Program Spotlight: Ecuador
July 6th, 2021
One of our upcoming virtual Summer Abroad programs takes our students to South America, for the course Introduction to Ecuador (ENV382H), co-taught by Professors Barbara Murck and Christoph Richter.
The course is newly designed for the virtual format. The in-person Ecuador program normally takes students through the rigours of the Andes, immerses them in the Amazon rainforest, and has them exploring the waters and islands of the Galápagos.
The virtual format required a re-design of the course, one that could engage students with the country and its people, without the “hands-on”, immersive experience that was such a big part of the in-person program. The professors’ vision was to provide a background on Ecuador as a country, focusing on the geography and geology, ecology, history, culture and economy as well as its social and political evolution and current issues.
The program has always been a partnership between Summer Abroad and our on-site hosts, the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ). This year, USFQ has helped to facilitate many of the virtual activities that our students will experience: virtual tours with a local guide of 4 fascinating and diverse places: the city of Quito, the Andes mountains, a research station in the Amazon rainforest, and a tour of the Galápagos islands. Students will also enjoy a hands-on cooking class, and plans are in the works for coffee and chocolate tastings with local producers hosting the session.
Students from all over the world are participating this year. The virtual format has allowed students who may need to be living in their home country, the opportunity to be fully immersed in Ecuador. Because classes are every day, and the class size is kept small, they will be able to interact with each other, their professors and local experts in a much more direct and transformative way.
The course is sure to be a fascinating journey to Ecuador, one that many students may choose to pursue “in real life” when our on-site program is up and running again.
