Apply for Summer School Programme 2024

The OSCE Academy in Bishkek is a public foundation, established in 2002 between the Kyrgyz Government and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The OSCE Academy promotes the principles and values of the OSCE through post-graduate education, advanced research and intellectual exchange. Its highly demanding MA Programmes in the fields of “Economic Governance and Development” and “Politics and Security (Central Asia)” annually enroll up to 60 young professionals.

Furthermore, the Academy engages in preparatory programmes and conducts various seminars and schools to help young graduates to gain methodological skills and to prepare for further studies.

Choosing between two broad fields of academic inquiry, participants are set to benefit from in-depth knowledge about social research skills or to learn about differential calculus, gaining preparation for any future engagement in the aforementioned disciplines. In addition, all participants will undergo training in academic writing (in English), thus developing the necessary skill-set to enter into one of the Academy’s programmes or any other international graduate course.

Program Courses

• In particular this Summer School is designed to equip participants with knowledge and skills in the following courses (in one of the offered blocks):
  • Block I
    • The Mathematics for Economists course discusses basic matrix theory and differential calculus of multivariate functions. Specifically, the following topics are covered: graphs and functions, systems of equations, polynomials, financial mathematics, total and partial derivatives, constrained and unconstrained optimization, and matrix algebra. All concepts are illustrated with economic applications.
    • The Academic Writing course raises awareness of the style, form, and organizational structure of academic writing in English. Specifically, the course is aimed to help improve the quality of student essays by analyzing various stages of the writing process through examining model texts and identifying their elements.
  • Block II
    • The Introduction to Research Methods in Social Sciences is designed to aid incoming graduate students and advanced undergraduate students to prepare for independent research projects. The course introduces students to the diversity of research methods, the logic and relevance of each method, the conceptual building blocks and the philosophical foundations of social research. It will help students gain a critical understanding of why, how and what can be pursued in a project of social research; understand what basic elements, categories and issues need to be identified in any research design; become aware of what challenges and debates might attend any particular approach to research; understand the rationales, instruments and logic in a variety of the most popular methods of social research.
    • The Academic Writing course raises awareness of the style, form, and organizational structure of academic writing in English. Specifically, the course is aimed to help improve the quality of student essays by analyzing various stages of the writing process through examining model texts and identifying their elements.

What you will get?

• Financial Support/Scholarship:
  • Stipend of 450 euros for four weeks;
  • Visa and registration support;
  • Round trip travel to/from Bishkek inside the region of Central Asia (economy class).
• Note: The Academy will not cover health insurance or expenses of family members. The Academy, however, assists with all issues related to travelling to Bishkek and finding housing in the city.
• Note: Financial support depends on the availability of funds and is allocated on a competitive basis.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must meet the following criteria:
  • Successful completion of an academic degree of higher education (four-year BA degree, Specialist Diploma) in Economics, International Relations, Political Science or related fields or final year students;
  • Advanced level of English (B2 and above);
  • Interest in questions of development and international relations with a focus on the wider region of Central Asia;
  • Citizenship of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

For more information, visit OSCE.