Study Vacations Abroad Are Hot This Summer!
In the days of yore, summer times were reserved for visits to grandparents’ homes or maybe a swimming or an art/hobby class but largely a whole lot of time just doing “nothing”.
Times are changing and now, it is not uncommon to find parents planning study vacations abroad to enable their kids to learn a new skill which could be either related to academics or be just to better their personalities or further a sport. Kids have never been busier; perhaps more so during the holidays and surely, nobody wants to waste a single minute whiling away doing sweet nothings.
Summer courses in institutions of repute especially are a great way to familiarise oneself with the challenges of living abroad, adapting to different cultures and experiencing new learning environments. The exposure offered is tremendous and it is a great way to build confidence, learn a new skill, make new friends .. all this while having loads of fun. The courses vary from one week to even three months and most of the top universities offer them in a range of subjects from law, economics, humanities, arts, painting, medicine and health, management, computer science, ..the list is endless. All this of course, for a price.
We list here some options:
http://pages.jh.edu/summer/precollege/summer/miniterms
John Hopkins University has courses in molecular biology, medicine, nutrition, counselling, CAD and many others.
http://www.lse.ac.uk/study/summerSchools/summerSchool/courses
If one wants to experience a slice of London School of Economics, courses galore in areas of social sciences, arts ,design and architecture, environmental studies, journalism and media and the likes.
Stanford too has summer courses in many fields like engineering & technology, natural sciences & mathematics, hospitality, leisure & sports, agriculture & forestry, computer science and a host of other fantastic ones.
http://oxfordsummercourses.com
If Oxford is on your wish list for higher studies, what better way to experience life at Oxford than testing with short summer courses. From philosophy to classical civilisation, physics, chemistry, English, theology, philosophy, the choice is vast and aplenty.
If Berkeley is your dream destination, you can select from film and media, engineering, ethnic studies, energy, environmental design, landscape architecture, gender and women’s studies and whole lot of the unusual stuff can be explored here.
http://wharton.braingainmag.com
Who wouldn’t want a slice of Wharton? At US$5000, you can enrol in their KWHS Global Young Leaders Academy which is a two-week intensive, summer leadership program designed for the 15 - 18 age group. It combines business studies and hands-on workshops, with organized field trips and socio-cultural activities. The program draws its content from more than 400 lesson plans on the Knowledge@Wharton High School portal with focus on economics, finance, entrepreneurship, leadership and social studies.
If the aim is to enrich your child’s life in more ways than one, volunteering abroad too is an incredible way to partake in community service initiatives.
http://www.goeco.org/tags/teenage-volunteeringTeenage
Goeco.org offers fantastic programs all over the world which help one give back to the society while enriching lives. One can choose from projects in Asiua, Australasia, Africa, Europe, Israel, South & Central Americas and South Africa.
If you are passionate about wild life and want to make a difference, then you could volunteer at the African Wildlife Ranch by helping their staff with conservation efforts and experience close encounters with a range of fascinating creatures! One could also travel to South Africa and volunteer in the Great White Shark capital of the world. Cage dive with Great Whites and contribute to marine conservation and eco-tourism efforts in the stunning Gansbaai area! The site offers plenty of opportunities in various categories like medical, humanities, education, wildlife et al. Worth a dekko if your idea of education is not limited to classroom studies and if you are a passionate giver.
https://www.volunteeringsolutions.com
This site offers options in 21 countries with 122 options! You could volunteer in childcare - social welfare project work in childcare centers, orphanages, safe houses for women and children or in a home for physically and mentally challenged in Cape Town or join the Medical internship Program and work at the local government and private Nepalese hospitals and medical clinics in Nepal or volunteer at an Elephant Camp near Chiang Mai. The Elephant Camp is surrounded by lush green mountains from all sides. Volunteers assist and work alongside elephant trainers and other Camp staff to bathe and feed elephants and help with safety procedures with day tourists upon their arrival. They also learn how to be elephant trainers.
Alternately, there are women empowerment programs in Rabat - Morocco, to improve the lives of women in Morocco as still lot of women are abused and live in abject poverty. One can also spend time in teaching them skills such as sewing, painting, cooking, computer and other skills which can help them in their daily lives.
These volunteering projects help not just make a difference to the society but also enrich the participant’s lives by teaching them more than classrooms ever can.
Images Courtesy : Ananya R.
