning against racism and discrimination and to support them in running a mini-campaign online;
• To develop and run a European youth media campaign against racism and discrimination having both an international and national dimension and provide online human rights activists with campaign tools and materials;
• To support the development of regional campaigns in the Balkans, Caucasus and Mediterranean area focusing on antisemitism, antigypsyism, aggressive nationalism and religious extremism.

The training course for young bloggers and online activists: 
The training course will bring together young bloggers and online activists motivated and willing to further take action and play a central role in the campaign development.

The course objectives are:

• to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes of participants in respect to human rights and human rights protection particularly in online environments;
• to enable participants to recognise human rights violations online, particularly acts of racism and discrimination, hate speech online and supporting them in taking action against these violations;
• to associate the participants with the preparation of the media campaign and other activities in the project;
• to provide participants space and time to share different experiences of working in online environment and on topics of the project;
• to discuss and reflect on the types and forms that hate speech takes online and the effects it has on young people;
• to familiarise participants with the work of the Council of Europe in the field of antiracism and anti-discrimination, as well as in respect to Internet governance;
• to discuss and plan the next steps to be taken together in the framework of the campaign, supporting participants in initiating their online minicampaigns;
• to set up a network of young activists and youth organisations aiming to be the core of the campaign.

Eligibility

The training course is designed for participants who are:

• aged between 18 and 30 years, exceptions can be made if justified;
• already young bloggers or young human rights activists, social media activists, young people involved in community benefit online projects with a proven capacity to mobilise and multiply information and opinion among other young people;
• committed to values of human rights and be interested to further take action against racism and discrimination In online environments;
• motivated to take active part in all phases of the project;
• have at least a medium level of digital competence, and are advanced users on social media;
• able to work autonomously in the English language;
• are either supported by a youth organisation and/or an informal group of activists or community online;
• have proven capacity to mobilise young people online around issues of their concern, but particularly related with freedom of expression, human rights, ant-racism and anti-discrimination, online campaigning and activism.

Costs

Travel expenses
Travel expenses and visa costs for all residential training seminars of the project are reimbursed upon presentation of the relevant receipts, according to the rules of the Council of Europe. Only the participants who attend the entire training course can be reimbursed. The payment will be made either by bank transfer after each course, or at the end of each course in cash (in Euros).

Accommodation
Board and lodging for the training seminar are provided and paid for by the Council of Europe at the European Youth Centre in Budapest.

Enrolment fee
An enrolment fee of 60 Euros is to be paid by each participant for each training seminar. This amount will be deducted from the amount to be reimbursed for travel expenses or paid at the EYC during the course.

Application

All candidates must apply on-line, completing the application form under this link.
Applications must be submitted by 19 April 2012. If the participant is affiliated with an organisation, a letter of support from their sending organisation can be uploaded on the platform or sent separately by e-mail, fax or post to express support offered throughout the project to the participant and his/her initiatives.
The team will select 30 participants on the basis of the the profile outlined above. The selection will also take into account balance between sexes, geographical regions, different types of experiences, cultural backgrounds and organisations, institutions and projects. A waiting list may be established.
Candidates will be informed about whether their application has been accepted or rejected, and if they have been put on the waiting list, by 25 April 2012.
Deadline for applications
The application form must be submitted on-line, with the support letters if applicable, until 19 April 2012.
The Official Call

2012 Media Policy Fellowships

Deadline: 9 April 2012
Open to: Researchers and academics (PhD candidates and early career academics)
Venue: Annenberg-Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute, at the University of Oxford from Monday, June 18 to Friday, June 29, 2012
Fellowship:  Tuition, housing, travel and per diem to attend the two-week course

