Tag: ClemsonAbroad

By Devin Orr, Study Abroad Intern

As college students, many of us are used to having to figure most things out on our own. That can make it a huge undertaking when you’re trying to find a study abroad program. Luckily though, there are many on-campus resources and people who are more than happy to help you in the search for a program that’s perfect for you! 

During my search, I didn’t actually utilize any of the resources available to me, and that made my experience so much more difficult than it had to be. I spent hours combing through the Clemson terradotta app (which is not the most user-friendly, mind you) and trying a million different search combinations to find a program that interested me when in reality, all I had to do was set up a meeting with my advisor and see what she recommended.

In my opinion, the best course of action to take if you’re interested in going abroad is to speak with your advisor! They have the latest scoop on all of the awesome opportunities that fit your major and your interests, so they are best suited to give you some guidance. Not only are they knowledgeable in all things your major, but they can also help you pick the best program for your remaining course list. This is the most important facet of the study abroad search! You want to make sure that you’re fulfilling your requirements while also choosing something that interests you, and this is where your advisor comes in. 

Some other useful resources on campus include Clemson Abroad, which holds Study Abroad 101 meetings throughout the year in which students learn all about what steps they need to take, what kind of stuff to bring, and a plethora of other important information. You can find all of these meetings on the Clemson University Calendar.

You can also wander around campus and find half a million flyers with potential study abroad opportunities. In fact, you can check out the AG Quad buildings and Hendrix to find flyers I made to advertise Sustainable Cities in Scandinavia, Clemson’s only faculty-led program in Sweden. 

Now let’s get into all the different varieties of study abroad opportunities! Being an out of state student myself, one of the best parts about Clemson’s study abroad programs is that you get in-state tuition when you go on a faculty-led study abroad to one of Clemson’s partner universities, which are located all over the world! When you decide on a faculty led program, you also avoid the hassle of having to find accommodation, organizing your own travel, and that of transferring credits. 

If none of the Clemson faculty directed programs interest you and you want to do a third party program, there are so many of those to choose from as well, and they have their own unique benefits. Although you will have to get credits approved by Clemson faculty and go through the credit transfer process, there are way more third party opportunities than Clemson faculty-directed programs, so you may be able to find one that fits you best. Depending on the program you choose, you will be more deeply immersed in the culture of the country you go to and have more options for courses.

Exchange programs are another awesome way to go abroad. I have had many friends come and go as exchange students throughout my time at Clemson, and I gotta say, they were some of the coolest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting! Basically, you just pay the amount of your current Clemson tuition, then you switch spots with a student at one of Clemson’s partner universities, and bam you’re in a new country at a new school studying! 

###

Considering a study abroad opportunity this summer? Check out the Study Abroad Fair on Wednesday, February 7 from 10 am to 3 pm at the Hendrix Center.

Clemson Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management (PRTM) faculty and graduate students were recently invited to South Africa to share their expertise, research human/wildlife experiences in Africa’s longest standing national park and explore new potential collaborations.

The group, led by Department Chair Wayne Freimund and consisting of Associate Chair Lori Dickes, faculty members Lauren Duffy and Aby Sene-Harper, and graduate students E’Lisha Fogle and Temitope Arogundade, took part in the Insaka international research symposium about how Africa can best meet the multiple societal and ecological challenges that come with transformative conservation, conducted a visitor research project for Kruger National Park and explored the possibility of a promising new collaborative project focused on Garden Route National Park.

The Insaka Symposium

The Insaka Symposium brought together experts in a wide variety of disciplines, such as social science, tourism, human rights, community development and environmental science to try to better understand and address rapid social and ecological changes in South Africa. According to Freimund, the multidisciplinary makeup of the group provides a richer and more thorough understanding of challenges throughout the country.

“South Africa’s conservation issues are complex, multidimensional and require all hands on deck, with everyone working together to find workable solutions,” says Freimund. “It’s rewarding to work as part of a collective of international leaders in their fields, collaborating on possible solutions we can share with the country’s decision makers.”

Most of the team presented at the symposium, with Freimund and Dickes delivering keynote speeches. Their presentations shared findings from research conducted by the department in national parks throughout the United States and parts of Africa, and applied those learnings to a South African context. PRTM’s different areas of focus, including parks, community recreation, youth development, tourism and public administration, makes it well-suited to address the rapidly evolving social and ecological challenges the region is facing.

