A study-abroad partnership with an African university is the latest among more than 30 such collaborations between the University of Illinois Springfield and foreign counterparts.
The long-term partnership with the University of The Gambia in Africa will focus on environmental health issues facing Gambia — Africa’s smallest country — and the United States.
Josiah Alamu, assistant professor of public health at UIS, spearheaded the effort.
“It is my baby project,” said Alamu, who has been working to set up the collaboration for a year. “We hope this is an opportunity for UIS students to learn how Gambians understand international issues and how those perspectives differ from American perspectives.”
As part of the arrangement, students in the public health, global studies and teacher education programs at UIS will visit local clinics in Gambia to learn how officials carry out health education, immunizations and other public health services.
The study-abroad program was featured in an May 1, 2o11, article in The State Journal-Register.
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