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.

Wind farms over 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.