CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies » Study Abroad

Fall 2009 Study Abroad Event

Kate McPherson, Senior Academic Advisor (O-Z) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:50:32 +0000

We held another very successful Study Abroad Open House on Tuesday, September 15, 2009. This semester, we were able to produce a podcast of the event so that students who were not able to attend.

Speakers included:

Kim Hartswick, Academic Director, CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies

Kate McPherson, Senior Academic Advisor, CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies

Winston Scarlett, Student Speaker, CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies (African Diaspora Studies)

Kenneth Yanes, Coordinator of Study Abroad, City College

Deborah Stengle, Center for International Service at the College of Staten Island

Chris Tingue, Center for International Service at the College of Staten Island

Stefania Migliori, College of Staten Island: Florence, Tuscania, and Venice (Lorenzo de Medici)

Galit Berkovitch, Hunter College

Joan Migliori, The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute

Ken Lewandoski, International Studies & Programs, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Emmanuel Pérez, Lehman College

Maria-Luisa Ruiz, Medgar Evers College

Joy Phaphouvaninh, International Education Coordinator, CUNY

Listen to the speakers’ presentations

Listen to the question and answer session

Sustainability Courses and Apprenticeships in Israel

Beth Kneller, Deputy Director — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:29:58 +0000

Courses in Creative Ecology

Kibbutz Lotan’s Center for Creative Ecology offers:

The Peace, Justice & the Environment Fall Semester in Israel, a 16-credit college program for 14 students, accredited through U Mass Amherst, which teaches Social Justice, Group Dynamics, Sustainable Agriculture and Design.

The Green Apprenticeship Practical Ecology Training Program, an intensive seven-week work/study permaculture experience: Students learn local food production, organic gardening, ecological design techniques, natural and alternative building, sustainable technologies, community design, and environmental ethics while living in a unique eco-neighborhood—a prototype model for sustainable living.

For detailed information visit www.kibbutzlotan.com or www.rjisrael.org, or email kibbutzlotan@gmail.com.

For a recent article about Kibbutz Lotan: http://reformjudaismmag.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=1529

