This Summer School will focus on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, with an emphasis on conflict research and international law. Key topics include responses by international actors, peace processes, dealing with war crimes and reconstruction plans.
The programme is aimed not only at students from our partner universities in Finland, France, the UK, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Romania and Spain, but also at students from Ukraine. This special setting enables international academic exchange on a current topic of global political relevance.
The interdisciplinary summer school invites students of all fields of social sciences including political science, psychology, communication science, journalism, sociology or educational science as well as other related disciplines.
When? 25 -29 August 2025
Where? Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany
Course language: English; ECTS: 3
Students from FORTHEM partner universities (European Universities Initiative), students from Ukrainian universities and students from Cardiff University and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz can take part.
Students of the FORTHEM universities: The application phase is closed, the selection procedure has concluded.
[Status: selection finished]
Students from Ukrainian universities: The application phase runs from the beginning of February to mid April. The application form will be available below starting from early February 2025.
[Status: Application phase ongoing / ends on the 11th of April 2025]
Cardiff University students: If you are interested in the Summer School, please contact Prof Peter Sutch directly (SutchP@cardiff.ac.uk).
[Status: Selection ongoing]
Regular JGU students: The registration phase runs from the beginning of February to the end of March. The Application form will be available below starting from February 2025.
[Status: Application phase ongoing / ends on the 31st of March 2025]
Please note: This section is for those who are or will be enrolled at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz for the duration of the summer school. If you are enrolled at another university please see the corresponding box.
JGU students may apply using this application form.
Please note: This section is for those who are or will be enrolled at a University in Ukraine for the duration of the summer school. If you are enrolled at another university in another country please see the corresponding box.
Students from Ukrainian universities may apply using this application form.
Application Procedure
After the end of the application phase and after viewing all applications we will select candidates for an online interview. Those who are not chosen for an interview will be informed of this decision without delay.
The interview candidates are invited to meet us at a yet to be determined time in an online meeting via an online conference call platform. During this meeting we will introduce ourselves and the program in more detail. We also would like to gauge your English language abilities and get to know you. About a week after the last interview has taken place, we will select all participants and inform you of the selection results via email. We expect to receive applications from more suitable and qualified students than we can accomodate. Not being selected right away is not the end of your chances to participate. There will be a waiting list for all candidates who were deemed suitable for the summer school but not chosen in this first selection round.
If you have questions about the selection procedure please contact us at sowiso@uni-mainz.de
Application Procedure Overview
| 17. February | Application phase starts |
| 06. April | Application phase ends |
| 07. April - 17. April | 1st stage of evaluation |
| 18. April - 21. April | Easter Holiday in Germany |
| 22. April | Invitations to interview for selected candidates |
| 28. April - 02. May | Interviews held online |
| Early May | 2nd stage of evaluation |
| 12. May | Results of application sent via email |
| June and July | Possibility to join later from waiting list |
| 25. August - 29. August | Summer School |
Firstly, there is no participation fee for our Summer School. However, costs of travel and accomodation are to be covered by the participants. We have secured funding for Ukrainian students to help them cover the costs of participating in our program. Students from Cardiff are also eligible for an allowance which is managed by their University directly.
Participants from Ukrainian universities will be provided with free accommodation and will receive a travel expense allowance to cover travel costs (Bus travel to Mainz). We will release more information about this during the selection interviews.
Participants from Cardiff University are eligible for a travel expense allowance. Please contact Prof. Peter Sutch to receive further information about the amount of the supplied funding (SutchP@cardiff.ac.uk).
If you have any questions about the Summer School or the application process, please email sowiso@uni-mainz.de. (Students from Cardiff University can contact Prof. Peter Sutch directly: SutchP@cardiff.ac.uk).
Day by day programme:
(The program may be adapted based on developments in the war)
| Morning | Afternoon | Evening | |
| Day 1 (25.08.2025) | Welcome Session and Introduction to Peace and Conflict Research | Welcome Gathering with Icebreaker Activities | |
| Day 2 (26.08.2025) | Setting the Stage for Invasion(s) – The Problem of De Facto States | Controlling the Public – Public Discourse and Psychological Warfare | |
| Day 3 (27.08.2025) | Preventive Diplomacy and De-Escalation | The Tension Between Peace Negotiations and Support for the Defending State | Round-table-debate – What Takes Precedence: Peace or Justice? |
| Day 4 (28.08.2025) | Transitional Justice and the Balance Between Justice and Peace in Ukraine | Outlook: Peacebuilding and Reconstruction in Ukraine | Farewell Event with Joint Dinner |
| Day 5 (29.08.2025) | Student led Model UN Debate | Social and Cultural Event |
Coordinators: Dr. Barbara Müller und Jan Koloska (SoWi?So!, Johannes Gutenberg-University)
Organising Team:
Professor Peter Sutch (School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University),
Dr. Friedrich Plank (Institute of Political Science, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz),
Dr. Olesia Zvezdova (Goethe University Frankfurt and Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University)
The Summer School is organised by the Faculty 02 Social Sciences, Media and Sport of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in cooperation with the School of Law and Politics of Cardiff University and takes place on the campus of Johannes Gutenberg University - with around 30,000 students, it is one of the largest universities in Germany.
