Paper Authors

Abstract

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

Energy Issues and Study Abroad Experience in Costa Rica

Abstract

James Madison University’s (JMU’s) summer Study Abroad Program in Costa Rica was designed for students from JMU’s unique Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT) program to study alongside students from the University of Costa Rica (UCR). This program provided many educational benefits for all involved including understanding the fundamentals of energy, its uses and resources, exposure to international energy technologies, experience and understanding associated with living and working in an international setting; and applied, interdisciplinary course experience that integrates the technical, social, and economic dimensions of an international setting. Seven students from each of the institutions were taught by a team of interuniversity faculty and learned via immersion about Costa Rican culture, history, geography, language and political affairs. Each JMU student was hosted by a Costa Rican family and the course included hands-on field trips to operational renewable energy projects and installations in the region. This paper contains an overview of the technical and cultural topics taught, the logistics involved in preparing for and implementing the program, along with a discussion of the facets of the program that were successful and those which are under developed.

Introduction

In today’s global interdependence, international experience for students is becoming more important than ever in higher education. Students need to understand other cultures, to learn other languages, and to share and respect similarities and differences. To this end, international experience, both abroad and on campus, became one of James Madison University’s (JMU’s) ongoing commitments. Over the past 10 years, the number of study abroad programs at JMU has grown substantially. The Office of International Program1 (oIP) at JMU offers over 63 semester and short-term programs in 34 countries.

This paper describes our experiences in creating and implementing a study abroad program in Costa Rica for JMU’s ISAT students including preparation before and during the trip, description of the courses taught, trips made, logistics, successes, and planned changes for next year’s experience. It is meant as a guide for those educators considering starting a joint study abroad program involving cross-cultural teams of both faculty and students.

Preparation for the Course

Besides being a paradise on earth, more than 90% of the electricity generated in Costa Rica comes from renewable energy sources2 (hydroelectric, geothermal, and wind); these two factors were the primary drivers in choosing Costa Rica for the program. The director of the program at JMU sought to work with an academic institution in Costa Rica rather than an agency because agencies tend to focus on their potential profits. The initial contact was simply made by a telephone call to the director of the mechanical engineering department at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) in May 2006 by JMU Professor Karim Altaii. Subsequently, Professor Altaii traveled to Costa Rica for 4 days to investigate the possibility of a joint course and the requisite

• Citation

• Format
  • APA
  • APA - LaTeX bibitem
  • MLA
  • MLA - LaTeX bibitem
  • Bibtex
  • EndNote - RIS

Altaii, K., & cavallini, H. (2008, June), Energy Issues And Study Abroad Experience In Costa Rica Paper presented at 2008 Annual Conference & Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 10.18260/1-2--4461