Description

Ten fully-funded fellowships to participate in the 14th annual Annenberg-Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute are available for qualified applicants from the developing world.
Sponsored by Internews’ Global Human Rights Program, the Internews Media Policy Fellowships include tuition, housing, travel and per diem to attend the two-week course, to be held between June 18 and 29 at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Fellowships are available to individuals from developing countries, particularly those from post-conflict nations, who focus on media law and policy in their societies.
The annual Summer Institute brings together young scholars and regulators to discuss important recent trends in technology, international politics and development and their influence on media policy.  Participants come from around the world countries represented at previous Institutes include Jordan, Thailand, Kenya, China, Brazil, Egypt, Nigeria, Peru, Pakistan and Russia, among others. The Institute provides them with an environment in which significant policy and research issues are discussed in-depth.
The richness of the experience comes from exposure to a variety of speakers and from the discussions among participants themselves. The profiles and testimonies of 2011 Media Policy Fellows can be found here.
The seminars this year will focus on several key areas: media governance in India and China and strategic communication in conflict and post-conflict and transitional environments, particularly in the Middle East and Africa.  At the same time, the successful curriculum that has been the foundation of the Summer Institute over the years will continue, with sessions covering global media policy issues such as media and economic/social development, freedom of information, internet regulation and convergence. Part of the course will be devoted to new developments in comparative approaches to regulation, looking at Ofcom in the UK and other agencies, including examples from the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Eligibility

The annual summer institute invites young scholars and regulators to discuss important recent trends in technology, international politics and development and its influence on media policy.
This year the summer institute seeks, as part of the cohort, researchers and academics (PhD candidates and early career academics, for example), who will come with a research project related to the general subject of the seminar. Research generally related to the work of the Center for Global Communication Studies and the Programme for Comparative Media Law and Policy is especially welcome, and some participants will be asked to present their research.
The fellowships are available to individuals from developing countries, particularly those from post-conflict nations, who focus on media law and policy in their societies.

Application

Interested individuals can apply online through the CGCS website,  indicating interest in the Fellowship when submitting.
To apply, you will need to submit your CV, a statement of interest, and provide contact information for two references. To begin the application, Click Here. For instructions on the online application, please Click Here.
The Official Website

The Global Debate and Public Policy Challenge – New Round

Deadline: 16 April 2012
Open to:   Undergraduate students of any age
Prizes: A trip to Budapest, Hungary for the Global Debate and Public Policy Forum at Central European University from 15-16 June 2012

Description

We want to let you know that there is a new way for you to still participate in this exciting Challenge, win a free trip to Budapest and one of several scholarship and stipend awards available. We hope you’ll accept the Challenge!
GDPPC is a new annual competition designed to engage undergraduates in on-going public debate and reflection on issues affecting the global community. This year’s theme explores the relationship between security and human rights. The Challenge offers undergraduates across disciplines and continents an opportunity to explore issues of global importance from different points of view. We hope to attract as wide a range of students into this competition as possible and you still have a very good chance to win. If you are an undergraduate student of any age, you are eligible for this Challenge!
While many students who registered last year have participated in the first two rounds of the competition, we have established a new category of entry for students like you who would like to participate in this third and final round but haven’t been involved yet.
If you participate in this new category by submitting a policy brief, you will become eligible to win a trip to Budapest, Hungary for the Global Debate and Public Policy Forum at Central European University from 15-16 June 2012 and for the pre-Forum activities reserved exclusively for up to 50 finalists from 12-14 June 2012.
Up to 50 finalists will be selected to go to Budapest with the cost of travel and accommodation paid by IDEA . During the pre-Forum activities, the finalists will attend workshops to hone their public-speaking and advocacy skills as well as compete in progressive rounds to determine up to top 10 finalists from both entry groups to compete for the scholarship / stipend prizes by presenting their policy briefs to a global audience gathered at the Global Debate & Public Policy Forum.  The top winners will be awarded the scholarship / stipend prizes.

Prizes

They have established additional scholarship and stipend prizes for students who still wish to participate but haven’t entered the previous rounds. From those new participants who are chosen to participate at the Forum in Budapest, there will be up to three final winners in this category.
Each winner will receive either a scholarship payable to a Graduate School of the winner’s choice for study in a field related to Public Policy or a grant payable to a non-profit institution of the winner’s choice for an internship or placement in a field related to Public Policy.
The scholarship levels for new participants are (in US Dollars): First place: $2500, Second Place: $1500, Third place: $1000.
For Participants in 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Rounds:
For those who have participated in the first and second rounds of the Challenge and submit your policy brief for the 3^rd round task, you are one step closer to winning a trip to Budapest and a $10,000 scholarship or stipend! Up to five final winners in this category will be chosen at the Forum in Budapest. Each winner will receive either a $10,000 scholarship payable to a Graduate School of the winner’s choice for study in a field related to Public Policy or a $10,000 stipend payable to a non-profit institution of the winner’s choice to work for one year in a field related to Public Policy.
The winners get to choose the option they prefer.

