Independent Research in Switzerland

My Immersive Professional Learning Opportunity was a field research directed study in Zurich, St. Gallen, and Geneva, Switzerland during this Spring Semester. I traveled a couple of times to these cities to collect information for my master’s dissertation on international trade. My research topic was “Change in the Role Played by Japan before/during/after Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement”. During the winter break, before leaving for the field research trip, I conducted through literature review for this field research topic, and through the Immersive Professional Learning field trips, I was able to interview high rank officials at important trade related organizations as well as ambassadors in Switzerland.

The organizations and individuals that I visited to collect information include: the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), International Trade Center (ITC), International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), World Bank, World Economic Forum, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), King & Spalding LLP, Graduate Institute Geneva, University of St. Gallen, Permanent Representative of Japan to the WTO and the UN in Geneva: Ambassador Junich Ihara, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the WTO in Geneva: Ambassador Roberto Zapata Barradas, Permanent Representative of Argentina to the WTO and the UN in Geneva: Ambassador Marcelo Cima, Minister at the Mission of Brazil to the WTO: Felipe Hees, US Trade Representatives at the US Mission to the WTO: Christopher Wilson and David Bisbee.

I designed my own Immersive Professional Learning trips through a couple of visits of these organizations in the cities. I am scheduled to graduate in May 2018 and my field trips were a perfect way to wrap up my studies at MIIS. I was able to ask right questions for my research that included contents that were beyond the scope of my classes, which was highly strengthen by my active participation of the on-campus classwork on a daily life. Lastly, I would like to encourage more MIIS students to spontaneously create such opportunities by themselves. Existing opportunities might not perfectly fit into your needs such as your intellectual curiosity and professional aspiration. You are the only person who could possibly put together and tailor the opportunities for yourself.

 

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