During the 2012 NAFSA Conference and Expo, the GoAbroad Team was pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 Innovation Awards. As part of a continued effort to recognize the hard work and dedication this year’s nominees, GoAbroad will be sharing individual features of the 2012 GoAbroad Innovation Awards finalists over the coming weeks. This week, we are thrilled to bring you the Innovative New Program, Study Abroad Award finalists!
Please join us in congratulating the following finalist (and WINNER!) of the Innovative New Program, Study Abroad Award:
Wheaton College
“Study Abroad Program in the Kingdom of Bhutan”
Wheaton College is the only institution of higher learning (college or university) with a semester-long credit bearing study program in the Kingdom of Bhutan. Students spend four months in the country that devised the notion of Gross National Happiness as they observe a nation making the transition to a constitutional monarchy.
Wheaton College has been successfully running the program for two-years exclusively for Wheaton students but has just announced that they are accepting applications from students from other colleges beginning with the Fall 2012 term. It is through the practicum experience that students get a firsthand opportunity to immerse themselves into the larger Bhutanese community. In the first two years Wheaton students have had the chance to intern with government offices such as the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance and Thimphu Hospital. In addition, students have interned with NGO’s such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature, Voluntary Artists Society of Thimphu, RENEW, a domestic violence intervention and prevention program, KUZOO, the English language radio station and the Youth Development Centre.