Eligibility

The challenge is open to any undergraduate student of any age.

Application

If you haven’t already done so, register for the competition. Then, prepare and submit your policy brief  by 16 April. That’s it!
How Do I Write My Policy Brief?
Your task is to write a policy brief of 1250-1500 words which is designed to bring ideas and contribute to the global debate and public policy Forum “Security, Terrorism and Human Rights: Towards a Global Picture” which will take place 15-16 June in Budapest, Hungary.
A summary of the task is available on the Challenge website here: Overview of Policy Brief.
Please also refer to these three documents (with links) to help you through the process:

1. Guidelines for Writing Your Policy Brief. All of the details of the task are outlined in the guidelines. Please ready this thoroughly.
2. Writing for Specific Target Audiences – An Introduction to Policy Advocacy. This is a resource guide to support the production of your policy brief and get you thinking about advocacy. We recommend you read it before beginning to prepare your brief.
3. Worksheet for Planning your Policy Brief. This document is a space to organise your thinking and prepare an outline before writing.

Before you prepare your policy brief, it may be helpful for you to refer to the previous tasks of the Challenge including the Policy Position Paper and the Alternate Position Paper.
Listed here are links to background reading materials on the topic of Securing Liberty.
Each registered participant will receive by 18 April 2012 information describing the next rounds of selection to take place at the pre-Forum and Forum in Budapest in June 2012. This information will also be posted by the same date on the Challenge website.
Before applying please read the Rules of the Challenge.
Contact:
If you don’t find your answer on the Challenge website, please send an e-mail to Catherine Janson: cjanson@idebate.be.
Don’t forget to also follow the Facebook, Twitter and discussion boards for updates and frequently asked questions about this task.
The Official Website

UNIPV International Scholarships for Developing Countries

Brief description:

The University of Pavia (UNIPV), in order to promote international cooperation with the Developing Countries, offers scholarships for selected Masters Studies at the University of Pavia or at the Institute for Advanced Study of Pavia (IUSS) during the academic year 2012-2013.

Host Institution(s):

University of Pavia or the Institute for Advanced Study of Pavia (IUSS), Italy

Field(s) of study:

Applicants may select only a course degree taught in English, selected among the following ones offered by the University of Pavia:

-  World Politics and International Relations;
-  Electronics Engineering;
-  Computer Engineering;
-  Molecular Biology and Genetics;
-  Master in International Business and Economics;
-  International Master Program in Cooperation and Development

Target group:

The scholarships are targeted to students coming from a developing country or low-income countries.

Scholarship value/inclusions:

2 scholarships of 7.000 Euros each and 4 scholarships of 8.000 Euros will be available.  Each scholarship will cover also the expenses for the Visa and for the travel to Italy and back (economy class).

Eligibility:

• Only students born on/after the 1st January 1977 can participate.

• Must come from a Developing Country (preferably from Countries classified as Low-income economies and Lower-middle-income economies by the World Bank)

Application instructions:

Interested candidates must submit the application form (available on the website of UNIPV) which has to include:

• a complete application form with all the requested personal and academic data, the exact name of the selected course degree and of the Faculty at the University of Pavia or at IUSS;

• a curriculum vitae (European format: available on this Web page);

• a programme of studies and/or research activities which the candidate intends to implement during his/her stay in Pavia;

• a recent letter of reference signed by a university professor;

• a recent health certificate attesting that the applicant is not suffering from physical or mental illnesses;

• a photocopy of a valid passport of the applicant.

IMPORTANT: Applicants must have been admitted to a degree course first before they can be eligible for a scholarship.

Applications must arrive both by mail and by e-mail (just one PDF file by email) by 12.00 pm of the 18 May 2012.  It is important to visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.

