It’s Graduation Week at Columbia University, and we couldn’t be more excited for SIPA’s Class of 2015! This Thursday, May 21, 2015, our students will graduate from SIPA and will become a part of our 20,000+ outstanding SIPA alumni. And I’m pleased to say that they’ll be in some pretty impressive company. Read More →
Archive for Student Life – Page 29
![[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.
Starting today, you may RSVP to attend a networking/mini-series event in NYC, known as Raising the Bar. Raising the Bar is a worldwide initiative aimed at making education a part of a city’s popular culture. We create one of a kind, knowledge-driven events in unusual locations. Our goal is to raise the bar on the content people consume in their everyday lives. We want to constantly be inspired, inside and outside of the classroom. That’s why we decided to bring the city’s brightest minds to the last place you would expect them: in your neighborhood bar. So grab a drink and come learn how to build a spaceship.
Six of SIPA’s brightest minds are participating in this edition of Raising the Bar. Each professor has something unique to contribute to the international affairs and public policy conversation. More information on each lecturer and their presentations are below. Read 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.
Today, I’m sharing with you a post by another one of our Program Assistants, Lauren Podber, MIA ’15. Lauren is a five-year dual-degree student with Columbia University’s School of General Studies, and her focus has been in International Security Policy, with a specialization in the Middle East. She wanted to share with you two of the opportunities you’ll have as a SIPA student: the opportunity to take coursework in fields you’re passionate about, and the opportunity to pursue a career in your chosen concentration. Here’s what she had to say:
"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
