Students who are looking to gain more from their study abroad programs may want to consider VISAGE, a program that integrates classroom learning with actual on-site experience.

"One criticism that we've heard from students in study abroad programs is that they feel they lacked the adequate academic preparation before studying abroad and lacked a forum to reflect on what they have learned and to apply their knowledge academically," said professor Brian Heuser, director of the Cape Town, South Africa, site. "With VISAGE, the (program) will better prepare students to interpret and understand realities of studying abroad but also will allow them afterward to pursue research opportunities and questions they have formulated while studying abroad."

The Vanderbilt Initiative for Scholarship and Global Engagement is a yearlong commitment split into three modules.

The first module consists of a three-credit, spring semester course that focuses on global citizenship and international civic engagement. After that class, students apply what they learned through global, fieldwork-orientated projects during the summer. The following fall semester, students reflect on their experiences in a seminar on global citizenship and service.

Students also have the opportunity to conduct guided, independent research as a way to continue their service.

Three sites have been chosen this year to focus on the three aspects of VISAGE: citizenship, social justice and sustainable development. Each site offers different learning opportunities: Cape Town, South Africa, offers students the opportunity to see the differences between first-world and third-world countries; Melbourne, Australia, directed by professor Gene LeBoeuf, is similar to the United States because of its access to resources; and Managua, Nicaragua, led by professor Marshall Eakin, gives students insight into a developing nation.

"We chose these sites out of an evolution of sorts," said Marie Martin, organizer of VISAGE and the assistant director of the Global Education Office. "We wanted to give students a choice of geographically diverse areas but also areas that presented different academic opportunities."

The program plans to expand by adding one to two more sites in the future.
"Hopefully with VISAGE, we can give students the tools to adequately participate in communities and be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses," Heuser said. "We also want to give students a framework where they can reconcile the challenges they will face."

Students in the program share similar hopes.

"I hope I can better understand how to see the world," said sophomore Tanmoy Saha. "What we learn at Vanderbilt doesn't really mean much unless it is applied in a practical manner in the real world."

— Vasanth Sathiyakumar can be reached at vasanth.sathiyakumar@vanderbilt.edu