In January, the University of Pennsylvania established the Fund for Innovation in International Offerings to foster new and creative approaches to the global engagement of undergraduate and graduate/professional students through study, research, and service abroad. Students interested in participating in these initiatives should contact the faculty directors of the successful proposals listed below.
—Ron Daniels, Provost
Awards for Innovation in International Offerings for Students
The awards for summer 2007 include school-based and cross-school interdisciplinary initiatives in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The selected proposals address critical global issues involving health, the environment, technology transfer, education, communications, and urban housing.
The eight successful proposals are:
Africa
Summer Internships in Botswana
Funding awarded to Dr. Harvey Friedman, professor of medicine and chief of Infectious Diseases in the School of Medicine, will support eight undergraduate internships focusing on HIV’s impact on health, educational, social and economic conditions in Botswana. Independent research projects developed by students in collaboration with Dr. Friedman will also be possible in veterinary medicine, the care of orphans and the disabled, game park management, and environmental issues.
Expansion of Penn Nursing Program in Botswana
Funding awarded to Dr. Marjorie Muecke, assistant dean for Global Health Affairs, associate director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Nursing & Midwifery Leadership, and adjunct professor of nursing in the School of Nursing; and Dr. Christopher Coleman, assistant professor of nursing in the School of Nursing, will support 12 traditional undergraduate or second degree Penn Nursing students to conduct a five-week Penn faculty-mentored study of community health practices in Botswana. The study will be undertaken in partnership with the University of Botswana’s School of Nursing, the Infectious Disease Clinic, Botswana’s Ministry of Health and the Holy Cross Hospice, and will strengthen the School of Nursing’s on-site participation in the Penn-Botswana program.
Service Learning Experiences in Cameroon
Funding awarded to Dr. Linda McCauley, Nightingale Professor of Nursing and the School of Nursing’s associate dean for research; Dr. William McCool, associate professor and director of the School of Nursing’s Midwifery Graduate Program; Dr. Godlove Fonjweng, assistant dean for advising in the College of Arts and Sciences; and Dr. Christiaan Morssink, adjunct assistant professor of nursing in the School of Nursing, will support a service learning experience for six undergraduate or graduate students that will involve their direct participation in assessment, capacity building, and health education in a rural water and sanitation demonstration project in Cameroon.
New Course in International Development and Design
Funding awarded to Dr. Michael Larice, associate professor of city and regional planning in the School of Design; and Dr. Eugenie Birch, Lawrence C. Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research and Education and chair of the department of city and regional planning in the School of Design, will support a new course, “Case Studies in Slum Upgrading.” The course will incorporate classroom instruction and summer travel for eight graduate students to study slum upgrading projects and planning in communities of the Global South. The course will feature three weeks of intensive classroom instruction at Penn, followed by a four week trip to southeastern Africa to study slum upgrading projects on the ground. Upon their return, students will produce a term paper on topics associated with the case study, will contribute to the development of a website that will serve as a forum for slum upgrading issues, and will participate in a panel discussion of their work which will be open to the university community.
Research on Abstinence and Behavior Change for Youth (ABY) in Uganda and Zambia
Funding awarded to Dr. Rebecca Maynard, University Trustee Professor of Education and Social Policy in the Graduate School of Education, will fund the travel and participation of four doctoral students in the development of a monitoring and evaluation plan for an Abstinence and Behavior Change for Youth (ABY) program being conducted in Uganda and Zambia by Dr. Maynard under a subcontract from the Children’s AIDS Fund. Specifically, students will participate in an intensive two week field visit to the ABY program partners, during which time they would observe program activities, collect data and provide technical assistance on monitoring and evaluation issues. Upon return, the students will collaborate on a comparative evaluation report (for publication and presentation) on the challenges of implementing HIV/AIDS prevention programs for youth in Uganda and Zambia.
Asia
Development of Penn-in-Beijing Summer Abroad Program
Funding awarded to Dr. Carolyn Marvin, Frances Yates Professor of Communication in the Annenberg School for Communication; Monroe Price, director of the Annenberg Center for Global Communication Studies; and Dr. Bingchun Meng, lecturer in the Annenberg School for Communication, will support two five week immersion courses for up to 15 undergraduates on global communication in an Asian context, as seen through the lens of China’s preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Coursework will be interdisciplinary and will utilize the Olympic theme as a case study platform from which to examine media institutions and other entities involved in China’s entrance into the global spotlight. The cohort of Penn students will learn together on site at Peking University with an equal number of Chinese students.
Latin America
Development of Maternal Health Program in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala
Funding awarded to Dr. Kent Bream, assistant professor of clinical family medicine and community health at HUP; Dr. Frances Barg, assistant professor of family medicine in the School of Medicine; and Mary Guidera, lecturer in the School of Nursing, will support an eight week Academically Based Community Service project for six undergraduate and/or graduate students who will contribute to the research and development of a maternity care program in an indigenous community in Guatemala’s Western Highlands. This is a multidisciplinary endeavor with three specific goals, derived from earlier research conducted by the Guatemala Health Initiative (involving the School of Nursing, the School of Medicine, the School of Arts and Sciences, Wharton, the School of Engineering and Applied Science and local health care facilities).
Various Locations
Establishment of the Global Technology Service Program
Funding awarded to Dr. Kenneth Foster, professor of bioengineering in SEAS; and Joseph Sun, director of academic affairs in SEAS, will support the expansion and formalization of SEAS’ existing international service learning programs in Cameroon, China, Honduras, and Kenya under the rubric of one program, to be called the “Global Technology Service Program.” The course “Technology and Development” would be expanded to include more general topics related to engineering practices in developing countries, and would be required of students planning to participate in a field project.
The award announcement for Innovation in International Offerings for Students “Development of Penn-in-Beijing Summer Abroad Program” inadvertently omitted that the Penn-in-Beijing program represents a first time collaboration and a significant joint effort between the Annenberg School for Communication and the School of Arts and Sciences’ College of General Studies, which administers all Penn Summer Abroad programs. Karen Hendershot, associate director for International Programs in CGS, will oversee the program’s implementation. (Added April 10, 2007)
