UD leadership program goes around the world

4:08 p.m., Jan. 23, 2007--Faculty and students in the University of Delaware's leadership program are going around the world in considerably less than 80 days, taking advantage of the popular Winter Session study abroad options to circle the globe.

The program is documenting its journey through video blogs being posted on the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy web site [www.udel.edu/suapp/degrees/leadership/worldvideoblog.htm#].

The site features video reports from Rome, Egypt, the Sudan, Ethiopia and India, and the UD globetrotters were most recently settling into accommodations in Bangkok, Thailand, according to Audrey Helfman, faculty director in the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy.

During this study abroad program, students are learning how people in different cultures define leadership and determine who they consider to be leaders. They also are examining consumer issues in each location to determine if there are issues that are global in character.

The journey began Dec. 29, and the students spent New Year's Eve in Rome, where they visited the Colosseum, the Forum and the Vatican. The stop in Egypt included trips to the pyramids, Sphinx and the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities.

On to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, the students visited the National Museum and the Ethnographic Museum, and in India they saw the Taj Mahal. The stop in Thailand included a visit to the Grand Palace and a boat tour on the River Kwai.

From Thailand, the group will move on the China, where they will tour the Great Wall, the Ming Tombs, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. Travelers will return to the United States on Feb. 2

The leadership program offers students a strong interdisciplinary curriculum that provides them with knowledge, skills and abilities that can make them effective and active participants in a variety of workplace settings, from the corporate world to government and nonprofit agencies.
The program encourages students to blend their knowledge of leadership, consumer behavior and consumer policy with a personal system of values and ethics to mobilize change. Students are educated to provide leadership for socially responsible strategies, programs and polices that improve the quality of life and minimize harmful effects on consumers.
In addition to the academic program, the program prepares students with a set of skills that give them a voice and confidence in all their endeavors: teamwork, effective communication, decision-making skills, and synergistic and creative approaches to problem-solving.

Some of the around the world video blogs also can be seen on the Office of Admissions UwireD blog site at [http://admissions.udel.edu/udblogs/index.php?blog=7].

Article by Neil Thomas

E-mail this article

Subscribe to UDaily

Subscribe to crime alert e-mail notification