Welcome to Our Joint Master Students

Welcome to Berlin! On 6 February, we welcomed our Joint Master students to CIFE in Berlin. Having spent their first term in Rome with our partner Luiss School of Government, they will now study at CIFE, first in Berlin then in Nice.

After an introduction by Programme Director Arnaud Leconte and CIFE Director General Matthias Waechter on Germany in the EU after the "Zeitenwende", Berlin State Secretary for Interior Affairs Christian Hochgrebe delivered a keynote speech about Berlin in focus: safeguarding security in a transnational world.

Heike Freimuth, Head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group Office in Germany, spoke about the EIB's key role in Germany in supporting innovative businesses in the green and digital transitions.

The day concluded with a “Climate Fresk”, prompting participants to take constructive action to tackle climate change. Under the guidance of Julius Wiebe, volunteer facilitator of the Climate Fresk and a GEGPA alumnus, Jan Störkel and several other facilitators of the NGO, the students worked in small groups to elaborate a climate fresk. Using 42 cards with major facts and details of the scientific IPCC report, each group assembled its own fresk showing the interconnectedness of the different factors.

The afternoon was enlightening, instructive and for some quite emotional. As one of the participants Henry Munangatire put it: "Climate change was caused by humans and as such humans can correct it. We still have a lot of power and agency to come together as a united world and save this as global citizens."

We wish our Joint Master students a very good start in Berlin, full of insights and discoveries - we're pleased to have you with us!

Photos (C) Jan Bechberger