Enrich Your Summer with MIIS Custom Language Programs

CLSWhether you are mastering Mandarin for an upcoming career move, brushing up on your French before a summer trip, or diving into Arabic for diplomats, the Monterey Institute is proud to promote our unique and effective Custom Language Programs. Programs are catered to the specific needs of each client and customizable to fit your schedule, budget, and proficiency level.

Learn more about Custom Language Programs at the Monterey Institute campus, and also new Hybrid Learning programs to fit your needs.

For more information on languages and curricula options, please fill out the Inquiry Form or contact the Custom Language Program Office at language@miis.edu

Where in the World are MIIS Students?

Thailand alumni - all part of the diplomatic corps - and their families gathered for a group photo.

Thailand alumni – all part of the diplomatic corps – and their families gathered for a group photo.

MIIS students  work and learn all over the world. They are global movers and shakers, engaged in some of the most critical social change and cultural exchange work of our time. Immersive Learning opportunities at MIIS, as well as an internationally-connected Center for Advising and Career Services contribute to our ever expanding network of MIIS students and alumni.

36 MIIS Students on Immersive Learning and International Professional assignments at organizations like the United Nations, the Nature Conservancy, the International Labour Organization, the World Bank, and the National Renewable Energy Lab.

Trade and Development students spent spring break visiting the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. They met local policy makers, learned from guest lectures by industry professionals and scholars, and explored the impact and policy implications of the Free Trade Zone (FTZ). 

Alumni continue to connect across the globe with fellow MIIIS grads, like these alumni who find each other while working at the International Labour Organization, and U.S. Embassies in Turkey, Malaysia, Thailand, and Germany.

 

 

MIIS Students Innovate Around Monterey County Water Issues

miis_community_innovation_challengeLast week, MIIS hosted the Finals of the Monterey Community Innovation Challenge. Close to 40 students from the Monterey Institute and several from California State University Monterey Bay jumped at the opportunity to participate in the first challenge, “Nor Any Drop to Drink,” focused on finding innovative solutions to Monterey County’s water issues. 

The winning team consisted of five Monterey Institute students from the International Environmental Policy degree program: Matthew Nichols (MAIEP ’14), Emily Cluff (MAIEP ’14), Nereyda Montaño (MAIEP ’14), Nate Maynard (MAIEP ’14) and Malcolm Johnson (MAIEP ’14). In their view, Monterey County’s water problem, like most fresh water issues, amounts largely to a problem of communication.

The main goal of the group’s proposal is to achieve communication, collaboration, and coordination via the creation of a community-based organization called the Water Science Trust (WST).

Read more at the MIIS Newsroom

MIIS to Host the Monterey Symphony

Thursday May 1, 2014 7:30 PM
The Monterey Symphony

and the
eMIISsaries of the Monterey Institute of International Studies
proudly present 
An Evening of the French Masters
featuring Christina Mok, violin & artists of the Monterey Symphony

Irvine Auditorium MIIS
Pre-concert lecture by Dr. Todd Samra at 7:00 PM
General Admission $25: Call the Symphony Box Office at 831.646.8511 or visit www.montereysymphony.org/special-events

Monterey Symphony at MIIS May 1French Masters at MIISAdditional Upcoming Performances:
SPLENDOR May 16,17,18
featuring the Brahms Double Concerto for Violin & Cello
Sherwood Hall & Sunset Center
Don’t miss the final concert of our Season of Discovery
Visit montereysymphony.org to learn more

Renowned Political Scientist Francis Fukuyama at MIIS for Spring Colloquium

Friday April 18th 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Irvine Auditorium, McCone Building, Monterey Institute Campus

Francis Fukuyama
World Renowned Political Scientist Francis Fukuyama will Offer a Guest Lecture
on April 18 as part of the 2014 Spring Colloquium. The Topic: 

Economic Diplomacy and Global Governance in a Multi-Polar World 

  • What is Governance in a G-Zero World?
  • What is economic ‘hard’ power? Does it work? When and How?
  • Is ‘soft power’ different in a world dominated by economic interests?
  • Can cooperation emerge from economic competition?
  • The growing impact of Non-State Actors

Fukuyama is best known for the international sensation caused when he published an essay called “The End of History?” which later led to his book, “The End of History and the Last Man.” He ignited a global debate with his revolutionary thesis, that the Cold War marked an endpoint of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy would be the final form of human government. He later published “Trust: Social Virtues and Creation of Prosperity” which modified his earlier thesis to include that culture cannot be fully separated from economics. Fukuyama has immense global recognition for his theories on democracy, development and economics. Click here to view full bio.

Francis Fukuyama is Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), resident in FSI’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. Dr. Fukuyama has written widely on questions concerning democratization and international political economy.  His book, The End of History and the Last Man, was published by Free Press in 1992 and has appeared in over twenty foreign editions.   His most recent books are America at the Crossroads:  Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy, and Falling Behind:  Explaining the Development Gap between Latin America and the United States.  His latest book,The Origins of Political Order:  From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution was published in April 2011.

