Today, we’re sharing with you a post by Program Assistant Dario Martinez, MIA ’15, who wrote about four insights from his time at SIPA.
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Archive for Academics – Page 26
Congratulations to John Olderman, MPA ’16, recently selected as a 2015-16 Citizens Budget Commission Public Policy Fellow. The paid fellowship will give the International Finance and Economic Policy concentrator an opportunity to conduct in-depth research and produce a final report on a certain type of post-employment benefits.
“I’m really excited about this,” Olderman told SIPA News. “It’s an opportunity for me to learn about a really important issue that I’m currently not an expert in, and give back to the New York City community in a positive way.” Read More →
![[Photo courtesy of Rashid Dar]](https://i0.wp.com/blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/sipa/files/2015/05/Rashid-Dar-featured.gif?resize=610%2C310&ssl=1)
Rashid Dar, MIA ’15, who’s concentrating in Economic and Political Development, recently developed a free iOS and Android app, called Musallah (which means “a space for prayer” in Arabic). Musallah makes it easier to find a prayer spot on the go, by mapping out nearby prayer areas for app users. Read why he created the app in an excerpt from The Muslim Observer:
“It starts to feel less like a blessing and more of a burden,” he tells Muslim Observer. “At times I’ve prayed in the dressing rooms of H.M. with music blasting everywhere and a mirror directly in front of me and I can’t tell you my heart is entirely into that prayer. Essentially what I’m doing is discharging an obligation and not getting as much out of it.”
Routinely experiencing these kinds of uncomfortable scenarios and tired of not giving prayer its due importance helped give birth to the idea of Musallah. “A thought hit me: we all have smartphones these days, so why couldn’t we use them to crowd-source musallahs for Muslims everywhere?”
Read the rest of Dar’s story here.
Student discusses upcoming Google Journalism Fellowship, press freedom, and her work in Ukraine and elsewhere
California native Lydia Tomkiw MIA’15, who is concentrating in Economic and Political Development, was recently awarded a Google Journalism Fellowship for 2015. One of 11 recipients nationwide, she’ll spend 10 weeks this summer working with the Committee to Protect Journalists to consider the use of technology in journalism and in protecting press freedom and journalists.
Tomkiw sat down with SIPA News to discuss her fellowship, her previous work in Ukraine and elsewhere, and more.
Last week, members of the SIPA community gathered at the Waldorf Astoria for the SIPA Global Leadership Awards Gala.
The Global Leadership Awards Gala honors individuals that exemplify the values and qualities that SIPA strives to instill in its students. Those honored this year have made incredible contributions to the public good, and included Edward Skyler, Executive Vice President at CITI; Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro; and Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles and a SIPA alumnus, Class of ’95.
![[Photo courtesy of Rina Lila] (L:R) Li Zhou Angel Vasquez, Melissa Martinez, Mayor Eric Garcetti, Annika Lescott, Lauren Greubel, Rina Lila and Jake Miner.](https://i0.wp.com/blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/sipa/files/2015/04/awards-gala-group-photo.png)
[Photo courtesy of Rina Lila] (L:R) Li Zhou Angel Vasquez, Melissa Martinez, Mayor Eric Garcetti, Annika Lescott, Lauren Greubel, Rina Lila and Jake Miner.
"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
