MyGISA

Tickets for the Cabaret will go on sale this Monday in the lobby of the library from 10h to 14h every day until the event on May 24. Every student is able to buy one ticket for themselves and one ticket for a non-student.

There is a limited number of tickets available, so we recommend buying your tickets as soon as possible to make sure you don’t miss out on the event of the year. If there are any tickets left the day of the event, they will be sold at the door.

Watch http://cabaret.mygisa.ch/ and the GISA Facebook page for a ticket giveaway this weekend.

Read more: http://cabaret.mygisa.ch/

A joint effort by the GISA Executive Committee and several members of the IHEID administration, namely Adacemic Advisor Laurent Neury, has produced an unprecedented document which provides a look into the inner workings of the scholarship distribution process.

This document spells out how students are ranked in terms of financial need and academic achievement, and further looks into how these two assessments are used to determine whether students receive a scholarship or not.

The document was a joint effort by Julia Berger, current Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Eric Asmar, President, with the assistance of Dr. Laurent Neury, Academic Advisor, and with the advisory opinions of several other IHEID administrators, as a GISA response to student concerns regarding a lack of knowledge on the scholarship system’s decision-making process.

Click here to view the document.

If you have questions or comments, feel free to leave them on this story, or e-mail Julia Berger at julia.berger@graduateinstitute.ch
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Wondering what ever happened to that survey you took over Winter?

After sifting through hundreds of responses to both closed and open-ended questions, the 2011-2012 GISA committee presented the results from the survey to nearly every department of administration at IHEID, from IT to the Library to the high administration. Each department met the results with interest and a determination to improve. Some highlights of what came of this survey:

1. Dramatic upgrades of library computers, planned addition of scanners in all buildings and another scanner in Voie-Creuse, IT working on better service responding to calls and e-mails;
2. Provision of ethernet cables in Library study space in case you’re having trouble with the Wifi;
3. Career Services responded to feedback by looking to clarify their services, increasing the proportion of paid to unpaid internships, looking into a “speaker request” system with GISA whereby students may request specific speakers to come to the Institute;
4. Student Services is working on a face chart clarifying who students should go to if they have a problem at the Institute, also clarifying the functions of Student Services;
5. Dr. Neury initiated a process to entirely redesign and restructure ETUNET into an online student space, with the involvement of GISA and student opinion;
6. Clarification on the scholarship decision process (this information will be distributed to students very shortly from GISA);
7. Involvement of GISA, academic class representatives in the process of redesigning MIA and MDEV curriculum;

Click here to access the entire extensive report. More information on changes made based on this survey will come as we know about them.

Some highlights of the survey itself:

1. 30.8% of students at the Institute responded to the survey (very high for an online survey).
2. Only 11% of students responded that they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the level of academic quality at the Institute.
3. 40% of students expressed dissatisfaction or high dissatisfaction with the level of integration between students of different programs at the Institute. A further 37% expressed neutrality.
4. 77% of students are satisfied or very satisfied with academic events offered by the Institute.
5. Only 28% of students were satisfied or very satisfied with technology throughout the IHEID buildings. 50% of students expressed dissatisfaction or high dissatisfaction.

An extensive document on the entire survey, including representative open-ended responses, by clicking here.

GISA will hold a public informal meeting on Tuesday, May 8 at 18:00 in the GISA Cafe on the second floor of Voie-Creuse. All students who wish to voice concerns or discuss the new programs are invited to come.

Please find attached a draft of the new MIA/MDev curriculum to be implemented over the next two years. Please note that not all changes will affect current students. Dr. Neury is drafting a document that specifically outline which changes will affect current students. Here are some specific curriculum changes:

• Interdisciplinary Masters are to have their own pool of classes to choose from, separate from the Disciplinary Masters. Some will be open to both, some will be for MIA or MDev specifically.
• Electives will correspond more accurately to the tracks provided so as to create a more coherent program.
• Students in both Interdisciplinary and Disciplinary programs will be able to take one class outside of their program plan, and one class outside of the Institute. (This is actually the current rule). There have already been two new professors hired for the Interdisciplinary programs, so class options should not suffer.
• The tracks in both the MIA and MDev programs will consist of: 1 core course, 1 Applied Research Seminar, 2 optional courses in the track, and 3 optional courses outside of the track. The Conflict track will be held in common for MIA and MDev.
• Current students will experience SOME of the new changes, not ALL. For example, current track names will remain for 2011-2013, but there will be new electives to choose from for the fall semester. The forthcoming document will provide more details.

Please note: This is not a final document. The professors listed on obligatory courses are subject to change, and the optional courses have yet to be finalized. We will post more information as we receive it. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to comment on this post, or send us an email at gisa@graduateinstitute.ch. You may also contact your academic class representatives, which you may find at http://mygisa.ch/about-gisa/class-reps/.

The Environmental Committee hereby cordially invites you to participate in the second “Green Week” of the year from Tuesday 24 to Thursday 26 April to celebrate Rio+20. WHEN: April 24-26 WHAT: 1 movie night, 2 informal discussions WHERE: On campus (VC) TOPIC: Earth Summit 2012, taking place in Rio de Janeiro June 10-22 (also known as Rio+20) For more information, visit http://environment.mygisa.ch.

To see the program, click here.