Graz International Summer School Seggau

"GUSEGG - Graz International Summer School Seggau" is designed for internationally oriented, highly motivated students from all disciplines, who wish to deepen their understanding of current European and international affairs by studying and discussing global developments and challenges within the context of transformation processes and demographic change reflecting aspects of individual, social, political, religious, cultural, literary, regional, economic, cohort and national identities.

With a complete European integration in mind, the summer school contributes to a better understanding on a European as well as international level. Thematic seminars in the respective fields allow students to strengthen their understanding of complex issues in their study areas. Cross-cultural teaming and transferable skills workshops add an important aspect to the summer school and give students the opportunity to acquire additional skills that will allow them to succeed on the international labour market and become cross-culturally competent experts.

The target groups for the summer school are highly motivated students following their studies at master level within the Joint Degree programmes or any other programme allowing for the recognition of the summer school courses within their study programme.The summer school is affiliated with the Joint Programme, thus Joint Programme students can have 6 ECTS recognised towarsd their mobility semester. Students of the regular track also have the opportunity to have credits recognised.

Faced with a multitude of concrete challenges and crises posing existential threats to our lives and the stability of our societies, we can ask ourselves how we have become less curious to know details, learn facts, and explore different explanations for the complexities of our world. We might be surprised by how quickly we are expected to have an opinion and how quickly we confirm these expectations with declarations of firm beliefs, strong convictions, and fixed positions. Sometimes we might even feel compelled to pretend to know more than we do concerning an understanding of the world. Artificial Intelligence contributes to this world of quick-fix solutions by the convenience of fast answers to possible questions seemingly addressing gaps in our knowledge. Less and less time is allowed for carefully looking into matters, little motivation is provided for us to investigate issues more thoroughly through reading, thinking, and writing in order to explore contradictory concerns behind conflicts, researching how the political, economic, cultural, and social aspects have shaped and defined these challenges and crises. Despite some philosophers discarding curiosity as a “kind of knowing, but just in order to have known” (Heidegger), the summer school intends to understand curiosity, concern, and commitment as an academic engagement with the world countering tendencies of impatience, arrogance, and fear. The more abstract approach of concern will be discussed in relation to the more concrete of commitment as a future projection. Thus, the topic of GUSEGG 2026 is an invitation to create an academic community that allows for controversial academic discussion and debate to address the challenges and crises of our times in a meaningful way. 

GUSEGG 2026 will offer a platform for the contributions of academics of various backgrounds and disciplines and will present research on how curiosity, concern, and commitment in Europe and the Americas are addressed socially, politically, culturally, and economically, and what this means for states, societies, and religions. 

In order to develop strategies and methods to meet the challenges of our times, this summer school encourages contemplation of the many forces that make us believe that the crises we face are essential, natural, or inevitable. Therefore, the suggested analysis offers us not only an understanding of our own positions on an individual, a regional, national, and global level, but also the possibility of moving from a passive position to active involvement. Addressing curiosity, concern, and commitment, offers insights into the dynamics and structures that govern and shape us individually and collectively. Focusing on the emphasis areas of the University of Graz – South Eastern Europe and North, Central, and South America – this program will offer a basis for discussing global and continental challenges as well as opportunities that such academic engagement provides.

Prof. Dr. Roberta Maierhofer,
Academic Director 

The deadline for the call of papers is February 15, 2026!