McKenna Hughes, IEM ’17

Cultural Training Abroad, Directed Study at MIIS

January 3, 2017-May 22, 2017 [Abroad from January 3-January 27]

Edinburgh, Scotland; Paris, France; Monterey, CA

This IPL experience taught me a lot through the research itself as well as the process of designing and planning the project on my own. I connected with potential research partners at the regional NAFSA XII conference in November and used those connections, as well as my own personal relations, to secure six site visits and interviews during my trip in January. I connected with even more programs than just the ones I was able to visit, which helped expand my own network and spread the word about MIIS to a large contingent of providers abroad. At the 6 sites I visited, three in Paris and three in Scotland (two in Edinburgh and one in Stirling), ever person I spoke with was extremely kind, welcoming, and seemed eager to learn about the IEM program and what we do at MIIS. Not only did I receive a lot of insights for my research, but I also learned a lot about what it takes to run study abroad programs on site and created a strong network of professionals in the field. Over the course of the spring semester, I analyzed my data and completed my final report that included the literature reviewed, the data gathered, and my recommendations and hypotheses. Upon receiving feedback from my advisor, I will be sending a copy of this report to each program that participated in January in order to follow up on those connections and share the insights I learned from my IPL experience.

Read herĀ DeliverableĀ 

After conducting her research with Immersive Learning, McKenna Hughes presented a poster on her findings at the Annual NAFSA cConference in Los Angeles in June 2017.