 

Russia, Ukraine & Cyber Threats Expert Forum at MIIS

Russia, Ukraine & Cyber Threats Expert Forum

MCySecCo-hotsted by “Suits and Spooks” and
the Monterey Cyber Security Initiative (MCySec) 

Monterey Institute, Irvine Auditorium, 499 Pierce Street, Monterey CA
17-18 April 2014
DEADLINE TO REGISTER: Friday April 11

It is our distinct pleasure to invite you to join a conversation with a forum of experts on the cyber components of the current Crimean crisis and global security risks to critical infrastructure. Confirmed guest speakers from Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, the United Kingdom and the United States will discuss this timely topic in a Chatham House-rules environment.

This forum is co-hosted by “Suits and Spooks,” founded by Taia Global, Inc., and the Monterey Cyber Security Initiative (MCySec) at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS), a graduate school of Middlebury College. “Suits and Spooks” is a limited-attendance, cyber security event held three times per year in Washington D.C., New York City and Singapore. This year, Monterey has been added to the list of venues.  Additional sponsors are Basis Technology Corporations, Kaspersky Lab, O’Reilly Media and Recorded Future.

Monterey Institute students, faculty and staff are offered complementary registration on the MCySec website (http://go.miis.edu/cysec). Interested participants who are not from the Monterey Institute should register on the “Suits and Spooks” website (http://suitsandspooks.com). Here reduced rates for non-MIIS, Monterey-area faculty, students, military and government may also be obtained. A detailed agenda can be found on either website.

Confirmed presentations include:

  • John Arquilla  –  Professor and Chair, Department of Defense Analysis, Graduate School of Operational and Information Sciences, Naval Postgraduate School
  • Nicholas Brookes  –  Director, Deputy Global Head Financial Intelligence Unit, Credit Suisse
  • Douglas Bruns  –   Technical Director, Global Security Operations Center, BAE Systems
  • Jeffrey Carr  –  Chief Executive Officer, Taia Global; Founder, “Suits and Spooks” 
  • Glenn Chisholm  –  Chief Technical Officer, Cylance
  • Scott Donnelly  –  Senior Analyst, Recorded Future
  • Rob DuBois  –  Principal, Peace Consulting; U.S. Navy SEAL (retired)
  • Chris Diehl  –  Principal and Co-founder, The Data Guild
  • Jeffrey “JC” Dodson  –  Vice-President, Cybersecurity; Global Chief Information Security Officer, BAE Systems
  • Roderick Jones  –  Chief Executive Officer, Concentric Advisors
  • Robin J. Lee  –  Partner, Technology Transactions Practice Group; Member of the Cooley Business Department.
  • Itamara Lochard  –  Director, Monterey Cyber Security Initiative (MCySec), Monterey Institute of International Studies
  • Edward V. Marshall  –  Vice President, Credit Suisse
  • Carmen Medina  –  Specialist Leader, Deloitte; 30+ years CIA including Director of the Center for the Study of Intelligence
  • Brian Mefford  –  Founder, The Committee for Open Democracy
  • Christopher Michael  –  Director of Cybersecurity Engineering and Strategy, BAE Systems
  • Glib Pakharenko  –  Director at Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) Ukraine
  • Jaan Priisalu  –  Director General, RIA – Estonian Information System’s Authority; Founding Civilian Head – Estonian Cyber Defense League
  • Thomas Rid  –  Reader in War Studies, King’s College London
  • Roel Schouwenberg  –  Senior Researcher, Global Research and Analysis Team, Kaspersky Lab
  • Anna Vassilieva  –  Director, Graduate Learning Initiative in Russian Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies

Should you have any additional questions, please contact us via email at CySec@MIIS.edu or via Twitter @MIIS_CySec. We very much welcome your participation in this important, inter-disciplinary discussion of this timely topic

Amnesty International USA Executive Director at Human Rights Fair April 11

steve amnesty int'l

Steve W. Hawkins
Executive Director, Amnesty International USA

The Monterey Institute is pleased to welcome the Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, Steve W. Hawkins, to the 4th Annual Human Rights Fair. The Fair is organized and spearheaded by the student-led MIIS Chapter of Amnesty International, and Dr. Jan Knippers-Black, professor, life-long human rights advocate, and Amnesty International Board member since 2011.

Steve W. Hawkins will deliver the keynote address on Friday, April 11 at 6:00 p.m. in the Irvine Auditorium at the Institute’s downtown Monterey Campus. Hawkins’ address, titled “Bringing Human Rights Home,” will be followed by a reception in the lobby of the McCone Building. Both the keynote address and reception are free and open to the public.

Before joining Amnesty International USA as its Executive Director, Steven W. Hawkins was the Executive Vice President and Chief Program Officer of the NAACP. He is a nationally renowned attorney and grassroots advocacy leader at the forefront of social justice issues, including death penalty abolition, criminal justice reform and defending civil liberties. As an attorney, he brought litigation that led to the release of three teenagers wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death row in Tennessee. He was also a law professor in South Africa during apartheid, teaching black lawyers who faced discriminatory treatment in the courts. Steven obtained his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and New York University.

