The Magna Charta Observatory (MCO) has launched a new call for essays from university students worldwide. This year the MCO is inviting students to reflect on how access to education, with diversity and inclusivity anchored in principles of equity and fairness, can prevail.
The students of the University of Bucharest at all levels and fields of study are invited to send, by July 5th 2024, essays answering to guiding question of the 2024 MCO Student Essay Competition: “What would you change about your higher education experience or environment to make it more inclusive for all who have the ability to benefit from it?” .
Students may choose to reflect upon one or more of their student experiences and the surrounding environment in relation to higher education governance (including student movements), culture, teaching, learning, and/or research that could be more inclusive. Such methods may concern:
- Making access to education opportunities/resources/facilities more equitable and fairer.
- Enhancing students’ participation in and successful completion of their courses/programs through more inclusive and diverse learning environments (E.g., through flexible and/or community-engaged learning, teaching, and research opportunities)
- Widening university policies and capacity to put the freedom to study/ research/ engage/ pursue/ explore interests into practice.
The Magna Charta Universitatum is a document signed by numerous rectors from Europe and beyond, containing principles of academic freedom and institutional autonomy, as a guideline for good governance and self-understanding of universities. Recently signed by the University of Bucharest, it emphasizes the critical role of universities in acknowledging that individuals and communities, often due to inequitable circumstances, have difficulty gaining access to higher education or influencing the modes and matters of academic study.
5 prizes for the winners
The winners of the competition will be announced on August 27th 2024.There will be 5 prizes for winners to present their essays and participate in discussions with an international audience at the MCO Anniversary 2024, consisting of expenses paid (including travel and accommodation costs) or a prize of equivalent value, at the discretion of the organizers.
The formal requirements for submitting essays to the competition are available here.
More information about the MCO competition can be accessed here, or you can contact the organizers by email at magnacharta@unibo.it.
