Semester at Sea Launches Innovative Short-Term Voyage to Address Today's Global Challenges

The inaugural program (May 20 - June 15, 2011) will take an interdisciplinary approach to engineering education in six countries in Central America and the Caribbean

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Feb. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Institute for Shipboard Education is pleased to announce "Engineering a New Tomorrow," the first short-term Semester at Sea voyage. Open to participants of all majors the program will explore key global issues during an intensive 26-day shipboard and field-practice curriculum developed in partnership with the University of Virginia.

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The academic program is based on the global challenges outlined in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, including sustainable development, food security, energy, water, population, species and ecosystems, and the international economy.

Although engineering programs often address the technical aspects of humanitarian problems, Institute for Shipboard Education Senior Academic Officer Rosalyn Berne and a 12-member planning committee have designed an interdisciplinary program that will visualize the "socio-technical" issues and integrate multiple disciplines, considering culture, economics, history, politics, and economics.

"A lot of good engineering projects have failed because they didn't consider issues such as religion, the role of women, or the way land is understood," Berne said. "Practically speaking, it's more likely that engineering projects will be successful if they have the perspective of other ways of understanding. Semester at Sea provides the learning environment for accomplishing this."

The inaugural short-term program will sail May 20 through June 15 and enroll participants from colleges and universities around the country. Lifelong learners (adults over age 40) may also apply. The program is suited to all majors and may be of particular interest to students focused on business, commerce, and environmental studies.

During the voyage, participants will enroll in courses aboard the MV Explorer, ISE's floating university campus. They will  examine key issues through field studies, service learning, and team projects in Port of Spain, Trinidad; Cristobal, Panama; Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; Puerto Cortes, Honduras; Puerto Barrios, Guatemala; and Belize City, Belize. Particular emphasis will be placed on the Panama Canal Expansion project -- one of the largest scale engineering projects of the modern era.

"This short-term voyage is the perfect integration of study abroad, service learning, preparation for engineering or any other kind of humanitarian work in a developing community," said Dana Elzey, associate professor of materials science and engineering in U.Va.'s School of Engineering and Applied Science. Elzey will serve as academic dean of the voyage.

"You have faculty, all expert in their given areas, who can speak to all the problems that are the theme and focus of the U.N.'s New Millennium Development Goals," Elzey added. "I can't imagine a greater purpose for teaching, or a greater opportunity for learning and scholarship."

Core courses (three credits) will be taught by engineering faculty with the support of faculty from the humanities and social sciences. Additional contextual courses (three credits) will explore and develop the context of the core.

All students will attend a Voyage Seminar (one credit), with ten lectures taught by pairs of engineering and social science/humanities faculty. Those lectures will cover themes such as  Understanding Poverty Through Clinical Economics, The Energy Challenge We Face, Assessing Community Need, Central America -- Past and Future, Engineering a New Tomorrow -- A New Path for Engineering a Sustainable Future for Humanity, Water for the World, and Service in Developing Communities -- Ethics Considerations.

Within the International Field Program in each port, faculty-directed practica will reflect seminar topics, with visits to successful and failed NGO projects in various ports of call. Excursions will include examining the natural asphalt lake in Trinidad, learning the eco-function of mangroves and rainforests in Costa Rica, and taking part in service learning activities.

J.P. Mohsen, president of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Louisville, describes the Engineering a New Tomorrow voyage as "an invaluable experience for any student."

"What Semester at Sea brings to life is a first-hand exposure to what needs to be done in other countries to introduce sustainable design," said Mohsen, a member of the voyage planning committee. "In this very short period of time, students will learn lessons that they can extend to the rest of their lives–both professionally and personally."

The inaugural voyage will include 22 faculty members from schools including U.Va., the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Louisville, and the University of Pittsburgh.

"The core mission of the Semester at Sea program is to educate individuals with the global understanding necessary to address the challenges of our interdependent world," said Les McCabe, president of the Institute for Shipboard and Semester at Sea. "This voyage presents an unprecedented opportunity to investigate today's most pressing areas of global need."

For more information on the program and how to apply, visit www.semesteratsea.org/short-term

Watch a video on the SAS website about Engineering a New Tomorrow.

About Semester at Sea

Semester at Sea^® is a premier global education abroad program based in the United States. Since it began in 1963, more than 55,000 college students and lifelong learners have participated in the program, which travels more than 60,000 nautical miles around the world each year. The University of Virginia serves as the program's academic sponsor and provides transferable college credit. Over its 47-year history, Semester at Sea has completed 103 voyages and has achieved a number of significant milestones, including groundbreaking visits to countries such as the former Soviet Union, China, Viet Nam, Cuba, and Myanmar. Participants have met with prominent leaders including Anwar Sadat, Indira Gandhi, Mikhail Gorbachev, Corazon Aquino, Fidel Castro, Sidi Mohammed, Mother Teresa, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and Nelson Mandela.

SOURCE Institute for Shipboard Education