A Typical Day
The entire program is
conducted in English, and local international students must submit
TOEFL scores for eligibility. During a typical day, you will receive six hours of Global PACT classroom
instruction -- three in the morning and three in the afternoon. You will listen
to lessons, interact with instructors as a class, and work one-to-one
with a small, multi-national group and Global PACT trainers. You and
your team members will make frequent class presentations to the large
group. On some days, you will travel around the city conducting research
for your project, and on the final day your group will conduct a live
press conference to introduce your project to national media.
After class, you will be free to hang out and explore the city with your classmates,
although some project work will
require you to work with your team after classroom hours are over.
Interactive Exercises
From beginning to end, experienced trainers will engage your group in highly interactive exercises. Each exercise focuses on a process-oriented skill, which you’ll apply in your groups to your own real-life project, and compare your knowledge with that of other groups to share progress and feedback.
Sharing Progress
Many exercises will involve presenting your work. This process is
both about learning from other teams' ideas in the program and
discovering how to present yourself, your group and the complex work
you have done.
Action Research
Creating real change is an active process. You have to figure out exactly what you need to know and where you might find it. Action research is research into new, developing, unresolved issues. It requires inventiveness and effort.
Most people assume that someone else already has the answer and all you need to do is "look it up." That approach might work for a school essay, but if the answer to your issue were on the internet, do you really think someone else wouldn’t have found it already? Action research is about engaging people, discovering their issues, thinking collaboratively about solutions and creating new knowledge.
Expert Speakers & Site Visits
Whether it is the executive director of Helsinki Watch, a member of Parliament, an investigative reporter, a leading environmentalist or the World Health Organization malaria eradication project director, Global PACT brings the key public policy players to the classroom. We will also make trips to observe individuals and organizations in action. You learn best when interacting in intimate settings with the men and women who make the news. Whether you're visiting organizations that allievate poverty in South Africa or that conduct post-war reconcilliation in Croatia, your first-hand experiences with major players is key to understanding how social change happens. Please see individual program pages for information on specific speakers and excursions.
Cultural Excursions
On weekends, we visit historically and culturally important sites in the area on one day and give you one free day to explore your host city, shop or just sleep!
