Middlebury Students Explore East Asian Geopolitics Through Immersive Field Research
From Beijing to Tokyo, Middlebury researchers analyze the security, trade, and cultural historical tensions shaping the future of East Asian relations.
International Policy and Development
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From Monterey to the World: Students Use Practica to Make Real-World Contributions to their Professional Sectors
From Monterey to the global stage, Middlebury Institute students are putting their skills to work this spring. Through applied research and practicum courses, our students are collaborating with organizations making a tangible difference worldwide while finishing their degrees.
J-Term 2026: Global Courses Across Three Continents
Where Classrooms Meet the World — January Global Courses Across Three Continents
Each January, Middlebury Institute (MIIS) students step beyond Monterey’s classrooms into immersive global courses that translate theory into lived experience. Supported by the Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation and MIIS Experiential Learning Funds, the 2026 Winter Term brought nearly forty students to South Africa, Czechia/Austria, and Bhutan — three distinct contexts united by a shared pedagogical model: experiential learning grounded in partnership, practice, and reflection.
From Nepal to New York City, Students Complete Practicum Projects This Fall
| by Julia Tucker
Almost 50 Middlebury Institute students are practicum this semester spending their time and gaining invaluable skills in locations all over the globe from Alaska to Kenya.
Oct. 24: Alum to Discuss his New Book on Cuisine and Conflict
| by Caitlin Fillmore
A free community event will highlight alum Michael Shaikh MAIPS ’03, who recently published The Last Sweet Bite, highlighting the food customs of cultures torn apart by conflict. Shaikh spent nearly 20 years working in areas marred by political crisis and armed conflict, mostly in Asia and the Middle East, including leading the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights investigations into the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar.
Experiential Learning Trip Provides Valuable Experience Navigating Trade and Diplomacy Challenges
| by Caitlin Fillmore
Applied research projects in Thailand and Vietnam helped Marisa Jones get published and launch her career in international trade.
Alum’s Chai Start-Up Has Personal Roots and a Sustainable Vision
| by Mark C. Anderson
Ani Joshi leverages skills she built at the Middlebury Institute to create the only regenerative, organic, woman-owned chai company in the country.
Student Perspective: What We Could Learn from the Massive Youth-Led Protests in Serbia in March 2025
| by Roo Luo MAIPD ‘25
This year’s Peace and Reconciliation in the Balkans global learning course coincided with the largest protests in Serbian history. International policy and development student Roo Luo shares what she thinks changemakers from across the world could learn from Serbian youth.
Field Work: Students Bring Complex Community Needs Data to Life in Bilingual Videos
| by Caitlin Fillmore
Students have put their skills to work on a years-long data analysis and marketing project through a partnership between the Institute’s META Lab and the United Way of Monterey County.
