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July 18, 2014

BarCamp Prishtina- PISU Edition

The last BarCamp for the season was organized differently compared to the previous ones since it was exclusively dedicated to participants of Prishtina International Summer University. BarCamp PISU offered the place to learn more about the summer university, get to know some of the professors, and familiarize the participants with the focal point of their education over the past two weeks. The event took place at the Amphitheater of the Faculty of Education at the University of Prishtina. Our speakers for this special BarCamp were: Curtis R. Youngs, Anisa Peculi and Bai Yuan.

Curtis R. Youngs: Building opportunities

A Professor of Animal Science at Iowa State University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Mrs Youngs offered his insight on how students should make their own way rather than relying on external sources of opportunities. Through a very warm greeting of the audience by saying “Goodnight” in Albanian, i.e. “Mirëmbrëma,” Dr. Youngs established a receptive style of communication. He talked about the manner in which he created his opportunities by himself, after being intrigued by what a professor of Animal Science was doing during a workshop with farmers. Dr. Youngs put an emphasis on the importance of setting goals for oneself and encouraged the audience to become independent of the government and parents, work hard, and be ethical on the things that one does. What he strongly suggested to the audience was to: “Write down the goal, put it up in the refrigerator, and remember why you want to reach that goal. But create opportunities.”

Anisa Peculi: What living abroad taught me

A young Professor of Agriculture at the University of Tirana, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food, Ms. Peculi discussed how living abroad, specifically in Nyon (Switzerland) where she is finishing her doctoral studies in Enology, has made her see her country from a different point of view. As an Albanian citizen, she talked about the common lack of information that is present even in the young generation of students. After being continuously asked about Albania, she noticed that she had to learn more about her homeland and established an objective of travelling to all the cities of Albania. Based on her own experience, she came to the conclusion that: “Young people tend to not share much passion about their nation nowadays.” Mrs. Peculi also mentioned the existing gap between the student and the professor, and pledged to put down this myth as they should work together in cooperation. All in all, she motivated students to get to know themselves and their countries, prior to making a decision to go abroad.

Bai Yuan: Cultural differences 

A Professor of Economics at the Beijing International Studies University, Ms. Yuan started her speech by emphasizing an inherently good feature of this summer university, she said: “The best thing about PISU is that brings people in one place from different places and cultures.” She talked about cultural differences from a business perspective. Additionally, Mrs. Yuan pointed out the collectivistic society that exists in China and how Chinese people make collective decisions and take into consideration other people’s feelings. The importance of relationships is also quite high, as Chinese individuals will not say things directly to one’s face, but rather choose a more indirect approach. After being asked what she has learned about the Albanian culture during her stay, she pointed out the hospitality that she has received in a place where she feels like home.