Why Partner with FSD
How do university students find quality international service programs in the developing world? How do these students ensure their own safety? Will they receive in-country training in grassroots development and cultural awareness? Will they engage meaningful project work and be immersed in the local culture? Will the level of challenge and independence be appropriate? Will the experience be like a “volunteer vacation?” Will they receive pre-departure training and support for when they return home and experience reverse culture shock?
These critical questions are difficult for students to answer. In response, students typically:
- Pursue a grassroots organization online. (Access, quality, and safety become major question marks).
- Find an international organization online, like FSD, that specializes in providing international programs. (Gathering specifics about development training, project work, host organizations, and levels of immersion become the primary issues.)
- Participate with an existing program within their university. (Many universities do not offer appropriate programs with on-the-ground training and supervision.)
If students aren’t working within their universities’ programs, then they are finding unapproved programs online that may or may not result in desired outcomes. In response, universities are
partnering with FSD to offer their students approved programs in the developing
world that are structured to optimize the student experience and their impact on the community they support.
By partnering with FSD, universities gain access to our programs, partner organizations, student training materials, processes, and best practices. New partners also collaborate with our existing partners, sharing resources and methods for student engagement. FSD is at the forefront of building a network of universities dedicated to:
- Practical pre-departure preparation and skill building
- In the field community impact and student empowerment
- Post-internship support and reflection
- Program analysis, evaluation, and reporting
- Continuing student involvement with their international host community
FSD offers three unique programs to university partners - Intern Abroad, Group Engage, and Service Learning Trips - that are adapted to the experience and skill levels of students ranging from young undergrads to advanced graduate students. Our approach in the field is a response to traditional development’s treatment of international communities as passive recipients of unsustainable support from well-intentioned outsiders. Our model is training intensive, highly immersive, and community-centered. By participating in our Intern Abroad, Group Engage, or Service Learning (SLT) programs, students:
- Gather the technical skills and capacity needed to enter the field of international development
- Collaboratively implement grassroots projects that reflect sustainable, community-driven principles
- Experientially engage community development issues and cultural immersion in the Global South
- Build relationships with international communities that create professional and academic opportunities
Participants of our international programs have come from over 300 universities worldwide. These students have used their FSD experience to win Rhodes, Fulbrights and other merit-based scholarships, gain employment in development organizations like the World Bank, pursue graduate degrees at the world's best universities, start their own development organizations, and fulfill research/field practicum requirements.
We encourage you to contact FSD to assess our programs and decide whether they fit your students’ needs.
Please contact our Communications Director, Alex Michel, via email at alex@fsdinternational.org or (415) 283-4873 if you wish to discuss how your school could work with FSD.