Hands-on learning in Malaysia

This Innovative course is a summer service learning program taught on-site in Malaysia, in collaboration with the University of Malaya and the Malaysian AIDS Council. This program provides students with an in-depth understanding of the interactions of culture and health in different socioeconomic situations globally. This program has two components – one is a service learning internship and the other is a seminar course. Students intern at various NGOs working in the field of infectious diseases. The service learning internship provides meaningful service to community partners, and serves to enhance and integrate students' academic and practical experiences. In the seminar component, students participate in interactive classroom experiences facilitated in by local faculty and guest speakers from the Health Ministry, various NGOs etc. Another interesting aspect of the program is that students from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, also participate. Therefore, there is a three- way academic, cultural and social exchange between the American, Chinese and the Malaysian students, which makes it a very rich experience for the students.