An event to enhance international collaboration
To analyze and reflect upon the global issues and processes that affect social workers’ everyday practice at the international, national, and local levels
A unique opportunity to meet and work together
A two-week academic program
The International Summer University in Social Work (ISUSW) is a two-week academic program that aims at enriching the professional experiences, knowledge and skills of participants from all over the world. Organized by a consortium of nine University Partners who signed a Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to the ISUSW, each edition of this program addresses a specific theme in the field of social work.
A Consortium
The creation of the Consortium in 2017 stems from various and past collaborations that have been developed over the course of more than ten years between several universities. It aims at ensuring the continuity of a short-term program – the ‘International Summer University in Social Work (ISUSW)’ – in order to promote scientific, social and cultural exchanges between participants from all over the world and to engage critically with global issues concerning social work theories and practices. The labelling ‘international summer university’ refers then to the academic wording commonly used to promote institutional collaboration and not to the activities’ contents that are geared towards globalization processes affecting professional perspectives and resources.
Goals and objectives
The Consortium ensures that the ISUSW takes place annually. It lives up to conditions of pedagogical and scientific quality; it guarantees that all participants benefit from a stimulating and critical learning framework for all proposed activities (academic and professional lectures, institutional visits or workshops). It is geared towards graduate students, mainly at Master’s level.
The Consortium promotes activities that link teaching and research as well as social and cultural activities mainly through the ISUSW that fosters cross-border collaborations in order to encourage and support fruitful exchanges between students, professors, experts and social work professionals, among all the member universities of the Consortium (‘member universities’) and throughout the world.
Structure and Contents of the ISUSW
Each edition of the ISUSW lasts usually for two complete and continuous weeks (including 10 days of scientific and pedagogical activities). It sets up activities which take five different forms: a) lectures, round tables or conferences by professors and experts; b) students’ workshops in sub-groups; c) visits to institutions and meetings with front-line professionals; d) oral presentations or contributions of students; e) social and cultural outings.
To the current edition
July 1st to 12th, 2024 - 15th Edition
The ISUSW 24 will be held at the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (HES-SO) and hosted by the Social work faculty from July 1st, 2024 to July 12th, 2024 in Lausanne, Switzerland