“I Don’t Need a Parachute… to Land in Europe” Project

Deadline: 15 April 2012
Open to: Students or university graduates, with age between 18-30 years old, resident in one of the EU countries or Western Balkans countries
Costs: All costs for the Summer school will be covered, and during the campaign the ambassadors will receive 100 euros for their activities

Description
The project “I don’t need a parachute… to land in Europe” is a 10 months project implemented by Fundatia Corona from Romania in partnership with SPARK Organisation from Amsterdam and financed by the European Union.
The project has a cross border dimmenssion and it is implemented on the EU and Balkan states’ territory from 1 of December 2011 untill 30 of September 2012.
The goal of the project is to inform the EU citizens about the current enlargement of EU towards Western Balkans and to promote tolerance by stimulating direct and indirect contacts between young people from EU and Western Balkans countries.
In order to reach this goal, the project comprised 2 activities relevant for its objectives, namely organising a summer school and an awareness raising campaign.
The target group will be formed from European and West Balkans young citizens, students or graduated from university, interested in learning and spreading information related to the possible enlargement of EU towards Western Balkans.
Summer School
The 100 students are going to be organised in 4 groups of 25 people each. 4 animators (one per group) are going to be in charge with helping and guiding the students in all logistic problems that might arise.
All the costs related to accommodation, meals, free time events and handbooks are going to be covered by the organisers. Also, travel expenditures will be reimbursed based on a ceiling of 50 Euro for Romanian participants, 300 Euro for other European participants and 450 Euro for Balkans states participants. The participants will have to present a copy of the 2 ways travel ticket in order to receive the money.
If needed, the participants are going to be assisted in obtaining Romanian visa. The cost of visa and medical insurance necessary during the travel and staying in Romania will have to be covered by the participants.
The summer school will last 7 days and will comprise:

• 4 days of courses and workshops
• 1 day of evaluation
• 2 days of free time.

The 4 courses and the evaluation exam will be held in the morning and the 4 workshops and 1 sportive event will be held in the afternoon, during the first 5 days of the school.
A major free time event will be organised during the weekend (one day trip in a picturesque place).
The participation to the courses and workshops is mandatory in order to receive the graduation certificate at the end. The participation to the free time events is optional. All the participants are going to receive graduation certificates.
More on the Summer school here.
Ambassadors Campaign
The Ambassadors campaign will have a cross border dimension being implemented on the EU and Balkans territories during August and September 2012. The 100 Ambassadors, which have previous participated to the summer school, will have to inform 10,000 people from their own country about the benefits and risk of the EU enlargement during 2 months. They will receive 10,000 brochures as a support in their activity. Each Ambassador will have to distribute 100 brochures during this period of time.
For supporting their activity, all the EU Ambassadors will have to complete a standard report containing information regarding the way they have distributed the brochures (the environment- work, school, on the street; and some information about the receptors- age, studies and occupation) and send it to us. For their activity all the ambassadors will be awarded with 100 Euro/each.
Eligibility
The contest will be open to participants resident in one of the EU countries or Western Balkans countries, with ages between 18 and 30, without making any discrimination related to religion, convictions, political view, race, economic and social status, disabilities, sexual orientation or sex. The contest language will be English, so all the participants must have proficiency in English. Also, the participants must be students or university graduates.
In order to ensure the indicators from the project, they encourage NGOs employees or volunteers to apply.
Application
In order to participate to the contest, the applicants must complete an electronic form available on the website, mentioning name, age, nationality, contact information, studies and work experience. The contestants will be asked

• to write a small essay (to offer a short description of their country and/or the people living there, or to present a traditional custom, or to offer a quote from a famous author)- maximum 1 page

or

• to upload a photo (one only)/movie (maximum 5 minutes) which they consider relevant for their country.

At the same time, they will be asked to write a personal desire that they believe EU could fulfil.
The applications are going to be evaluated based on creativity and originality criteria. A third element of the evaluation is going to refer to the way in which the materials reflect a cultural particularity of the participants′ country.
Deadline for applications is 15 April 2012.
For more information please use the following contacts.
The Official Website