Internationalization at Home: American Students join their peers at UG
In the classroom and exploring outside the UG campus American students from two universities learn along with their Polish peers. Based on cooperation agreements with Valdosta State University and University of Michigan-Dearborn multiple exchange modules are being implemented this semester.
First, two students from Valdosta State University (Bonnie Hamer and Hannah Clark) are spending a full semester in Gdańsk taking classes offered in English at UG. They have recently been joined by three more VSU students who arrived in Gdańsk for the summer program together with Prof. John Dunn. The program of their visit, prepared by Prof. Magdalena Nowak, features multiple ways to engage UG students and PhD candidates. This year’s program marks the 10th anniversary of VSU’s summer visits to UG.
The students from Michigan visit UG under a different arrangement. Two of their classes are offered by two UM-D Professors: Georges Ayoub, hosted by UG Faculty of Management and Kristin Poling, UG Faculty of History. Both visiting professors opened their classrooms to the Polish students. In the case of Prof. Poling’s class, the American students joined the class already attended by MA students in History and Erasmus Students. Prof. Mazurkiewicz who coordinates the exchange with Michigan transitioned her class on US-Polish relations to her American counterpart – prof. Poling. The UM-D teaching program lasts six weeks. Besides American instructors offering classes at UG (open and free to UG students), the UM-D students also attend a class on the History of Poland in the European Context: From Medieval Kingdom to the Fall of Communism offered by UG Professors: Beata Możejko, Sławomir Kościelak and Magdalena Nowak. This class is regularly offered to Erasmus students attending UG in the summer semester.
By combining different teaching modules and exchange agreements, May and June at the Faculty of History are truly international with multiple opportunities to learn and interact with foreign students and professors visiting UG.
