Program fair brings the world to Brattleboro
Publication Date: July 24, 2018
Publication Location: Brattleboro, VT
Contact: Kate Casa | [email protected]
SIT takes you ’round the world in a day
Aug. 8 Study Abroad Fair will feature program leaders from 32 countries
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – School for International Training takes thousands of students around the world each year; now SIT is bringing the world to Brattleboro.
On Wednesday, Aug. 8, visitors to the SIT Study Abroad Program Fair at the River Garden will have a chance to chat with more than 50 academic directors from across the globe. The event, from 3-5 p.m., is free and open to the public.
“Brattleboro has been home to SIT Study Abroad since 1964,” said Andrew Dick, SIT director of global operations. “Thirty-two countries and more than 60 programs will be represented. This is a great opportunity for anyone in the community to come meet the directors of these programs and talk to them about their countries and their work.”
Among the academic directors at the Study Abroad Fair will be Imraan Buccus from the South Africa program Social and Political Transformation. Buccus co-authored the National Framework on Public Participation for the South African government. He is also a columnist for Durban’s popular newspaper, the Mail & Guardian – which included him in its 2009 list of 200 Leading Young South Africans – and frequently offers political commentary on television and radio.
Buccus is also a senior practitioner for SIT Graduate Institute’s new Peace and Justice Leadership master’s degree program, which launches in 2019 and will take MA-level students to South Africa for part of their studies.
Other academic leaders expected to be at the Study Abroad Fair include:
- Suman Pant of SIT’s Nepal program Development and Social Change. She studies development, resource management, and gender issues in Nepal, and has been part of nongovernment organizations working for disadvantaged children and women.
- Xavier Silva, director of Ecuador: Comparative Ecology and Conservation. He has guided students in research that has in recent years included the discovery of several new species.
- Orli Fridman, director of Serbia, Bosnia, and Kosovo: Peace and Conflict Studies in the Balkans. She works with journalism students who’ve placed their work in major publications including The [U.K.] Guardian, Detroit News, and Balkan Insight.
SIT sends more than 2,000 undergraduates each year on academically rigorous summer and semester-long programs, where they learn from local academics, activists, artists, indigenous community leaders, and government officials. Students are deeply immersed in their host country with homestays, language study, and excursions. The programs combine classroom study with hands-on work in the field and independent research. A growing number of programs also offer skills-building internships.
SIT academic directors will be in Vermont as part of a week of training at SIT’s Brattleboro campus. The training focuses on key aspects of their work, like how to help students get the most from experiential learning – a core component of all SIT programs – as well as group dynamics and student safety.
SIT has offered field-based study abroad programs for undergraduates for more than 50 years. Today, SIT programs take place on all seven continents, as well as comparative programs in multiple locations. SIT Study Abroad emphasizes giving back to host communities and provides a strong focus on issues of global importance, from climate change to global health and human rights.
For questions about accessibility or disability-related accommodations for this event, please contact Kate Casa at 802-258-3527.