“We had a great scientific exchange and social capital building experience at the symposium, with the collective experiencing the breadth and depth of what Clemson had to offer and how a department like ours can fit into these large-scale problems in a constructive way,” continued Freimund.

The collective is now working together to apply for a National Science Foundation network collaboration grant involving the Insaka Consortia, Clemson and Montana universities, and potentially the University of Botswana, the Nelson Mandela University and other African partners. The grant proposal is focused on the Kafue River basin in Zambia, part of the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Trans Frontier Park, which is the largest in the world.

Kruger National Park

After the symposium, the PRTM group traveled to Kruger National Park, one of the longest standing parks in Africa, to develop a study on challenges associated with human interaction with wildlife.

International and domestic tourism to the park is increasing, which brings a number of opportunities to the region, but also creates a tension between the park’s natural space and the humans wanting to experience it. Wildlife is migratory, making it difficult to create experiences for tourists. Human interaction can also pose challenges when animals feel at risk.

The group conducted research in the park to get a sense of wildlife interactions from a visitor’s perspective, and to better understand the complexities – and possible solutions for – human and wildlife experiences over time. The group is developing an app-based experience sampling method, where visitors send data throughout the day during their visit that describes where they are, what they are doing, how they feel about it, their perceived quality of their experience, among other questions. This will give researchers a better understanding of how to better manage incidents and create a better code of ethics for visitors, while also taking steps to enhance their visitor experience.

“Right now, the visitor experience at the park is based on the luck of the draw. For example, you could have an awesome experience of nature if your car drives beside a lion next to the road, or you could stumble into a long traffic jam if dozens of people get there before you,” says Freimund. “The first is a very positive experience. The second isn’t. Developing a visitor app for the park can help flag some of these issues and help help us better understand how the positive and negative episodes affect the overall experience and impression of the park.”

Garden Route National Park

The group’s final visit was to Garden Route National Park, near the town of George, where they explored the possibility of a new research collaboration with the Sustainability Research Unit at Nelson Mandela University, the Knsyna Basin Project and South Africa National Parks.

The group is exploring a number of key opportunities and challenges facing the park and region, such as municipal park development, tourism as an economic generator, youth development and conservation.

“The area’s national parks are open access, similar to national forests throughout the United States,” says Freimund. “There are opportunities to help visitors explore the health and cultural benefits of nature and expand the park’s recreational use and community engagement, while also managing its conservation. We have a great deal of experience in managing those issues, making a partnership a good fit.”

After a successful first meeting, the collective is working together to explore potential opportunities for collaboration, including research projects, student and faculty exchanges and a possible visit to Clemson. The group has struck a committee to look for ways to facilitate an exchange moving forward.

Watch the video below for more pictures of the group’s experiences!

A group of Clemson University undergraduate students and lifelong learners recently traveled to Tanzania as part of a unique study abroad program organized by the department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management (PRTM) and Clemson’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI).

Clemson University offers several international travel options that expand the learning environment beyond the classroom into unique, and often challenging, cultural contexts. What sets this trip apart, however, is that the students were joined by a group of OLLI members midway through their experience.

OLLI is a regional continuing education community and membership organization of more than 1,450 people that primarily serves adults age 50 and older, though adults of any age are welcome to participate. The institute offers lectures, courses, excursions and social events, as well as access to Clemson events and resources. Clemson’s OLLI is one of 123 similar organizations throughout the country, with a collective membership of more than 150,000 learners. The Tanzania study abroad trip was organized so that both groups could benefit from an intergenerationally-focused learning opportunity, and to establish stronger connections between our university students and the upstate community.

“We’re always looking for ways to enrich student learning, and partnering with OLLI accomplishes that by allowing both groups to experience Tanzania through another generation’s perspective,” says Arthur-Banning. “Students are able to learn from and network with key members of the upstate community, who also play lead roles in many upstate organizations.”

The study abroad experience is focused on service, with students volunteering with local children at schools and at a family-run orphanage in Tanzania’s capital city of Dar es Salaam before joining OLLI members for a few days to experience the country together. The combined group visited a Chagga village in Uru east at the base of Mt. Killimanjaro, where they learned about traditional food, coffee, and the process of making banana beer (called Mbege). They also taught students at the village’s primary school and went on a safari of Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater.

The group’s volunteer work in the Chagga Village benefited both groups of learners in different ways. Students gave OLLI members insight into Clemson’s study abroad programs and their focus. OLLI members were able to apply their extensive skill sets to their volunteer roles, enriching the experience for students.

