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School of Molecular and Theoretical Biology

This year’s summer school took place July 22 through August 7 at Istanbul’s Sabanci University. It hosted 60 schoolchildren from 15 countries (30 from Russia, 30 from all over the world, including Ukraine), while its lab supervisors came from Europe and the USA. Altogether, the program featured 13 laboratories, including Protection Against Pandemics, Genetic Engineering of RNA Biopharmaceuticals, Immunology of B Cells and Antibodies, and others. In addition, students could register for miscellaneous courses: from beginner Python to writing resumes and motivation letters. For the first time, the SMTB summer school also offered a separate program of advanced-level ESL, taught by native speakers.

Ukrainian Biological Data Science Summer School

The second Ukrainian Biological Data Science Summer School took place July 7-22 in Uzhgorod, Ukraine. The curriculum was taught to 58 Ukrainian students in English. The two-week program focused on basic and advanced methods of bioinformatics and computational data analysis of modern data types in biology. The first week was dedicated to lectures on underlying theory and concepts, plus practical exercises, and the second week involved hands-on participation in mini-research projects.

Sciences Po Summer School

Between June 5 and 12, Yerevan hosted the second summer school organized jointly by the Yerevan State University and Sciences Po University, France, under the title “Armenia in Regional and Global Context.” The event gathered 15 students from Sciences Po University. The curriculum covered four interconnected subjects: Armenia proper; the region of South Caucasus and adjacent, neighboring states including Iran, Turkey and countries of the Middle East; Armenia’s involvement in larger post-Soviet Eurasian and global geopolitics; and Russia’s political development and its presence in the South Caucasus. Each of these subjects were  explored in lectures by academics and political experts, as well as discussions.

Bazaleti Summer School

Bazaleti Summer School took place in Georgia on August 26-30. Its 53 students came from Russia, Georgia, Armenia, the UK, Montenegro, and other countries to study the topic of historic fatalism. The aggressive war with Ukraine became a historic catastrophe for Russia itself. As scientists try to discuss the nature of this catastrophe, they often mention its historic and social predetermination due to an autocratic “historic path” and the special “mentality” of the Russian citizens. The summer school of Bazaleti Uni was an attempt to clarify the ideas defining how we view our place and role in society today. This year’s teachers included political scientist Kirill Rogov, social scientist Ella Paneyakh, philosopher Arseny Kumankov, Journalist Boris Grozovsky, and others.

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