UN University: is it worth going to study there?

As you know, higher education is one of the social lifts that can give a person a brilliant career and an interesting future.However, in general, most of the world's universities do not differ much from each other: similar disciplines are taught to form similar specialists. The quality of education, the geographical location of universities, language and teaching style differ. In contrast, there are a small number of specific universities that offer students other courses in order to form narrow but highly needed specialists in the world, the number of which is still small. One of these universities is the United Nations University. Let's figure out what it is: just a big name or a serious university that opens up promising prospects.

A Brief History of the University

The UN University was established in 1973 as the academic and research arm of the United Nations. At the moment, its headquarters is located in Tokyo and has the diplomatic status of a UN institution. In 2010, he received the right from the UN General Assembly to provide higher education services.In addition, the University is a bridge between international academic institutions, policy-making organizations and the private sector.

Over the more than forty-year history of the UN University, 12 additional campuses have been opened on 5 continents of the planet. The University's activities are not funded by the UN budget, but by donations from governments, agencies, foundations and individual donors.Fixed assets for operating expenses come from the Founding Fund. For example, in 2010-2011.the University's budget was $ 108 million.

One of the major differences between the UN University and other higher education institutions is that most of its existence, the University was not engaged in teaching and training. 1973 to 2010 it was a purely research organization whose task was to conduct research on issues on the UN agenda, prepare working materials for the UN and address certain narrow tasks of the UN. However, since 2010, after the arrival of the new rector - Konrad Osterwalder, the University changed its policy towards human resources. In 2010, the first master's program was launched in Tokyo, the Master of Science in Sustainability, Development and Peace.

Educational process

What is the peculiarity of the educational process at the UN University? For more than 37 years, the University has been exclusively engaged in project work, the results of which were significant at the international level, and continues to carry out it to this day. Among the teachers of the programs, the main part is made up of employees of these centers, as well as researchers from partner universities. Accordingly, the programs are applied.And this has a number of very serious advantages for prospective students.

Firstly, getting knowledge from people with many years of experience in performing practical tasks on a narrow topic is worth a lot.It is extremely difficult to become a UN employee: you need to hav emaster's or (preferably )doctoral degree, have a number of high-level research publications and have a management experience of at least three years. Thus, even the selection of personnel in the UN is quite difficult to pass, to be sure of further work surrounded by masters of their craft. This means that the teachers of the university are professionals with a capital letter, and each student has the opportunity to learn from their significant experience.

Secondly, students have very high chances of the desired employment. After graduating from the university, students have the opportunity to stay to work in the UN structures - at least in research centers at the University. Each master's and doctoral program of the University has a very narrow focus and is designed in accordance with the modern tasks of the UN. Therefore, the likelihood of getting a job offer is very high. The UN University cooperates with governments of different states, other universities, private organizations and individuals who are also interested in attracting personnel with high potential. Thus, the majority of university graduates have very high chancesfor employment in the sphere of their own interests during their studies or immediately after graduation from the University.

Thirdly, symposia and meetings of top officials from different countries and representatives of international organizations, especially the UN, are periodically held on the campuses of the University, which gives students excellent opportunities to attend such events and even participate inthem. For example, in March 2013, the UN University organized a symposium on the development of ASEAN member countries in the context of transnational changes. The meeting was attended by representatives of 10 countries and integration associations: Australia, China, European Union, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and USA. One of the conclusions of the conference was the emphasis that at present one of the key roles in the development of the planet is given to youth.

As you know, there is practically nothing perfect in the world.And the UN University has several negative traits.It should start with the fact that there are very few programs: 2 master's, 3 doctoral, 5 continuing education courses and one master's program, created in collaboration with McMaster University in Hamilton (Canada) .In addition, it should be noted that each program is presented only on one campus. The list of campuses involved for training includes research centers from cities: Maastricht (Netherlands), Helsinki (Finland), Bonn (Germany), Reykjavik (Iceland). The number of students at the university is very small: in 2012, only 54 people attended postgraduate programs in all the programs presented. You cannot ignore the cost of training - on average, the cost of training is 10,000 euros per year, which is quite a lot by Russian standards, taking into account the current exchange rate.

Scholarships and Incentives

It should be noted that the UN University provides a number of scholarships to applicants with outstanding achievements,who need material support. The size and number of scholarships differ depending on the program.Some scholarships cover only a portion of the tuition costs. Competition for scholarships is very high. In addition to this, any student is eligible for scholarships from third-party organizations: the government of the home country, private foundations, and international financial institutions. However, nothing is impossible, therefore it is quite possible to receive a scholarship if you wish and strive.

Summing up, it should be said that despite the rather high cost of training and a small selection of programs, studying at the UN University is ideal for those who want to contribute to solving the global problems of humanity and work in the future.at the UN, another large international structure or government organization. The university specializes in very narrow and at the same time pressing issues, so graduates will be in demand in the labor market and, if their eyes light up from such activities, they will be able to build a brilliant career in the field that they really like.

And most importantly, the UN University sincerely pursues the goals of solving the global problems of humanity. Well, how can you not help people when they need your help so much, and you can help them?