Water Innovation in Monterey County, Student Teams Compete for Prize

DOME

Join us in the Eco-Dome on the MIIS Campus!

Monterey County faces critical fresh water challenges. Some experts argue we are very near absolute limits to growth in agriculture, business, touristic, and domestic use. As the county’s aquifers are tapped, salt water from the ocean infiltrates, contaminating drinking and irrigation supplies. A local problem, yes.  But one growing in many localities around the globe.

To foster creative thinking, the Monterey Institute is organizing an Innovation Challenge for Spring 2014.  Watch the KION report here! The challenge seeks to illuminate ideas that are:

  • sustainable across future generations
  • progressive regarding economic growth
  • affordable
  • socially, economically, and politically just, and
  • compelling to local stakeholders

A panel of external judges will select winners on April 23rd, 2014 at the Final Event of the Innovation Challenge. It is with enthusiasm that we extend an invitation to you to attend the Innovation Challenge Final Presentations, along with a community reception and chance to connect with student presentors, judges, and local stakeholders all interested in tackling Monterey County’s most pressing sustainability issues. The Reception will take place in the Eco-Dome on the MIIS campus – a unique space celebrating Earth Week and brought in by TEDx Monterey. You’ve never experienced hors d’oeuvres like this before!

water_challenge_

Student groups brainstorming at MIIS’s Digital Learning Commons (DLC)

Welcome and Happy Hour: 5:00 – 5:45 p.m.
Student Presentations: 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Reception, Eco-Dome Mingle, Winners Announced! : 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.

Among the judges will be local stakeholders, so the practical value and feasibility of the idea to them will be critical to your success. The winning team will take home a $2,500 prize. The competition aims to encourage students to reach across degree silos, enhance collaboration, capitalize on a variety of classes, and promote interdisciplinarity. MIIS has partnered with with The Sustainability Academy on this event, with co-sponsorship and participation at the event from professionals affiliated with The Big Sur Land Trust, Carmel River Watershed Conservancy,  Cal-Am Water, Eco Carmel, Mussey Grade Foundationthe Offset ProjectSustainable Carmel and more.

Visit the Water Challenge Website or go to the MIIS Newsroom to learn more!

MIIS Trade Conference on US-China Agricultural Trade

shanghai-hdr-bay-chinaIt is with great enthusiasm that we extend to you a special invitation to attend this year’s TRADE CONFERENCE at the Monterey Institute of International Studies to be held on the MIIS campus Friday April 4, 2014. This is an amazing opportunity to be an active participant in the dialogue on key trade issues with China. We have assembled an amazing group of experts to interact with you and MIIS faculty throughout the day. The call for the conference is:

US-CHINA AGRICULTURE TRADE BARRIERS: BUILDING A PLAN FOR CONSTRUCTIVE ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY

Conference AbstractU.S.-China trade in Agriculture is one of the most rapidly growing trade relations in the world.  As a result, it will be one of the most complex and potentially problematic economic relationships for the next decade.  It is a relationship for which economic statecraft and careful economic diplomacy will be critical to successful partnership.

This conference targets key issues constraining trade. Experts and practitioners from government, industry and the academy. will explore the framework of economic diplomacy needed for an expanding trade relationship for the next decade.  

REGISTER NOW to reserve your slot

For more information, contact Kathy Joyce
Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, Planned Giving and eMIISsaries
Monterey Institute of International Studies
kjoyce@miis.edu
831-647-3556

TEDx Monterey Tickets on Sale Now!

TedXAs a member of our local TEDxMonterey community, we are excited to let you know that tickets for our April 26, 2014 daylong event, TEDxMonterey “Edges” will go on sale beginning today, March 12, 2014 at noon. Our fifth annual TEDxMonterey event will be held once again in the Irvine Auditorium on the campus of the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

This years event will bring together a diverse line-up of of presenters whose life’s work, stories, research, talent, insight and experience will throw into sharp relief this year’s theme: Edges.

TEDxMonterey is excited to open our ticket sales today, Wednesday, March 12 beginning at 12:00pm (noon) Pacific time. 

Preview of Our Speakers & Performers
TEDxMonterey organizers have selected a series of presenters to illuminate this year’s theme and we are happy to share with you some of the speakers and performers we are working with:

  • Captain Wayne Porter, USN
  • Blue Whale Scientist and Sr. TED Fellow, Asha de Vos
  • Biologist and Writer, Sheril Kirshenbaum
  • Wearable Tech Developers, Kwame Ferreira and Christoph Dressell
  • Psychologist and Infant Speech Researcher, Anne Fernald
  • Salinas Youth Poet Laureate, Mikey Frias
  • Author, Katrina Alcorn
  • Happy Life Expert, Betty Sproule
  • Freelance Writer, Brad Herzog
  • Psychotherapist and Advice Columnist, Carl Alasko
  • and more to be announced…!

Learn more at tedxmonterey.org, and we hope to see you there!