Living Abroad Stimulates Creativity

Researchers at INSEAD and Northwestern University have published a new study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology arguing that living abroad stimulates creativity. This information provides extra incentive for international students studying with A.C.E., and should help convince you to take part in our new study abroad programs for 2010.

Now, enjoy this interview with William Maddux from INSEAD.

A.C.E. Announces Study Abroad to Spain, Italy, and Ireland

A.C.E. is pleased to announce the creation of three Academic Study Abroad Programs to begin next summer. These will be credit-based courses and short term experiences abroad to focus on various dimensions of “making the world your community”, introducing American students to lesser-known regions, contexts, and cultures, with an eye to overcoming human barriers and conflict. The programs to Spain and Italy will be led by Dr. Alberto Ferreiro, a professor of European History at Seattle Pacific University where he has taught since 1986. He is also a summer Visiting Professor/Lecturer at the University of Salamanca and Founder-Director of the Centro Fray Luis de León. The program to Northern Ireland will be led by Dr. Nancy Burgoyne, professor of Political Science at Seattle University.

Oman – Land of the Ancient, the Beautiful, and the Cosmopolitan

Back in March, A.C.E. helped coordinate a Study Mission to Oman in conjunction with our former student and our good friend, Mr. Rashid Al-Kiyumi of Oman. Below is the final Post Trip Report. To view an entire collection of photos from the Mission, click here.

Executive Summary:

Associates in Cultural Exchange, and Mr. Rashid Al-Kiyumi of Oman partnered together to provide a post trip to Oman for 15 delegates from the Seattle Study Mission to the UAE. The trip commenced with an overland trip from Dubai to Muscat, Oman, on March 14, and included an all day excursion into the interior of Oman on the 15th, a coastal voyage, a banquet on the campus of Sultan Qaboos University (the national university) hosted by His Excellency Dr. Ali Al-Bemani, Vice-Chancellor of the university, and tours of the capital city. Several high-level presentations were given by the Ministry of Fisheries Wealth, the Omani Center for Investment Promotion and Export Development, and the Child Care Center of Sultan Qaboos University. These included discussion of the Children’s Library project. The primary objective of the trip was to familiarize delegates with the “heart of Arabia” so as to gain insights into the authentic culture and history of the region, as well as to understand the modern-day potential for developing ties between the Greater Seattle region and Oman.

Images from the Oman Study Mission

Oman Study Mission Photos

From March 14 to 17, A.C.E. President David Woodward took a team of leaders from around Puget Sound on a Study Mission to the Sultanate of Oman. Highlights included touring historic Nizwa Souq and meeting with various Omani business and government leaders. The Mission was a great success, as many significant connections were made between Oman an the Pacific Northwest. To peruse some photographs from the trip, just click here. www.cultural.org/corporate/omangallery/

A.C.E. Study Mission to Oman

In March 2009,  A.C.E. will be organizing the 2009 Oman Study Mission which will take place directly after the 2009 International Study Mission to the UAE. This study mission will have 16 participants.

You’ve heard of the Middle East, the Arab World, and the Arabian Peninsula. But have you heard of the Sultanate of Oman? This jewel of a country on the Eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, faces the Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf, and is one of the finest destinations in the world with 1100 miles of coastline, rugged mountains 10,000 feet high, and ruins of an ancient civilization dating back to 12,000 BC. In March 2009 following the Seattle Study Mission to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, a small group of  delegates will visit Muscat and environs accompanied by one of our own local M.E. specialists, and hosted in country by the national university of Oman, Sultan Qaboos University.

http://cultural.org/corporate/omantrip.php