Seal the Deal: A Call for Action

Antoine Faye — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:31:02 +0000

As of today, climate change has become a serious and growing threat that is not leaving any country immune from extreme weather events. Consequently, the increases in temperature, the changes in precipitation patterns, and more floods or droughts that were – and are still- occurring frequently, have forced world governments to seek for how to remedy the growing concern. Even more worrying is the uncertainty of the future consequences when climate change passes the tipping point. As a result, under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that has been adopted in 1992, the Kyoto Protocol was established in 1997 to achieve; as stipulated in its article 2, the ”stabilization of greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent” the effects from the global warming.
Presently, the consensus of scientific opinion has agreed to recognize that, while the causes might be various and complex, the primary factor of global climate change is the human-induced greenhouse gas emissions including carbon dioxide that accumulate in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution. Consequently, under the recommendation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UNFCCC in collaboration with world decision makers implemented a system of mechanisms designed to fight against climate change. In fact, countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol agreed to submit annual greenhouse gas inventories and meet their respective greenhouse gas reduction targets. In drawing up the broad parameters for a climate change deal, the international community acknowledged that reduction targets would vary by country based on their level of development or growth at that time.
To do so, industrialized countries like Canada, France, Germany, Denmark, or the United Kingdom and Japan for example (the Annex I countries), must have accepted binding emission reduction targets. You would notice that I have not named the United States. The reason is simple, although the largest polluter, the US has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol to date. On the other hand, developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America including emerging countries like India, China, Brazil, South Africa, and Mexico (the Annex II countries), were asked only to limit the growth of their emissions at the level of the base year of 1990. In my opinion, it is that “mistake” that makes the actual negotiations for a new agreement not so promising.
Bearing in mind what Eric Beinhocker et al. stated in the McKinsey report as “the world has both a right to, and need for, continued economic growth”, the main concern of the Kyoto Protocol was to align development goals and mending the effects of climate change through confidence building measures and incentives (Beinhocker et al 2008:11). In other words, to be in line with developing countries’ sustainable development needs, and to decouple economic growth from the needs to stabilize the growth of carbon emissions, the Kyoto flexible mechanisms were adopted. As different as they might be in the way they can be used, Joint Implementation (JI), Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) are all, instruments for transactions that can help two countries parties to the Kyoto Protocol to fulfill their commitments respectively as tender and taker.
On a classical economic point of view, we can affirm that the market of carbon credits emerged from that perspective of supply and demand. Within it, countries that could have not otherwise meet their targets within the required time frame, have been enabled to purchase carbon credits from countries that were below their greenhouse gas emission targets, but needed to improve their production efficiency. At the international, national, and regional level, that commitment to fight against the effects of climate change seemed working until it appeared that the off-setting system was not really producing what was expected from it. Indeed, because their current pollution standards are not as strict as they are in the already industrialized countries, developing and or emerging countries were emitting more greenhouse gases that what the market of carbon credits was trying to bring at an equilibrium.
Obviously, from the structure of the carbon market, countries that bear the requirement of compliance are those that have accepted it by ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. Japan taken apart, these are mostly Western developed and industrialized countries including Canada, and more recently Australia. Their domestic civil societies are highly aware about the consequences of climate change, are less lenient to ‘pollution’, and are more regarding to mitigation. These countries have legislations that almost force companies to comply. So they are the only ones that have the financial resources, knowledge, and human capital to enter a carbon credit purchasing contract with the sellers in developing countries, and not China or India.
As a student, I visited the UNFCC secretariat in Bonn Germany as part of the venues arranged for us when we went on a long study tour that conducted us from Brussels, to Frankfurt. I sat with my classmates in the same room where the Marshall Plan, which saved Europe just after the end of World War II. One by one, I listened carefully to the presentation that the highly qualified staff of the UNFCCC was giving us as a courtesy to our visit, and I realized that the world is probably losing one of its determinant battle. The process from conceptualizing a CDM or JI projects, to conducting a feasibility study, investigating the financial and technical due diligence or unveiling the project risk assessment in order to ensure that the transfer of technology or the infusion of financial resources will really generate the expected mitigation or adaptation that will legitimate the transfer of ‘certified emission reduction’, is a tedious one.
The global climate crisis has opened huge business opportunities. However, as usual, the set of compliances, rules, and regulations contained within the different instruments to be used, do not enable most of the least developed countries in Africa to attract effective transactions from the carbon market. They are not at a level of industrialization that would permit that anyway. Moreover, since the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the former United Soviet and Socialist Republic (USSR), the newly Independent States of Eastern Europe, and even the Federation of Russia, have benefited from the Joint Implementation (JI) mechanism more than any other regions of the globe. In summary, in that market the Eastern European countries and the emerging countries such as China, India and Brazil are the two groups which have a comparative advantage in producing and selling carbon credits. These are the countries that get the money, but keep polluting.
As aforementioned, the UNFCCC remains the fundamental basis for international action to address climate change. Its ultimate objective is to achieve “stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere”. Yet, the tendency to believe that the carbon market will somehow alone save the world by mitigating climate change is biased. We should recognize that the market has the potential to achieve results; however, we should also take in account that like any other market, it will only work as far as the interests of all the actors involved are taken into consideration. It is the responsibility of the world decision makers to take into account the risks of climate change and set targets, it is more their responsibility to support the mechanisms at a level that will meet the challenge. The carbon credits market can only be a tool to help achieve that target and not be a surrogate to policy making.
I am in Copenhagen, and as a concerned global citizen, I participate on a weekly basis to everything that is being done here to make the upcoming Conference of the Parties known as COP15 in Copenhagen to be successful. As we are getting close, the prospects of what its outcomes would be and the uncertainty certainly, worry all the actors. I am asking everyone who read this to stay focus. Please be informed, get involved, and create the awareness around you. We are faced with a dilemma. In term of sustainability, any combination of only two factors of production would in the long run, hurt the third one. People and Planet is a bearable combination yet, not a viable nor an equitable one. Choosing to deal with Planet and Profit might be a viable choice but not a bearable nor an equitable choice. Profit added to People is an equitable relation, however neither bearable nor viable. The challenge here is to undertake the only approach that can integrate the legitimate preoccupations into the triangle of the triple “bottom line” of people, planet, and profit.
Sources:
Ambrosi, P & Capoor, K 2007.State and Trends of the carbon Market 2007. Washington D.C. The World Bank Institute. http://www.ieta.org/ieta/www/pages/download. php?doc.ID=2281. accessed Oct 13, 2009
Beinhocker et al, 2006. The Carbon Productivity Challenge: Curbing Climate Change and Sustaining Economic Growth. www.mckinsey.com/mgl. Oct 10, 2009. McKinsey Global Institute.
http://unfccc.int/Kyoto_protocol/mechanisms/items/1673.php. Oct 12, 2009
Note: I also used information from presentations that I attended during the academic parts of our study tours visits. Our various hosts have given us their perspectives of the carbon market.

