Experiential Learning

Experiential Learning

Experiential Learning

Experiential Learning

Experiential learning helps students develop the required competencies for a successful professional career and civic engagement as a responsible global citizen by relying on a methodology that begins in the classroom, where you deepen your understanding of real world issues, enabling you to contextualize the practical activities you will encounter. Then, through community work outside of the classroom, you can reflect on your prior knowledge and use analytical skills to propose actions for positive change. The process of experiential learning helps you develop skills to become a life-long learner, while reinforcing your commitment to civic engagement.

ICDS offers several opportunities to complement academic work with practical experiences by engaging and participating with the community. Depending on the program selected, ICDS offers you the possibility to complement your studies with community service, clinical rotations, practicums, field work, co-ops, or internships.

In 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals provided a comprehensive plan for a sustainable world by 2030. There is an urgent need to accelerate this moonshot for humanity. Through the ICDS’ courses that focus on sustainable development initiatives to community and civic engagement, students explore and reflect on the question: What can we as individuals and organisations do to become more effective in the work towards greater sustainability and wellbeing?
Across all ICDS programs, and through community engagement experiences, students will learn from the efforts developed by local organizations to address community challenges, and learn and apply different tools to strengthen their capacity to build relationships and work in teams, bringing the power of collaboration to sustainability challenges faced by local communities here in Costa Rica.
Your sense of civic responsibility is further reinforced through participation in organized cultural activities and group travel. The more you can see and experience Costa Rica, the better you can reflect on your academic studies and connect it to the social impact of your coursework. ICDS encourages students to begin looking into the Sustainable Development Goals provided by the UN prior to arrival in San Jose, so they can begin to create context between their areas of professional interest and their academic experience in Costa Rica.

Community Engagement

Practical Approaches to Sustainability

TWELVE-DAY FIELD EXPERIENCE IN COSTA RICA

Costa Rica is today a reference in the fields of conservation and sustainability, with a system of protected areas that covers a third of the land, decades of experience in ecotourism, and an energy system mostly based on renewable resources. Over the last 50 years, the country went from having the highest rates of deforestation in Latin America to become one of the first in the world to reverse the trend and show a steady increase in forest coverage. While being a great example in many fields, Costa Rica still faces critical challenges in areas such as waste management, agrochemical pollution, limited financial resources, to name only a few.

As an optional component of ICDS’ online courses on sustainability, we have also designed a fascinating field experience at Finca La Flor in Costa Rica, where students will be able to learn and share the life of a sustainable agro-ecological community. This experiential program will provide students with valuable knowledge and tools for action to help them face the challenge of sustainable living.

Program Highlights

Rural vegetarian food prepared with farm produce
Daily work on ongoing farm projects alongside local farm staff
Living on agroecological farm Finca La Flor
Cultural engagement through homestays with local families and activities

Health Care in Costa Rica

TWELVE-DAY FIELD EXPERIENCE IN COSTA RICA

Costa Rica’s health system is ranked as one of the best in Latin America. Its long-term commitment to universal health care since the 1960s, strong primary care, efficiently integrated public-private provision, and use of technology to modernize the system are just some of the health system’s unique features.

During your stay in Costa Rica, you will gain an understanding of the intricacies of Costa Rica’s health system through site visits, lectures on relevant topics related to the work at health care facilities to be visited, and shadowing opportunities in primary health care, physical therapy, mental health, or general medicine, while experiencing Costa Rica’s language and culture.

Program Highlights

Twenty-four hours of shadowing at local health care centers
Visits to Costa Rican national health care system clinics and institutions
Weekend volcano excursions
Cultural engagement through homestays with local families and activities

2021 Practical Experience Offerings

These amazing in-person options do not require any previous course or course work in order to participate!

Experiential Learning

Experiential Learning

Experiential Learning

Experiential Learning