Two-and-a-half-week summer school with 26 participants from 15 countries

This year was special for the participants and the CSS Team for a couple of reasons. Firstly, after two years of online schools, in 2022 an onsite summer school took place in Cologne. Secondly, this first project after the pandemic we conducted in a hybrid teaching environment that fit this year's topic of Equality of Opportunity perfectly. Thirdly, in 2022 the project Cologne Summer Schools turned 10 years - a special milestone that we celebrated with our sponsor Santander Universities and the International Office of the University of Cologne where the project is situated. Here you can find more impressions of the 10th Anniversary of Cologne Summer Schools and the Alumni Weekend including a Reunion Event.

The participants are the heart of our Summer School. They make Cologne Summer Schools the lively, intercultural, educational, and unforgettable experience that it is. Each year we are fortunate to welcome participants from all over the world. With the changes that the pandemic brought also new opportunities and teaching concepts emerged. The hybrid concept that we developed enables us to offer this summer school experience to students all over the globe considering their individual needs and respective situation. 9 students from 7 different countries participated online and interacted with the onsite group consisting of 17 students from 12 different countries during the hybrid sessions. Therefore, 15 different countries were represented and in total 26 participants took part in the academic and cultural program in and live from Cologne.

What better way to get to know what you can expect from a Cologne Summer School than a personal testimonial from a person who already made this experience? Hinako from Kyoto University participated in the Cologne Summer School on Equality of Opportunity as part of the onsite group and shared her thoughts about the studying and intercultural environment. Find out how the workshops and a street art tour changed her mindset on how to recognize and address social and cultural challenges of in/equality of opportunities.

Like in 2020 and 2021 this-year program was open to all majors and to advanced Bachelor and Master students. Thus, the selected participants with their respective perspectives on the topic of in/equality of opportunity and their different approaches and methods of data collection and interpretation provided the basis for a multi- und interdisciplinary summer school program. The aim was to learn together in the academic sessions, hands-on workshops and study trips in and around Cologne. In the diverse classes taught by lecturers from the University of Cologne and its partner universities the participants discussed this year's topic from different disciplines and point of views, they exchanged knowledge about and gained a deeper understanding on various aspects and processes of  in/equalities of opportunities. The positive feedback that we receive very frequently points out the uniqueness of this learning experience which is rare for the students academic life at their home universities: It is the contact with people who are trained in a field where from one's own academic view very unfamiliar and uncommon methods are used which enables the utterly precious opportunity for an interdisciplinary academic learning environment. In the summer school of 2022, we welcomed students and lecturers of Computing Sciences, Environmental Economics, Food Engineering, Finance, International Communication, International Relations, Legal Sciences, Linguistics,  Pedagogy and Teaching, Philosophy, Political Sciences, Psychology, and Social Sciences. In conclusion, not only the concept of the academic program enabled exchange and learning outcomes on multiple levels on the topic of Equality of Opportunity but also the intercultural nature of the summer school provided the participants with great networking opportunities.

Below you see the list of countries and universities of onsite and online participating students. If you are still wondering whether to apply for next year's project, you should not be hesitating anymore. The Cologne Summer School is the place to be!