Romanian high-school students attend summer school at Oxford

A total of 21 high-school students will attend the first summer school organized at Oxford for students from Romania, between August 29 and September 4. The initiative belongs to a group of Romanian researchers, members of the Oxford University, who want to give the students who show great potential but come from a less privileged background the chance to experience the academic world at Oxford. The Oxford for Romania summer school’s program will include multidisciplinary courses, seminars, workshops, and one-on-one tutorial programs inspired by the teaching model traditionally used at Oxford University. Besides the courses, the students will also enjoy a selection of leisure and alternative education activities, such as visits to colleges and museums, movie/theater nights, sports activities, and a trip to London. Besides the three researches who initiated the project, namely Monica Enescu, Ciprian Plostinar, and Sandor Kruk, the team also includes 19 other members of the Romanian community. All those involved in organizing this summer school are volunteers and don’t get paid. “The Oxford University Romanian Society consists of more than 120 students and 50 researchers. We intend to mobilize this professional potential to bring here a group of talented young people from disadvantaged backgrounds annually,” said Monica Enescu, Research Scientist. More than 100 high-school students submitted applications for the first edition of Oxford for Romania summer school, but only 21 were selected. They come from high schools in Craiova, Slatina, Orastie, Lupeni, Cluj, Otopeni, Mioveni, Baia Mare, Piatra Neamt, Pitesti, and Timisoara. The expenses related to the participants’ transportation and accommodation are covered by full scholarships. The necessary funds come from both the UK and Romania. The main partners of this program in the UK are the Ratiu Family Charitable Foundation; Sir George Iacobescu, CEO Canary Wharf; Raluca Ragab, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs; and Anthony Rowsell, DPhil (Oxon), FRCS, FRACS, Trustee, Oxford Cloud Tutors. The program is supported in Romania by the eMAG Foundation for Education, BMW Banat Car and Hategan Attorneys, Tarom, Aqua Carpatica, and Chimsport. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (Photo source: Oxford for Romania Summer School on Facebook)