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Introducing new countries and a range of exciting trips this autumn, including an excursion to Bangladesh to study climate change and microfinance, and a new sustainability and environmental justice program in Portugal.

School for International Training this week opened enrollment for its SIT Study Abroad programs in fall 2020, offering a new slate of locations and excursions with an emphasis on climate change, microfinance, sustainability, and environmental justice.

Jaipur, where students on SIT’s India: Sustainable Development and Social Change live with a homestay family for about six weeks.

Trilochan Pandey, academic director of SIT’s India: Sustainable Development and Social Change program, will lead a new excursion to Bangladesh to explore the country’s progress in areas of development in comparison with India, despite its slower economic growth, as well as how communities are learning to adapt to the effects of climate change.

The trip to Bangladesh will also include a visit to the world-renowned Grameen Bank in Dhaka, a community development bank that, since 1976, has pioneered ways to make small loans to struggling rural populations.

“Bangladesh is a place where students can learn about microfinance and the impact it has on empowering people,” said Pandey. “It is also a hot spot of climate change, with the risk of floods and sea level rise affecting a large population.”

Wind turbines in The Azores, an excursion destination on SIT Portugal.

SIT Study Abroad also is launching its first program in Portugal in fall 2020, based in Lisbon, the European Green Capital for 2020. Students who enroll in SIT’s Portugal: Sustainability and Environmental Justice program will learn about innovative approaches to renewable energy technologies, social equity challenges, and the core principles of economics in Portugal, which is working to map out alternative designs in green policies.

Aside from being the European Green Capital, Lisbon, a port city, has a unique history of overcoming environmental adversity and hardship. In 1755, the Great Lisbon Earthquake nearly destroyed the entire city, triggering a tsunami and fires that razed 85 percent of the buildings and killed thousands. The slow and arduous process of rebuilding Lisbon still looms large in the collective memory and serves today as both a reminder, as well as the foundation for much of Portugal’s environmental progress.

Along with studying Lisbon’s past and present, students enrolled in the program will travel to the ancient university town of Coimbra, the Azores Islands, the coastal city Porto, and Spain’s stunning Extremadura region, comparing conservation projects, sustainable agriculture production, resource management, and environmental best practices.

SIT’s new program in Malaysia and China gives students an opportunity to better understand Islamic finance.

Another new program, Malaysia and China: International Relations and New Economies, is also accepting student applications for fall 2020. An extraordinary opportunity to witness vibrant economies across Malaysia, China, Singapore, and Indonesia, this groundbreaking program allows students to better understand Islamic finance, environmental diversity, ethics, and the interfaith communities that coexist within a globally dynamic economy.

Spend part of a semester in Brazil on SIT’s new IHP International Relations program

SIT Study Abroad is also excited to announce the launch of a new International Honors Program in fall 2020, International Relations: Global Governance, Human Security and Civil Society. Spanning four continents, this innovative program will introduce students to the inner workings of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Union, guiding them through comparative studies of neocolonialism, global finance, protest and resistance, peacekeeping, and youth activism. Students will live in Washington, DC, Brazil, France, and Senegal, while examining current global political trends and the rising challenges facing the post-World War II liberal world order.

SIT’s new Senegal program examines hip-hop’s role in redefining Africa’s future.

In Africa, SIT has named Dr. Cheikh Thiam as academic dean for Africa South of the Sahara, effective Jan. 1, 2020. Thiam currently co-leads SIT Study Abroad programs in Senegal focused on global security and religious pluralism. He also designed a pioneering undergraduate program that explores how hip-hop artists and cultural influencers are redefining Africa’s future. That program, Senegal: Hip-Hop, African Diaspora and Decolonial Futures, is accepting student applications for fall 2020.

Dr. Cheikh Thiam, SIT’s new academic director for Africa South of the Sahara.

As academic dean, Thiam will lead one of the broadest portfolios of programs in Africa of any U.S. institution. SIT’s multidisciplinary portfolio of accredited undergraduate programs covers nine sub-Saharan countries and encompasses subjects such as biodiversity and wildlife management, multiculturalism and human rights, health policy and social transformation, and journalism.

All of these new and expanded programs build on SIT’s multidisciplinary stable of more than 60 immersive study abroad programs for undergraduates, covering Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, along with comparative International Honors Program offerings in multiple locations.

Edward is a visiting senior international scientist at Kunming Institute of Botany’s Centre for Mountain Ecosystem Studies, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His responsibility at the institute includes researching/writing on environmental policy and conservation issues and advising Chinese graduate students. Ed received a master’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Montana in 1982 and a PhD in environmental policy and management from Union Institute in 1991. Besides serving as acting chair for the Environmental Studies Master of Arts Program at Prescott College from 2009 to 2010 and director of the Sierra Institute at University of California Extension in Santa Cruz from 1982 to 2003, Ed has taught environmental studies courses at Antioch College, The Evergreen State College, University of Montana, UC Santa Cruz, Sierra Institute, UC Extension, Prescott College, and IES Abroad in Kunming since the 1970s. Ed has written numerous journal articles on China’s environmental issues and published the book Where the Dragon Meets the Angry River: Nature and Power in the People’s Republic of China (Island Press) in 2010. Ed is an expert on China’s environment and conservation issues and has served as senior lecturer for SIT China programs since 2013 and as academic reader for SIT China programs since fall 2015.

Applications open Sept. 15

With undergraduates’ schedules in full swing for the new academic year, it’s not too soon to start thinking about how to make the most of summer 2019. Imagine snorkeling in one of the world’s top diving sites as you study marine ecology in Panama, building career skills with an internship at an NGO in Vietnam, exploring Madagascar’s extraordinary natural environment to learn about traditional medicine, or learning Arabic in Jordan or Morocco.

Those are just some of the many opportunities available through School for International Training (SIT). During summer 2019, SIT Study Abroad is offering 23 programs in 17 countries that will appeal to a wide range of majors and interests, including five skills-building internship opportunities.

Like all SIT Study Abroad programs, each summer program offers academic rigor and an immersive cultural experience within the framework of at least one critical global issue. Applications for these programs open September 15.

New to the SIT Student Abroad summer portfolio this year are:

Colombia: Building a Culture of Peace – Integrate peace studies with Colombia’s cultures through music, dance, and food from the program base in the vibrant, multicultural Caribbean Coast city of Cartagena, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Vietnam: Nongovernmental Organization Internship – Learn about development and the roles of nongovernmental organizations engaged in social change through this guided internship, which also includes lectures and site visits. Customize this program based on your areas of interest.

SIT summer programs, sorted according to themes, are:

Climate | Environment

Iceland: Renewable Energy, Technology, and Resource Economics

Indonesia: Biodiversity and Conservation in Bali and Borneo

Jordan: Engineering and Design for Sustainable Environments

Nepal: Geoscience in the Himalaya

Panama: Marine Ecology & Blue Carbon Conservation in the Pacific & Caribbean

Tanzania: Climate Change and Sustainability, Mount Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar

Development | Economy | Inequality

India: Agroecology and Food Security in the Himalaya

Panama: Community and Nongovernmental Organizations Internship

Vietnam: Nongovernmental Organization Internship