Over the summer break, on July 16-22 our Assistant Professor, Begimai Abdraeva participated in Course design workshop at Universidad de los Andes’ Cartagena, Colombia campus.

The course was organized by Experiential Learning Institute (ELI) of the OSUN Civic Engagement Initiative, in partnership with the Center for Liberal Arts and Sciences Pedagogy (CLASP).

This program connected 14 faculty members from 8 OSUN institutions for an in-person gathering. The primary aim of these sessions was to assist faculty in developing and testing courses that integrate community-based and experiential learning approaches within their teaching.

Before this gathering in Cartagena, during 2022-2023 academic year the group had six virtual meetings dedicated to effectively teaching liberal arts and sciences courses that involve community engagement. During their time in Cartagena, attendees were educated about the theoretical foundations of experiential learning. They also had the opportunity to listen to ELI faculty alumni sharing their insights and experiences from their practical engagement. The in-person event allowed the participants to deeply contemplate the virtual sessions and actively engage in strategizing the academic and pedagogical components of the courses they were preparing to test.

Upon completion of the program, Begimai gained rich course development experience and work on new course on circular economy and sustainability at AUCA in its pursuit of emphasizing sustainability topics in educational programs.