Annual Meeting

All current and former Cusanuswerk scholarship recipients are invited annually to our general meeting which serves first and foremost the development of personal contacts and encounters. The committees that define Cusanuswerk-specific participation also convene during our annual meeting. Discussion forums and lectures take up on current public topics.

Summer Academies

The summer academies, lasting fourteen days in the semester break, are comparable to the demands of a general studies course (studium generale). Students from diverse subject areas come together to discuss key questions from several different scientific disciplines, problems in our current society and culture as well as central aspects of theology and faith. Plenary lectures, discussions and working groups offer the possibility to interact with professors, social decisionmakers and specialists from diverse professional areas.

Furthermore, scholarship recipients shape the summer academies with personal presentations about subjects within their degree subject area, their personal areas of interest as well as with cultural and sporting activities. Guest lectures and excursions complement the programme. An integral part of the academic routine is the common church services. During the academy, there is also the opportunity and time for mutual exchange of information and for conversations with the academy management or spiritual support. Participation in one summer academy per year is obligatory for all scholarship recipients in the basic scholarship for the complete funding period.

Graduate Conferences

PhD students receiving Cusanuswerk scholarships can participate in all educational events. Furthermore, they are invited to Graduate Conferences that deal with questions from theology, philosophy, society, politics, law and economics, natural sciences and technology as well as cultural sciences and the arts. Alongside lectures and discussions about conference topics, scholarship recipients have the opportunity to present their academic work and research results.

International Academies

The objective of international academies is to allow scholarship recipients to get to know the circumstances and developments of the respective host country. Further international events address questions such as European unity and the so-called Third World. Communication between students and with host families from the respective country play a special rol

Workshops

Workshops from the series “Academic Studies and Careers” address topics related to subsequent professional actions.  While academic studies tend to impart expertise in a selected topic area, additional qualifications are made a subject of discussion in these events. Furthermore, the workshops leave room for ethical considerations, based on the discussion of precise examples.

Academic Student Conferences

Students and former scholarship recipients are integrated into academically diverse groups that plan and carry out conferences of their own accord.  In combination with selected professional speakers, subjects are broached here that are slightly more controversial and reach out across the range of standard academic contents. The academic group leaders have the rare opportunity to organise a scientific conference whose preparation and implementation they can manage themselves. Academic group members who are still studying are explicitly invited to take up the challenge of this particular educational process.

Retreats and Days of Reflection

The spiritual programme in its different forms - retreats and days of reflection - are regarded by us as invitations to take time and space to reflect on one’s personal experiences, the most important things in life in general and what is important in one’s own personal life. It is also an opportunity to expose oneself to a dialogue with God