This summer, START and University of Maryland Education Abroad will launch a new program giving students the opportunity to spend seven weeks in Yogyjakarta, Indonesia, interning with a combination of an interfaith non-governmental organization, boys and girls madrasas (educational institutions) and an Indonesian nonprofit organization. Students will also spend time studying principles and practices of countering violent extremism and gaining a background in the local Bahasa dialect, international development, and citizen diplomacy.
“In higher education, students generally do not have many chances to intern in a foreign country, so when this opportunity came along we were very excited,” said Dr. Kate Izsak, START Education Director and Indonesia Program Faculty Director
Working in small groups of three to five, students in the Indonesia community resilience internship program will engage in a series of concrete two-week projects that support the operations and programs of partner organizations. Some examples include supporting interfaith workshops, administering English language and culture clubs for more than 500 madrasa students (most of whom have never met an American before), and compiling analytical reports on public health challenges in Indonesia.
The internship will also include opportunities to meet with Indonesian experts on terrorism and other forms of political violence, study Bahasa Indonesian language, engage in cultural activities and learn about Islamic culture in Southeast Asia.
In addition to the new program in Indonesia, START will continue to offer a summer study abroad opportunity in Singapore, where students study prison deradicalization and countering violent extremism programs at Nanyang Technological University’s International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research. The program, currently in its third year of operation, is also led by Izsak.
More information about both the Indonesia and Singapore summer study abroad programs is listed below:
Community Resilience Internship Program-
- Location: Indonesia
- Dates: June 29 – August 19, 2017
- Eligibility: UMD and non-UMD undergraduate and graduate students
- Application deadline: March 15, 2017
- More information: https://go.umd.edu/qct
Countering Violent Extremism & Deradicalization-
- Location: Singapore
- Dates: Course Dates: May 30-July 7, Travel Date: June 10 – June 18, 2017
- Eligibility: UMD and non-UMD undergraduate and graduate students
- Application deadline: March 15, 2017
- More information: https://go.umd.edu/3d6