UNG’s Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies (ILSS), the College of Arts and Letters, UNG Press, the Army Strategist Association, and the Army War College Strategic Studies Institute have teamed up to host the Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic on National Security for their annual symposium at the Convocation Center on the Dahlonega campus. This is event will take place April 7 and 8 from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. but students can also join via Zoom. Students can register online and there is no fee for attendance or registration. Registration can be found on the student involvement page on the UNG website.
The symposium will consist of a series of speakers and panels discussing the impact the Coronavirus has had on national security and the challenges within the political, military, economic, social, infrastructure, information and intelligence domains of nation-states. They will also analyze the implications of the pandemic’s impact of these domains. The speakers are Chief Corporate Affairs, Communications and Sustainability Officer Laura Lane, Spectrum Advocates Jason Schuette, Chair of the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology Professor Lindy Heinecken of Stellenbosch University out of South Africa, Director of Hawkeye360 ISR Solutions Matthew Kralovec and University of New South Wales Professor Raina Macintyre.
The panelists will be undergrad students that are chosen from the paper abstract submissions. Students can submit an abstract for a paper that discusses the topics of the event if they are interested. Submissions are due by March 1 and must be emailed to event coordinator and Vice President of Military Programs Keith Antonia at [email protected]. The abstracts are open to U.S. and international scholars, graduate and undergraduate students. The guidelines include that the paper must be related to the topic of the event, 500 words minimum and a 150-word bio. Students are open to submit an abstract for a PechaKucha presentation which are timed at six minutes and 40 seconds and must include 20 slides and these need to be submitted by March 15. Students chosen to be on the panel will have their travel and lodging covered by the event.
In concurrence with the symposium, there is also a writing contest that will be held for students to participate in. Students can submit a fiction or creative nonfiction stories related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the theme of the symposium “Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic on National Security”. There will be a first, second and third place winner, each receiving a cash prize. First place will receive $500, second and third place winners will receive $200, and all three will receive a publication in the UNG Press ILSS symposium and one print copy. The winners will also receive travel and lodging expenses covered by the event as well. These also need to be submitted by March 15 to Antonia.
Although the event is based around national security, Antonia emphasized the importance of this symposium for students.
“This is a good event for students studying or interested in national security as it is an opportunity for them to hear from prominent people in their field and to hear from people outside of the university system.”
Furthermore, he goes on to explain that it will help students sharpen their communication skills and it is a good resume builder. With the PechaKucha presentations they will build better presentations skills and improve their public speaking.
