Deadline for applications: Monday, the 1st of April 2019.
The Subject of the Conference
The SAIL conference is an undergraduate, academic Baltic University Programme activity scheduled on the training sailing ship Fryderyk Chopin starting on 4th of August 2019 in the port of Aarhus (Denmark), and finishing on 16th of August 2019 in the port of Szczecin (Poland). This year the period of the conference is 12 days.
The SAIL conference focus on different areas of sustainability, under the thematic academic sessions on Environment; Energy; Climate; New technologies; Economy; Social science; Democracy, Conflict, and Resolution, Education, etc.
Interactive talks and workshops will be prepared and run on board by an international group of 8 teachers/specialists. We offer 30 places available for students on-board.
Please notice that students participating in this conference will NOT receive any ECTS credits.
Who Can Apply?
Students interested in the topic and coming from BUP members or participating’ universities are welcome to apply for participation in the conference. Students from the BUP´s member universities will be given priority and for them, the participation in the SAILing conference is free of charge.
Please notice that all students applying should have a written recommendation from their teacher, BUP’s contact person at the university, or the BUP’s national center.
How to Apply?
We welcome students to apply to their national BUP Centers. The national BUP’s centers will be responsible for selecting a final list of participants from the respective countries. In case there is no functioning center in the country (like Denmark) the applications should be sent directly to SAIL coordinator (dominika.stygar@balticuniv.uu.se).
Applying students are asked to save all documents with their names. Please observe that handwritten applications will not be accepted!
All BUP’s Centers will select up to 5 students per country and prepare a reserve list of students.
Application Form
Students interested to SAIL with BUP should fill in two documents:
- An Application Formincluding a letter of motivation
- A Health Statement.
Recruitment Process
Students will be chosen to a final group of participants of the SAIL conference based on their motivation's letter and interest in sustainable development. The previous sailing experience is not necessary and will not give any priority to the conference. The final list of participants will be announced by SAIL coordinator, Dominika Stygar, 15th of April 2019. Students, if selected to participate, will be asked to have their health statement confirmed by a doctor.
Information About the SAIL Conference
Please be aware and consider the special nature of the conference - you should be aware that sailing a tall ship is physically demanding. Our experience is that you will be physically exhausted, deprived of sleep, and definitively out from your normal comfort zone. You will be living very close to many new people in a very restricted space. We should also mention that you may experience seasickness, which can be a rather unpleasant experience. On board the sailing vessel all students (and teachers) will act as a working crew. You will be divided into one of three watches that will be assigned 4 hours of rotating duties (navigation, deck, and kitchen) - around-the-clock! Please keep in mind that in spite of the weather conditions, and in spite of your condition, you should participate in your watch duties. You should also be aware that sailing a tall ship means pulling lines, climbing masts to set and haul sails in the old-day fashion. Fryderyk Chopin is a brigg-rigged tall ship with two 38 m high masts, which need to be climbed! Students and teachers are expected to work together in the watches to fulfill their sailing duties, which in our experience is an excellent tool for team building and to create a dynamic learning environment. Moreover, as a crew member, you must also do other duties on board, in addition to your sailing and conference duties. This includes cleaning, cooking meals, washing dishes, and maintenance work. All this you are expected to do in addition to your conference duties that come as a priority number one! To your help, there will be 8 professional crew members on board so you can feel safe! Please keep in mind that you are expected to work hard with the conference requirements and to fulfill all duties on board. The life on board is based on strict rules, which every member of the crew must obey. The captain of the ship is responsible for the safety of all crew members and he is the person who takes most of the decisions. This is far from group discussion conditions.
Despite these words of "warnings", or perhaps because of them, we can promise you extraordinary new experiences filled with feelings of togetherness and teamwork, meeting with new friends, being close to nature, and in the hands of the powerful forces of nature, and exploring places you never been to before. You will be part of a team experiencing a unique conference, and feel the joy of being part of a truly stimulating learning environment with hopefully many enthusiastic students. And not least: you will explore yourself and push your limits to new levels. Please keep in mind that the conference is very popular - each year the number of applying students exceeds by far the number of available places so make sure that your application will impress on us :-)
Important - all students are obliged to fulfill all the conference steps – starting from the preparation process, followed by active participation on board, and ending with the final paper that will be checked by the teachers. Students who will fulfill all requirements and pass the conference on board will receive the Baltic University Programme certification for the conference. Special certificate confirming their sailing skills issued by the Captain of the “Fryderyk Chopin” sailing boat and a memory for life, new friends from many countries in the Baltic region, incredible adventure, and hopefully more confidence and self-knowledge.
Costs of Participation
The SAILing conference is free of charge for students coming from the BUP Member Universities and all costs of accommodation and food on board will be covered by the Baltic University Programme coordinating secretariat.
A conference fee of 1,300 Euro per person applies to all other students.
All students must, however, cover all travel costs to and from the boat themselves (travel to Aarhus and back from Szczecin).
BUP's Centers and teachers are kindly asked for advice and help students to find financial support for their travel costs. Please see the list of BUP Member Universitieson the BUP web site.
Visas
For those who need visas (multiplied Schengen visa will be needed for this trip): Invitations will be issued by the BUP secretariat in Uppsala.
Very Important
An application to the SAIL conference is binding – cancellation in the last minute without any important and documented reason will be reported to authorities of student's university and department.
For the sake of security, ONLY students with very good communications skills in English will be selected.
Please do not hesitate to contact Dominika Stygar in case of any further questions.
Dominika Stygar
SAIL Coordinator
The Baltic University Programme
Villavägen 16
752 36 Uppsala
SwedenEmail: dominika.stygar@balticuniv.uu.se
Mobile phone: +48 696 222 884 or +46 72-520 49 47