Author Archive for Columbia SIPA – Page 87

Going on this week at SIPA

Tuesday

Title: U.S. Shale Gas & Pacific Gas Market: Pacific LNG Trade & Gas Pricing Issues

Sponsored By: Center on Global Energy Policy

What is it:  Forum with Adam Sieminski, Administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration; and Chris Smith, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Wednesday

Title: 2013 MFA Thesis Exhibition

Sponsored by:  Columbia University School of Arts

What is it:  Columbia University School of the Arts Visual Arts Program, in association with the Fisher Landau Center for Art, presents the 2013 MFA Thesis Exhibition, encompassing work by the 26 artists who will graduate from the program this May.

Thursday

Title: Can Haitian Story-telling, Imagination and Oral History Traditions Influence Popular Environmental Risk Perception?

Sponsored by: The Earth Institute

What is it: Panel with Sabine Marx, Managing Director, Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED), Columbia University; Laura Simms, Award-winning Performer, Writer, Educator; Jean Refuse, Director, Haitian American Foundation for Cultural Exchange; Moderated by Tatiana Wah, Director, Haiti Research and Policy Program, and Alex Fischer, Associate Director, Haiti Research and Policy Program, Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development (CGSD), The Earth Institute, Columbia University.

Friday

Title: Late Imperial Epistemologies: A Eurasian Studies Workshop
Sponsored by: Harriman Institute
What is it: Conference about Late Imperial Epistemologies in Eurasian Studies.

Saturday

Undergraduate move out, no campus events

Sunday

Title: SIPA Graduation Party

Sponsored by: SIPASA

What is it: Join us at the SIPASA Graduation Party for one final night together as the Class of 2013! Celebrate under the stars with all your second year friends at The Empire Hotel Rooftop.

 

Development Boy

One of the most beloved SIPA traditions is SIPA follies, an annual variety show put on by second year students poking fun at life at SIPA. Some of the skits are scandalous that they are never put online! (#WishIwaskidding). One skit that DID make it on to the internet (and go viral) was Development Boy, a light hearted parody of SIPA’s lauded MDP (MPA-DP) Program to the tune of Estelle’s American Boy.

You too can enjoy it here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA-ALiizsm8

 

 

we’re still here

The life of an admissions officer is never dull (at least we are never short of things to do).  We’re offered a glimpse of the lives of our applicants each day… some sharing their recent successes… some sharing their concerns over funding… some sharing their joy about their admission to SIPA.   Although we have been silent on the Blog for the last few weeks (apologies for our absence), there has been many activities to keep us busier than we have time in a day for.

You can keep up with SIPA Events by subscribing to the Event listserve or checking us out on our website (which got a makeover recently).  We’re whisking off to little towns and big cities to introduce prospective students to the SIPA community.  And we’re attending interesting events or hosting them in DC, NY, SF, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Houston, Rio, Berlin — just to name a few places.

Responses to our offer of admission into our fall MIA, MPA, and MPA-DP programs have come in… There are a few responses left out there but for the most part, we have a solid class.  We’re very excited to welcome them to SIPA in August.

As new SIPA students prepare to join us in New York this fall, we have a class getting ready to receive their diplomas and graduate Columbia University with their Master of International Affairs and Master of Public Administration degrees in less than 2 weeks —  Very exciting but sad too as we will have to bid farewell to our wonderful PAs — Ariana, Emily, Mariana C, Mariana I. and Nancy.

What’s going on at SIPA this week?

 

Just like before, this is by no means an exhaustive list. Just an example of one event per day that interests me on our campus!

 

Thursday

Title: Starting and Running Your Own Business

Sponsored by: Urban and Social Policy Concentration and Management Specialization

What is it? In this dynamic new workshop a successful entrepreneur shows what it takes to plan, establish and run your own business.  Key areas of discussion include: Deciding what business to start; Moving from an idea to launch; Finding seed money; Structuring your business; Finding and keeping customers

About the Presenter: Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart career coaching; co-founder of FBC Films independent film production; founding member of Comic Diversity stand-up comedy; and partner of Redseeds Consulting executive search.

 

Friday

Title: SIPA Gala!!!!

