Jan 07, 2015

Experiential Learning the Tuck Way: Faculty Going the Extra Mile for Global Insight Expeditions

Lisa Miller is director of Global Insight Expeditions, On-Campus Global Programs. 

Unparalleled access to faculty and a commitment to teaching are hallmarks of the Tuck experience. This doesn’t just apply on-campus—it also applies off-campus, during experiential learning courses.

A great example is Global Insight Expeditions (GIXs). GIXs are global immersion courses led by Tuck faculty. During these courses, students travel with faculty for eight to ten days in one or two different countries. They visit corporations, non-profits, and cultural sites; interact with local people; and reflect on what they have seen and heard. Through GIXs, students test out classroom concepts and develop crucial leadership skills.

I am deeply impressed by the way in which our faculty go the extra mile to ensure that GIXs are as rich as possible. Some of my favorite examples include:

• Phil Stocken inviting students to his family home in Cape Town for a traditional barbeque
• Paul Argenti taking students on a tour of his favorite historical sites in Hanoi
• Leslie Robinson designing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students to experience cocoa farming in rural Brazil
• Peter Golder leading students to a breathtaking, remote section of the Great Wall of China
• Anant Sundaram introducing students to treasured personal contacts, like Slumdog Millionaire co-director Loveleen Tandan, in Delhi
• Adam Kleinbaum digging deep into his personal and professional network to set up meetings in Israel
• John Vogel and Paul Garrison bringing students to a groundbreaking planned city in Ramallah, the West Bank
• Dirk Vandewalle sharing perspectives from 25 years of work in the Middle East and North Africa while traveling with students in the UAE.

All of these professors are highly accomplished, and their expertise is hotly sought after by corporations, journalists, and fellow academics. Nonetheless, they invest considerable time—not to mention personal and professional capital—in their GIXs. In my mind, this is a perfect illustration of one of the key advantages of Tuck—the devotion of our faculty. I look forward to continuing to work with faculty on this year’s GIXs and sharing the stories about the great learning experiences that result!