CAM1 - Visions of the Future

9 July 2017 – 29 July 2017
Hosted by University of Cambridge

Predicting the future has been, and still is, a part of every society. Visionaries, philosophers, rulers, warmongers, astronomers, economists, businessmen, politicians and scientists all try to anticipate the future. Using specific examples from both past and present, our ‘visions of the future’ draw on beliefs, astronomy, medicine, climate change, scientific discovery, international relations and development, financial crises, disease, war and space travel. Which predictions came true? Which proved false? Debate - naturally - includes predictions about our own future. Additional plenary talks set discussions in context. Students write - and have supervisions - on related historical, philosophical or literary topics.

Field Trip

Short visit to Madingley Hall, our 16^th-century headquarters.

In addition, optional weekend visits are available at an additional cost. (Details will be available in February.) London is easily accessible by coach or train. Cambridge itself has lots of sites to visit and enjoy.

Target Audience

Bachelor students

Prerequisites:

All applicants should send two academic references at the same time as they send their application to Cambridge. (One referee can be one of the selection committee in the home institution. At least one of the referees should have taught the applicant.)

High academic standing in current degree, high fluency in English. For non-native English speakers, one of the following test scores: minimum 7 IELTS, with not less than 7 in each element; Cambridge CAE, minimum score A; Cambridge CPE, grade A, B or C; TOEFL internet-based (iBT), overall score 100 (with no individual element below 24). (Intending applicants should ensure they have their proof of language proficiency in advance of their nomination.)

Delivery Method & Learning Outcomes

At the core of this programme is a course of between 12 and 14 sessions, team-taught by experts, which examines the visions of the future across a range of disciplines, and periods of time. A number of morning plenary sessions augment the learning on the core course, and offer the opportunity for the GSP group to interact with participants on other programmes. GSP participants are also expected to attend at least an additional 12 plenaries, which they can choose from the range on offer for the Literature, History, Science, Ancient and Classical Worlds, and Interdisciplinary programmes. Plenary talks for each programme are themed: Connections and Conflicts (Ancient and Classical Worlds and Interdisciplinary Terms I and II)); Prediction and Progress (Science); States and Nations (History); Another country (Literature). Several talks will relate well to the IARU GSP theme: Visions of the future.

Also central to the experience are the four supervision meetings (2-3 students with their supervisor) and regular IARU GSP review and discussion meetings. Students submit one paper before the start of the programme, and have a first supervision on day one. They subsequently submit three additional papers in advance of the supervision: submission of papers and discussion of written work at the supervision sessions ensures academic rigour. Supervision topics will relate to the theme of ‘Visions of the Future’, primarily interpreted through history, philosophy, psychology, international relations or literature. Students are also required to attend regular review meetings with the GSP Programme Director and Coordinator, which allow for further discussion, and consolidation of the various elements of the programme. Students will be expected to give brief presentations on a chosen ‘vision of the future’ on the final morning of the programme.

This programme format - a combination of self-directed research, core course, plenary lectures, review and discussion meetings, papers, supervisions and presentation – means that the three weeks are very intensive. Study of a wide range of topics on a specific theme also largely mirrors the experience of regular Cambridge undergraduates who, in many subjects, can elect to hear particular lectures on topics within and beyond their immediate field of study.

Participants in the programme will gain transferable skills, valuable for the completion of their current and any subsequent degree course, and for their future career development. The programme will:

• Hone investigation skills, showing how to place any investigation in a wider context
• Encourage a more global perspective
• Foster the ability to think beyond an immediate and narrow field of interest
• Enable students to apply research and study skills to new areas of focus
• Expose students to a rich and broad range of information, via lectures, discussions and supervisions
• Enable students to draw together ideas, particularly via questioning and reasoning in discussions and supervisions
• Allow participants to benefit immensely from the exchange of ideas both with lecturers and with their student peers
• Encourage public speaking skills
• Teach time-management and succinct writing skills, crucial for further study and in any leadership or management career

Assessment

Supervision and essay marks. Four supervision meetings take over the three weeks (2-3 students with their supervisor). Students submit one paper (four in total) in advance of each supervision: submission of papers and discussion of written work at the supervision sessions means a rigorous programme for the full three weeks. The final grade takes into account paper grades as well as performance in supervisions and the final presentation. Students are informed of grades after the end of the programme.

Credit equivalent at host university & contact hours

Contact hours: 60+ total contact hours (classroom) + c28-32 hours for preparation, research and essay-writing). Self-study tours could account for an additional 8 hours for each Saturday or Sunday optional excursion a student takes.

Credit: please note. The undergraduate Cambridge system is not credit-based. IARU participants who wish to receive credit from their home institution will need to arrange this themselves, typically by submitting to their home institution, after completion of the program, the marks for their written papers as well as their study timetable.