Study Abroad In Andalucia, Spain

Beth Kneller, Deputy Director — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:08:03 +0000

CUNY Baccalaureate was recently invited to a seminar on Study Abroad opportunities in Andalucia, Spain, the southern-most autonomous community of Spain – the birthplace of Picasso and the don Quijote and Carmen stories, home of the great Arabian palace Alhambra and the Great Mosque of Cordoba, and the starting point for Christopher Columbus’ great exploration. Andalucia’s capital is Seville, and its provinces are Almeria, Cadiz, Cordoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaen, Malaga and Seville. Andalucia is rich in culture (think flamenco, tapas, bullfighting, Spanish guitar, fiestas), best known for its agriculture, tourism, art, architecture, history, tradition, folkore, nature reserves, Mediterrenean diet, medieval fortresses and towns, and varied terrain, from snowcapped skiing mountains (the Sierra Nevada) to miles and miles of pristine beaches.

Andalucia has a large number of Spanish language schools, offering language courses from beginner to advanced, as well as courses in history, culture, business, and more. Below are six featured schools – their strengths include long histories of teaching with proven language teaching methods, diverse student bodies (students of all nationalities and varied age groups), a variety of living experiences from student residences to host family arrangements, very low teacher to student ratios, opportunities for short-term or long-term study, and guided trips throughout Spain and Morocco; some schools offer internship programs as well. Note also that many of these schools have locations in other Spanish-speaking countries – Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, Chile, etc. All of these schools have experience in working with college academic departments to arrange for credit to be evaluated and granted; CUNY Baccalaureate students may also have their Andalucian transcripts evaluated by World Educational Services (www.wes.org) for credit consideration from CUNY BA/BS. School descriptions follow, and materials from each is available in the CUNY BA/BS Office.

CastiLa (Granada) http://www.castila.es/ E-mail: info@castila.es

Located in a carmen in the Albaicin a garden house in the oldest Granada’s neighbourhood, in full view of the Alhambra. Noted for its balanced combinations of classes and extracurricular activities; small class size; dedication of its teachers in and out of the class; 53 designed activities developed and evolved since 1988. In other words, a thousand and one opportunities to practise Spanish and enjoy a fulfilling program of leisure and cultural experience. Under supervision of the professional team that shares the common goal: the complete satisfaction of our students’ 3 main experiences during their stay: courses, accommodation and activities.

Clic (Centra de Lenguas e Intercambio Cultural, Seville) http://www.spainstudyabroad.info/ E-mail: marketing@clic.es

CLIC IH Seville is one of the major and foremost language schools in Andalusia and the most important one in Seville. Founded in 1983, the school is located in a refurbished Sevilian mansion in the historical, financial and commercial centre of the city of Seville. This high quality venue welcomes an average 200 to 250 students from all over the world every month and offers a full programme and 8 levels all year round and a wide range of courses are available to respond all needs: General Intensive, Business Spanish and DELE Examination Courses, Spanish and company placement. All courses and cultural activities are completed with a careful selection of accommodations to cater for everybody’s needs: host families, shared flats with Spanish hosts and school residences in the centre of Seville.

Colegio Maravillas (Malaga) www.maravillas.es E-mail: info@maravillas.es

Set in Benalmadena, a coastal town near Malaga and only few kms. from the international airport, the school runs a wide range of Spanish language courses since 1978, and is an accredited centre of the INSTITUTO CERVANTES. The school is located on the top floor of a modern building with a large sunshade terrace and 14 comfortable and fully equipped classrooms with air conditioning. At the students’ disposal is our library, a multimedia room and free Internet access. Our international courses are taught by experienced teachers with university degrees, in small classes of maximum 10 students. A varied programme of free-time activities and excursions is offered weekly to the adult students, while it is already included in our popular Summer Course for Teenagers. The accommodation, either with selected host families or in shared apartments, is within walking distance from the school, the town centre and the sandy beaches!

don Quijote (Salamanca) www.donquijote.org E-mail: promo@donquijote.org

In 1989 responding to the growing demand and the need for high quality Spanish language courses, we began welcoming students to the first don Quijote School. Since then we have become the leading organization in the world offering premium Spanish schools. We have schools located in different cities of Spain, Alicante, Barcelona, Cadiz, Granada, Madrid, Malaga, Marbella, Pamplona, Salamanca, Seville, Tenerife and Valencia. ¿? don Quijote is and all inclusive program offering general, specialized and premium Spanish courses. Our Syllabus has been revised by several universities and colleges in the US and it has match the Spanish curriculum giving us the opportunity to sing agreements with universities that send us groups and individual students every year.

