Programs by Country: South Africa + Dialogue of Civilizations
Cape Town: Comparative International Education: South Africa at the Crossroads (Closed)
Dialogue of Civilizations | Cape Town, South Africa
Faculty leader: Holly Carter (h.carter@neu.edu)
Study Abroad Coordinator: Colleen Boyle (c.boyle@neu.edu)
Information Session: October 30, 2:20, 448 CSC
Summer I
Courses: EDUC 3000 Global Perspectives on Inclusive Education & EDUC 3100 Comparative International Education
Description:
Post Apartheid South Africa is a country seeking to define pluralism for the post-apartheid generation. Students will have the extraordinary opportunity to explore the challenges and complexities of contemporary South Africa through the prism of educational policy and systems. Through formal lectures by Professors Carter and Lefevre and local guest presenters and informal learning experiences in schools across the spectrum of township communities to exclusive private and government schools, students will have an in-depth overview of South African history, politics, culture and society. The course will focus on all levels of education from day care centers/early education through university.
The specific topics to be covered will include:
- So. African Educational Policy
- Curricular Reform at the National and Provincial levels
- Education and sustainable development
- The multicultural challenges of inclusive education
- Disparities in South African Education
- Race, Culture and Education in So. African context
- From Bantu education to 21st century education
Cape Town: Health and International Medicine (closed)
Dialogue of Civilizations | Cape Town, South Africa
Faculty Leader: Adam Thomas (ad.thomas@neu.edu)
Study Abroad Coordinator: Colleen Boyle (c.boyle@neu.edu)
Summer I
Courses: INTL4944 Dialogue of Civilizations – South Africa & PT6239 Intercultural Health Care Delivery
Description: In this Summer 1 Dialogue in South Africa, the students will be able to explore the South African health care system as well as attend lectures, excursions, and tours on South Africa culture and history. Students will visit many cities and townships within the country and have access to public and private medical facilities. By the end of this dialogue students will have a better understanding of social and economical impacts on health care systems and delivery. This Dialogue in South Africa will allow growth culturally as well as educationally, and will be a great learning opportunity for any student interested in health care.
Cape Town: Social Entrepreneurship Field Study and Research (closed)
Dialogue of Civilizations | Cape Town, South Africa
Faculty Leader: Dennis Shaughessy (d.shaughnessy@neu.edu) and Gordon Adomdza (g.adomdza@neu.edu)
Study Abroad Coordinator: Colleen Boyle (c.boyle@neu.edu)
Summer II
Courses: ENTR3306 Global Development Entrepreneurship & ENTR3308 Business Economic History of Modern South Africa
Description:
The Social Entrepreneurship Field Study & Research Program in South Africa is built on the theme of social entrepreneurship in urban township communities, specific to Cape Town, South Africa. The academic portion of the program includes subject material such as social entrepreneurship, social enterprise development, micro-finance, business solutions to ending poverty and small business management. Classes are supplemented with site visits to social businesses and enterprises in the surrounding Cape Town or Cape Flats area. Site visits include guest lecturers from local social enterprises and businesses, visit(s) to Robben Island, Parliament and other historical/cultural sites. Students also attend guest lectures by South African historians, politicians, journalists, venture capitalists, doctors and researchers to engage students in discussion of topics relevant to South Africa post-apartheid, such as the modern business climate and the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the South African economy.
In the afternoons, students gain field experience by working with entrepreneurs to help build small businesses in township communities such as Khayelitsha, Langa and Gugulethu. The consultation teams are made up of Northeastern students in addition to TSiBA (Tertiary School in Business Administration) students. At the end of the three week consultation/"field research" experience, students present their business consultation deliverable to a panel of student peers and judges from the TSiBA Entrepreneurship Centre, who later determine whether or not the business is eligible for an equity investment from the NU-TSiBA MicroVenture Fund, a privately funded micro-equity fund for small business owners or entrepreneurs from township communities. Eligible businesses can receive equity investments between $1,000-$10,000 USD. This portion of the program allows students to gain real life "consultation" experience and also illustrates the practice of venture capital for business development, particularly in an emerging market economy such as South Africa. The third and fourth week of the program incorporates a social enterprise innovation & design consultation project, aimed to serve the “base of the pyramid”.
Weekends include student led service learning projects and thoughtful community service. In this service learning exercise, students are encouraged to research which organizations they wish to support, and fundraise towards their project goal; this component of the program enables students to measure the impact of their own strategic social investing.
Weekends also include excursions, hiking trips and visits to explore the local flora and fauna of South Africa.
To watch an informational video about the South Africa Social Entrepreneurship Field Study & Research Program, please visit: please visit: http://www.youtube.com/northeastern#p/u/11/AsEnILQFiY8