Sponsored by: SIPA Student Association

What is it?: Basically prom for grad school! Dancing, drinks, hors d’ouevres and fancy dress. Held at Capitale NY.

 

Saturday

Title: Workshop on Sustainable Development

Sponsored by:  The Sustainable Development Doctoral Society (SDDS)

What is it? The workshop is hosting graduate students from around the world who will present their cutting edge research on sustainability across a range of topics such as: water conservation, urban planning, agriculture, biodiversity, disasters, health, climate change, forests and energy.

Click here for more details.

 

Sunday

Title: Spring Into Yoga

Sponsored by: Columbia Art of Living

What: Guided yoga session led by a professional Yoga instructor. Breath, stretch, and sweat. Open to all levels.

 

Monday

Title: Gender, Rio+20, and the Post-2015 Development Agenda

Sponsored by: Economic and Political Development concentration, Gender Policy Working Group and SIPA Environmental Coalition.

What is it?: Talk with Eleanor Blomstrom of Women’s Environment and Development Organization.

About the Speaker: Eleanor worked on climate change projects ranging from green roofs to waste management to adaptation with the Earth Institute, the Clinton Foundation and the World Bank. She has community development experience in the areas of agriculture and women’s empowerment with organizations in Nicaragua and Nigeria. Her current work is informed by a professional background in bilingual elementary education with a focus on race and gender equity in public schools. Eleanor holds a Master of International Affairs in Urban and Environmental Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences.

 

Tuesday

Title: Eurasian Pipelines: Roads to Peace, Development and Interdependencies?

Sponsored by: The Harriman Institute for Eastern European Studies

What is it?: A talk as a part of the 7th Annual  Harriman Institute Colloqium “Geo-Eco Politics, Eurasian Energy and (elusive) Transparency.”

About the Speakers: Confirmed speakers for the event include Jalil Jumriany, Director General, Ministry of Mines, Afghanistan; Andrey Konoplyanik, Adviser, Gazprom Export; Steve LeVine, author of “Oil and Glory”; Ekpen Omonbude, Commonwealth Secretariat and author of “Cross-border Oil and Gas Pipelines and the Role of the Transit Country”; David Onoprishvili, Chairman, Budget and Finance Committee, Parliament, Georgia

 

Wednesday

Title: A Strategy for Sustainable Development in the United States

Sponsored by: The Earth Institute

What is it?: Annual University-wide talk by sustainability expert and SIPA Professor, Jeffrey Sachs

About the the Speaker:  Jeffrey D. Sachs is the Director of the Columbia University Earth Institute; Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development; Professor of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University and Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General Ban-ki Moon on the Millennium Development Goals.

 

ASD 2013

Okay, I know as an admissions blogger it was my job to convince YOU how great SIPA is, but I have to admit yesterday it was kind of the other way around. I started off Admitted Students Day excited to meet future Seeple (that’s our shorthand for SIPA people) obviously, but also pretty groggy. I have had a cold for the past week, on top which I’ve spent most of my free time lately writing my final papers or job searching. Such is the life of a last semester grad student. So it was a truly needed breath of fresh air to spend my day extolling SIPA’s virtues and reminding myself to take advantage of all we have to offer over my last six weeks on campus.

I struck up a conversation first thing in the morning with a prospective student who was interested in energy solutions in the Middle East. Within minutes I was connecting him via email with a classmate who had worked for an oil company in Jordan. Another student at my lunch table asked me about networking opportunities in the Energy and Environment field, I looked across the room and called over a classmate who had just organized the Columbia University Earth Summit. No matter the policy field, I knew an expert.

The thing is these are not just my contacts during my time at Columbia. For the rest of my professional career, when faced with a policy question, I can pick up the phone or send an email to an expert on virtually any policy area in any country in a matter of minutes. Other schools, which are smaller, offer fewer programs or are strictly domestic don’t offer students that kind of network. THAT’S the SIPA advantage.  Now combine that with access to a University- wide alumni network of thousands and SIPA connections are simply beyond compare.

Look for more updates on what I learned at Admitted Students Day coming soon!

 

-Nancy Leeds

 

"The most global public policy school, where an international community of students and faculty address world challenges."

—Merit E. Janow, Dean, SIPA, Professor of Practice, International and Economic Law and International Affairs

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