Enforex (Cadiz, Granada, Malaga, Sevilla,) www.enforex.com E-mail: promo@enforex.es

ENFOREX, founded in 1989, is the largest and most prestigious network of Spanish Language Schools in Spain & Latin America. We offer more than 20 Spanish Programs starting every Monday, all year round, with courses for all ages and interests. Students from 72 countries join us every year at our Summer Camps for Children, Junior/Teenager Programs and General & Specialized Spanish Courses for university students and adults in 24 cities throughout the Spanish-speaking world. We offer more than 20 Spanish programs at 12 of Spain’s most beautiful and exciting destinations: Alicante, Barcelona, Cadiz, Granada, Madrid, Málaga, Marbella, Pamplona, Salamanca, Sevilla, Tenerife & Valencia.

Malaca Instituto (Malaga) www.MalacaInstituto.com Email: espanol@malacainstituto.com

The leading School of Spanish on the Mediterranean Coast of Andalucía. Every year several thousands of students of all ages come to study with us. They say that they are not only improving their Spanish level, they are also having lots of fun, they really like the environment and they intend to return. And many of them do it! Malaca Instituto is situated in a residential suburb of Malaga, 15 minutes bus ride from the city centre and 10 minutes walk to the beach. The school and its on-site residence create a mini-campus incorporating 110 bedrooms, 25 classrooms, multimedia study centre, cinema, bar, restaurant, swimming pool, dance studio, terraces and gardens. Club Hispánico, our on-site School Residence offers a range of option from fairly small singles to the larger Executive rooms, all with en-suite facilities. Most rooms have direct dial phones; some have balconies and the executive rooms also have double beds, fridge and full size bathrooms (rather than just a shower room). We use an eclectic, integrated method combining many aspects of the communicative approach with structured learning of grammar and syntax. Each day, according to the progress of each class and our detailed course syllabus, a new area of language is introduced and practised in a systematic manner. We offer the following courses: General Language: Intensive Course and Super Intensive Course; Exam Courses: DELE, University Access “Selectividad”; Cultural Studies: Spanish plus Hispanic Studies; Executive Courses: Spanish for Business, One to One; Professional Courses: Spanish for International Trade and Commerce, Spanish for Tourism; Summer Course; Lifestyle Courses: Master Class, Spanish & Cookery, Spanish & Dance; Work Experience: Spanish & Internships.

Study Abroad in Korea with Lehman College

Kate McPherson, Senior Academic Advisor (O-Z) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:24:00 +0000

This is a full semester and/or a year abroad. The GPA requirement is 3.0, there are no language requirements. Students can take Korean language courses as well as courses in their majors. We are awarding all accepted students for the Spring semester partial scholarships. As it is an exchange program, students pay CUNY tuition. In addition, students receiving PELL and/ or TAP keep their financial aid awards while in Korea. It is a competitive program with limited spots.

The deadline is in mid-November, the Spring semester starts in March in Korea.

For more information, students can visit the website www.lehman.edu/studyabroad and/or contact Emmanuel Perez at emmanuelperezova@gmail.com.

Winter 2009-10 STOCS Application

Kate McPherson, Senior Academic Advisor (O-Z) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:59:23 +0000

STOCS_winter_application

Study/Travel Opportunities for CUNY Students (STOCS) scholarships ranging from $500 to $1500 are offered to undergraduate CUNY students who participate in short-term (summer and winter intersession) CUNY study abroad programs. Applications are reviewed by a committee of CUNY faculty and administrators, and grants are awarded on the basis of ability to benefit and financial need (students with a family income of more than $65,000 are not eligible).

Funded by the a grant from The New York Community Trust DeWitt Wallace/Youth Travel Enrichment Fund, the STOCS program aims to increase the number of CUNY students studying overseas by providing scholarships to deserving students. It has contributed toward the strengthening of existing short-term CUNY study abroad programs and the development of new ones.

More than 1,500 CUNY students have received STOCS grants since 1994.

Baruch Study Abroad Fair 9/17

Kate McPherson, Senior Academic Advisor (O-Z) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:19:44 +0000

Newman Vertical Campus
Multipurpose Room 1-107
Thursday, September 17, 2009
12 noon–3 pm

Study in any of 35 countries.
Meet exchange students and study abroad veterans.
Hear about how to earn credits toward your degree.
Learn about costs and financial aid opportunities.

Study Abroad Office
Weissman Center for International Business
137 East 25th Street, 8th Floor
Phone: 646-312-2070
Fax: 646-312-2071
E-mail: study_abroad@baruch.cuny.edu
www.baruch.cuny.edu/studyabroad

Application Available for Spring 2010 Study Abroad Scholarship

Lidija Markes, Scholarships & Alumni Affairs — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:48:24 +0000

We are pleased to announce that CUNY Baccalaureate has one $5,000 award available for a semester-long, full time (12 credits or more) learning experience in the spring 2010 semester.

