Besides their regular duties as teachers or researchers, program participants are expected to carry out the core activities of the project:
  • To organize teaching workshops or round-table discussions at their home faculties, where faculty members could share their teaching experiences and discuss the position of anthropology courses in the curricula of the department. These meetings might take place in a more informal setting as well, given that their main purpose is to enhance communication within departments of social sciences from the region;
  • To organize teaching workshops with students, which have a double-aim: to receive feedback from students on their teaching, and to offer training sessions for students on academic writing in English, critical thinking, reading and writing skills, etc.;
  • To engage in a research exercise with students on a topic previously agreed upon with the program director and the academic advisors of the program. Preferably, the research should have a comparative dimension and it should be carried out in collaboration with a project partner from a different country. Given that the research serves educational purposes, it is crucial that students are involved at all stages of the research, including the writing of the research proposal, fieldwork, and final report.
  • To assist students in monitoring regional publications with relevance for the subject area. The activity goes on during the whole academic year and targets publications of scholars from the region that have been written in local languages, making available on-line their reviews or summaries in English. Besides newly published books and articles, students might also report on research in progress or conference proceedings.
  • To hold a visiting lecture at one of the participating faculties from the region. The "host" project participant ought to act as a discussant or opponent at the visiting lecture, and advertise the event among students and faculty members.


  • Program participants benefit from the academic guidance of more experienced scholars who act as resource persons for the project. They also receive material support through the financing of the Higher Education Support Program, Open Society Institute Budapest. The outcomes of the intersession activities are presented and discussed at the summer sessions.