Based on the previous experience of colleges and universities that have dealt with University of Cambridge International Summer Programmes students, and using a typical ratio of contact hours to semester credit hours, most institutions have followed (or awarded more than) the following suggestions for the award of credit:

• A student who completes a two-week special-subject Summer Programme with a minimum of 48 contact hours and who writes two 2000-3000 word essays would probably be awarded four (4) undergraduate semester credit hours by their home institution.
• The Cambridge IARU GSP (three weeks) offers 60+ contact hours and requires four essays and four supervisions, as well as some 30 hours of self-directed study. Credit awarded should be adjusted accordingly, perhaps between six (6) and eight (8) undergraduate semester credit hours, amount to be determined by the home institution.

Lecturer(s) / Tutor(s)

TBC

Accommodation

Students must arrive and register by 4pm on Sunday 9 July 2016, in time for an orientation session that afternoon (c5.00pm).

Students should go first to Gonville and Caius College to leave their bags in a designated storage area. They will be able to check in for registration at the Summer Schools Office on the Sidgwick Site from 12noon and will get their room keys from 2.00pm onwards.

Check-out date is Saturday 30 July. Students will need to vacate their rooms by 9.00am.

Students have the option of additional study for one, two or three weeks immediately after GSP, if they wish, by applying and paying for a place on one of the open-access programs: the final week of History, Science or Literature, plus one or two weeks of the Medieval Studies, Shakespeare or Creative Writing Programmes, or two weeks of the Interdisciplinary Summer Programme Term III.

Please note: if participants wish to arrive in Cambridge before the programme begins or after it finishes will need to contact the College directly to book and pay for that accommodation. Further details can be given after acceptance to the programme.

Costs

Figures are estimates only. Click on each item for details.

Visa

Estimate of visa fee: Not known. Currently, visa nationals pay to get a Short-term Study Visa in advance of their travel. Non-visa nationals can get their Short-term Study Visa clearance at no additional cost, by showing their acceptance letter as they arrive in the UK. Please check the most up-to-date information on the official UK site www.gov.uk.

Required and/or Recommended Insurance

Insurance is essential, to cover illness, injury, loss of property, additional accommodation charges in case of a need to arrive early or stay later than the programme, or in case of circumstances which prevent or delay attendance or require early return.

Further Required Application Material

1. to be sent by the host University with the nomination to Cambridge:

a)   two academic references, stating suitability for the programme

b)   for non-native English speakers: proof of proficiency in English.  Original or certified copies of results must be sent, for one of the following only: 

i. IELTS 7 (minimum 7 in each of the speaking listening, writing and reading elements) Send certificate or Test Report Form (TRF) number

ii. Cambridge CAE, grade A, or 200 points overall on the Cambridge English scale.  Send candidate ID number and secret number.

iii. Cambridge CPE, grade C or above, or 200 points overall on the Cambridge English scale. Send candidate ID number and secret number.

iv. TOEFL iBT, minimum score 100 (no less than 24 in each element). Send registration number and date of birth (mm/dd/yy)

Minimum scores must be achieved in the same sitting, and no more than two years before the start of the programme.

2. to complete after acceptance:

a) an ‘indications form’ (which will be sent to accepted applicants)

Selected applicants are also asked to complete an ‘indications’ form, outlining the subject fields which interest them most, to help the organisers allocate supervision groups. (Papers are most likely to be written on subjects informed by lecture attendance and discussions within supervisions, to focus primarily on Visions of the future, interpreted through History, Literature, Philosophy or International Relations.) 

Accepted students must ensure they have applied in sufficiently good time for an appropriate visa (currently, a Short-term StudyVisa) so that they are in a safe legal position to complete their course of study in Cambridge.

Further Information

Materials to be sent to students before the course

In acceptance emails, students will have the structure of the programme explained, and will receive a draft (and later a final) timetable, and draft (then a final) grid to show optional and compulsory plenary lectures. Sections which are compulsory will be clearly marked.

They will also receive personalised versions of supervision lists and the first supervision topic, before their arrival. A reading list will be compiled with articles suggested by the course co-teachers, and sent in advance. (Students submit their first essay before the course begins.)

Attendance requirements

Participants are required to attend orientation and briefing meetings, all core course sessions, weekly supervisions, compulsory plenaries, discussion sessions. This is a rigorous course, and students are expected to be in Cambridge every weekday. There are no scheduled sessions at weekends, but some part of each weekend will be needed for study, preparation and essay writing.

It is hoped that all participants will want to share in the short visit arranged for them during on one weekday afternoon.

There are optional weekend excursions on some of the Saturdays and Sundays whilst the IARU GSP programme is in session, and participants might elect to take one or more of these, however they are strongly advised to save any more extensive travel plans for periods before or after the actual dates of the programme.

Website: IARU GSP at Cambridge.

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