Preparing to Go Abroad:

For students going abroad with Summit Study Abroad, making sense of their upcoming cross-cultural experience begins before even leaving home.  The Summit programs are designed so that student engagement begins at home, and Summit will make an extensive effort to prepare students for their abroad experience.  Some of the preparations  include:

ON-SITE ORIENTATION: 

• During the opening ceremony on the first day, we will introduce all of the students and professors and will have a brief  lecture, along with safety and orientation instructions.  This three-hour long session will include extensive safety training, along with cultural tips.  
• But beyond just the fist-day training, we also engage students daily during our "daily debrief" sessions, where we coach the students throughout the program with emphasis on cultural bridging techniques, multicultural tolerance, safety, behavior, and much more.

ONLINE GUIDEBOOKS: 

• Before the start of your program, we will send you a link to our online-guidebook which includes detailed information about what to expect abroad, along with packing tips, cultural preparation guidelines, and much more. These online guidebooks are extensive and include a ton of details about what to expect in each city we will visit, along with safety tips, cultural guides, and travel advice. 
  

Returning home:

In order to get the most of the study abroad experience, we assist students with the "unpacking" (or sense-making) process of their study abroad experience after they return to campus.  To facilitate this, we hold voluntary debriefing seminars online, and we work with students to engage them in our alumni network.  Our goal is to help students to make meaning out of their experiences upon returning to campus, and to leverage their international experience to increase their marketability as applicants in the job search (showing how their time abroad has strengthened their skills and competencies for the global workforce).

ESPM lecture auditorium Rio