by Lynn, Nystrom, 2007-11-14, Blacksburg, Va.
Students enrolled in the Virginia Tech sponsored course, Project Management in the Global Village, participated in a six week study abroad experience to Vietnam.
The students worked alongside indigenous community professionals to perform on-site needs assessments of technological and sociological factors of relief and development in several villages in the Mekong Delta.
The project, sponsored by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) International Academic Collaboration program, is part of Virginia Tech's Myers-Lawson School of Construction Center for Leadership in Construction. This program provides students with international engagement experiences that focus on enriching their skills to help meet the demands of globalization. Three faculty from Wake Forest University Departments of Sociology, East Asian Studies and Religion and two faculty from Virginia Tech's Myers-Lawson School of Construction, in collaboration with Peacework, a 501(c) 3 international volunteer and development organization, led the group of 20 students on the trip to Vietnam. In addition to Wake Forest and Virginia Tech, the University of Miami and the University of Maryland also sent students.
"The program is significantly different than most summer study abroad programs. These students combined knowledge, theory and practical application by working in partnership with local people in the village of Hoa, located in southern Vietnam near the city of Can Tho, " said Anthony Songer, Virginia Tech Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and one of the faculty who traveled with the students.
"The students, with faculty and local community professionals, explored the real world applications of their social and technical studies in a setting with complex social, economic, political, historical and cultural issues. Over the six week period, the students were actively engaged in several activities, " he added.
Read the blogs students wrote about their experiences on this trip.