“Our OLLI members are impressive, with a vast depth of knowledge and experience to share,” Vidotto says. “This program provides an excellent opportunity for our participating members and students to learn from each other and experience a different country and culture in a unique, authentic and culturally immersive way.”

Now that the trip is complete, Arthur-Banning and Vidotto are conducting an assessment to determine whether the study abroad trip met its learning objectives, and opportunities for improvement.

“We see great potential in continuing to find ways for Clemson students and the OLLI community to interact and learn from one another,” continued Vidotto. “This program is a great start, as we can now easily see how Clemson can create a model for the national OLLI network.”

Arthur-Banning also sees an ongoing opportunity for his students, now that the group is back in Clemson.

“We’ve encouraged our students to really think about how this experience has moved them to action in some way – whether it is spending more time with their family, bringing them closer to a higher being, moving them to have a more positive role in their own community or here on campus, or perhaps even to return to Africa to continue the amazing work that our institution continues to do,” says Arthur-Banning. “Whatever it is, I hope this trip does not simply become a neat experience, but that it stirs up an opportunity to continue to grow.”

A group of Clemson undergraduate students are spending five weeks in Kalmar, Sweden, this summer to learn about what makes the area one of the most sustainable regions in the world.

From July 10 to August 13, the students will live and study at the Linnaeus University Summer Academy in Kalmar, where they will explore topics such as sustainable shipping, farming, water treatment, water, energy, transportation, infrastructure, local foods, environmental impacts, business and economics, policy and ecology.

The study abroad program is organized by Lori Dickes, Chair of Clemson University’s Master of Public Administration program and Jeffery Allen, director of the South Carolina Water Resources Center.

The program responds to a new global environment, with governments, businesses and other organizations across the globe considering how they can be more sustainable. Sustainability impacts a wide variety of management issues, such as overdevelopment, environmental issues, municipal services – such as water, trash, transportation and power – public health and high-quality nutrition, access to green space and concerns of over tourism.

“The concept of sustainability is increasingly vital for students to understand regardless of their study focus,” says Dickes. “Students participating in this study abroad program will have a unique opportunity to experience a city that is at the top of the sustainability game, and to consider how they can apply these lessons to their studies and their communities in the United States.”

Sweden consistently tops the RobecoSAM Country Sustainability Ranking, a semiannual survey that ranks 65 countries based on several environmental, social and governance indicators. The country’s green technology industry produces revenues of approximately  $3.5 billion annually and employs more than 40,000 people.

The study abroad program includes field work, class field trips, case study sites throughout the region, and research and group projects with students from other universities. The program uses an integrated systems and interdisciplinary approach to teach students how to learn about and consider research, behavior and social norms around sustainability.

Students are placed in teams to complete group projects, and will also expected to write blog posts and share presentations about what they’ve learned on a wide variety of sustainability topics. When they’re not in the classroom, they’ll also be given the option of experiencing Swedish culture in a different way, by participating in cultural and extracurricular activities, attending lectures by internationally-renowned speakers and experiencing other popular recreational activities in the area, such as biking, hiking, kayaking, canoeing and swimming.

Students will also study and assess best practices from local, regional, national and international perspectives, with an emphasis on the transfer of knowledge across regions. Dickes says that this is particularly important, as it helps students understand how the scale of a sustainability initiative can impact its planning, implementation and ongoing management to reflect specific regional, social and cultural needs.

“Sustainability is often complex and culturally-influenced, so there is no single, one-size-fits-all approach to solutions,” says Dickes. “Being able to see what is working in Sweden and what challenges they’ve faced, while also being immersed in that culture, can help students understand why certain initiatives were framed or developed in a certain way for that specific population.”

The ability to consider the cultural context for a sustainability initiative, including an understanding of what motivates people to change patterns of behavior, can help students better adapt and apply best practices to challenges faced in the United States and throughout North America. The program also enrolls students from universities around the world, helping its participants see sustainability initiatives through the lens of other cultures, and to discuss sustainability experiences through a global perspective.

Dickes feels that having students from different areas of study – and different countries – take part in the program reflects the need for every sector with a stake in the issue to come together to find multi-faceted solutions.

“Because sustainability is a broad topic with many dimensions, it requires an interdisciplinary lens and understanding of the breadth of topics that fall under this broad umbrella,” she says. “We need many different types of academic and professional backgrounds to work together if we’re going to solve the complex environmental, social, organizational and policy problems of the world.”