Summer 2021

International Explorations

Session 1: July 5-16

Session 2: July 19-30


Exploratory Workshops


A different subject each day, taught by expert instructors who will introduce students to advanced topics not normally found in their schools.


Topics include:


  • Design Thinking

  • Global Mindset

  • Leadership

  • Computational Thinking

  • Cultural Psychology

  • Decision Science

  • and More!

Team Projects


Students collaborate in international teams to work on problems in one of the following themes:


  • Global Solutions: Climate Action

  • Business and Entrepreneurship

  • Technology in the World Today

  • Bio-Medical Sciences


Events and activities


Special lectures, panel presentations and other activities supplement the main academic program.


Students will meet others from around the world who are curious and talented, and they can share from their backgrounds and cultures.


Skills Development


Hone skills in leadership, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity and innovation.


Experience university-level learning, increase global competency.


Receive an expert evaluation at the end of the program.

Program Features

  • All students participate in a series of daily academic workshops consisting of two-hour live synchronous sessions, with a cohort of 15-20 students from their school or organization.

  • Each student will join a team of 8-12 students from around the world to work on a project and join project-team meetings for two hours daily.

  • Overall, the academic experience will promote global awareness, develop twenty-first century skills and teach the students advanced topics not available in their schools.

Instructors

Workshops are taught by university researchers, lecturers, post-doctoral scholars, as well as industry professionals and others who are experts in their fields and passionate about teaching.

Ross Alexander, Lead Instructor

Technology in the World Today

Ross is a Ph.D. Candidate in Aeronautics & Astronautics at Stanford University and is a recipient of the Stanford Graduate Fellowship (SGF) in Science & Engineering. He is a researcher in the Stanford Intelligent Systems Lab (SISL), researching principled methods for algorithmic decision making under uncertainty utilizing approaches involving statistical machine learning and artificial intelligence. Ross’s research has led to international collaborations on topics spanning autonomous driving, multidisciplinary design optimization, and COVID-19. Ross has designed and taught several short artificial intelligence courses for middle and high school students and he has also served as a teaching assistant for various engineering, mathematics, and computer science courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Jagruti Vedamati, Lead Instructor

Global Solutions: Climate Action

Jagruti is a passionate educator who is focused on demystifying the critical intersection of climate science, environment, and social change. After receiving her PhD in Ocean Sciences from University of Southern California, she went on to do her postdoc at Stanford. Ever since she has been teaching several aspects of Earth Science in SF Bay Area colleges and has taught summer courses at UC Berkeley and Stanford for the past few years. Through her courses, she strives to propagate the need of the hour in the light of recent developments in the climate scenario. She is sensitive to the needs, opinions and aspirations of students, and focuses on creating a safe space where experimentation, critical thinking and reflection can flourish.

Nada Miljković, Lead Instructor

Business & Entrepreneurship

Nada is a multi-disciplinarian at the intersection of entrepreneurship, art, and pedagogy, who creates stories, media, performances, installations, and business plans. She is the founder and president of Artist on Art, teaches at University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), co-organizes TEDxSantaCruz, and hosts a weekly live radio interview show and podcast. In 2020, Nada co-founded GetVirtual.org, an organization that gives local businesses impacted by COVID-19 the tools to adapt to the virtual landscape and extend their businesses online. Nada taught for Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies for 5 years, both on the Stanford campus and in international locations including Kazakhstan, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, and Brazil. She recently won an Honored Faculty Sammy Award that annually recognizes contributions towards career development in the UCSC community.

Sample Schedule