This funding is part of the grant from the International Foundation for Study Abroad to help send CUNY BA/BS students abroad. CUNY BA/BS received $20,000 to fund 4 students with $5,000 each for the fall 2009 or spring 20010 semesters (three have already been awarded); another $27,500 will be received to fund 5 students for the following year with awards of $5,500 each. Over 80 colleges applied for this grant; fewer than 10 were selected.

You must be currently enrolled in CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies to be eligible. To apply, please send:

a letter of interest detailing your preferred study abroad program and how it fits with your academic, career and/or personal development, and
a letter of recommendation from your faculty mentor or another CUNY professor.

Applications should be sent to Ms. Lidija Markes, Scholarship Coordinator (CUNY Baccalaureate, 365 Fifth Ave., Suite 6412, New York, NY 10016), on or before 5pm, Monday, November 2, 2009. Award decisions will be made by November 16.

CUNY offers over many semester-long study abroad programs; learn about them at http://web.cuny.edu/academics/oaa/uei/inted/study-abroad-programs/view.html; check the individual CUNY college websites as well for other study abroad programs that might not appear on this website (which is a list in progress). Once you find the program that best suits you, register for it through your home college or via e-permit. You also have the option of selecting a study abroad program offered by an institution other than CUNY; you will then need to have those foreign credits evaluated by either your home college, using a non-CUNY permit form, or through WES (World Educational Services). Read the details about CUNY Study Abroad that we have posted on our Website: http://web.gc.cuny.edu/cunyba/studyabroad.html.

If you have any questions, contact Beth Kneller, Deputy Director, at bkneller@gc.cuny.edu or 212-817-8238.

Study Abroad Open House

Kate McPherson, Senior Academic Advisor (O-Z) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:27:14 +0000

Come learn about study abroad opportunities for CUNY Baccalaureate students. Study Abroad representatives from across the CUNY system and current CUNY BA students will share their study abroad experience and advice too.

CUNY BA won a large award to fund students to study abroad for a semester or academic year so don’t forget to check out our new funding: http://cunyba.gc.cuny.edu/scholarships-cunyba/#ifsa

CUNY STOCS Grants are available for CUNY winter and summer programs, information available here: http://web.cuny.edu/academics/oaa/uei/inted/stocs.html

Tuesday, September 15th, 2-5pm
The Graduate Center (5th Avenue @ 34th Street)
Skylight Room (9th Floor)

Questions? 212.817.8221

RSVP: to cunyba@gc.cuny.edu or contact your advisor directly. You can also RSVP on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=139733871310#/cunybac?ref=mf

Want to be inspired? Check out what some of your fellow students have been doing: http://cunyba.gc.cuny.edu/blog/category/student-activities/

Confirmed Representatives Include:

City College- Kenneth Yanes

Center for International Service at the College of Staten Island- Deborah Stengle, Chris Tingue

College of Staten Island: Florence, Tuscania, and Venice (Lorenzo de Medici)-Stefania Migliori

The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute- Joan Migliori

Lehman College- Emmanuel Pérez

Medgar Evers College- Porsha Childs, Maria-Luisa Ruiz

Joy Phaphouvaninh, International Education Coordinator, CUNY

Fall 2009 CUNY Baccalaureate Study Abroad Open House

Kate McPherson, Senior Academic Advisor (O-Z) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:33:25 +0000

Come learn about study abroad opportunities for CUNY Baccalaureate students. Study Abroad representatives from throughout CUNY are going to be in attendance along with current CUNY BA students who will share their study abroad experience and advice too.

CUNY BA won a large award to fund students to study abroad for a semester or academic year so don’t forget to check out our new funding: http://web.gc.cuny.edu/cunyba/scholarships_cunyba.html#ifsa

CUNY STOCS Grants are available for CUNY winter and summer programs, information available here: http://web.cuny.edu/academics/oaa/uei/inted/stocs.html

CUNY Baccalaureate academic advisors will be there to explain the details and requirements of studying abroad.

Tuesday, September 15th, 2-5pm
The Graduate Center (5th Avenue @ 34th Street)
Skylight Room (9th Floor)

Questions? 212.817.8221

RSVP: to cunyba@gc.cuny.edu or contact your advisor directly. You can also RSVP on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=139733871310#/cunybac?ref=mf

Want to be inspired? Check out what some of your fellow students have been doing: http://cunyba.gc.cuny.edu/blog/category/student-activities/