Biomedical engineering senior Davina Tran arrived at her study abroad merely expecting to build solar panels and clean water systems. But when the trip ended, she left with far more: a newfound appreciation of another culture. 

As a fully-funded study abroad program, the President’s Award for Global Learning empowers students and faculty to examine real-world interdisciplinary topics while incorporating in-country learning. This year, four faculty teams partnered with universities and nonprofit organizations in Northern Ireland, Colombia, Mexico, Japan and Kenya, where Tran studied. From June to July, Tran and eight other students tackled the global challenge of water scarcity by harnessing solar power to desalinate water in rural and peri-urban communities. 

“The Kenyans were amazing … (and) I’ve learned so much that I don’t think I could gain in my daily life as a college student in America or Texas,” Tran said. “We were … (immersing) ourselves in a different culture.”

Manish Kumar, a civil, architectural and environmental engineering professor and faculty team member, said the trip consisted of two parts: service and research. For service, Kumar said the students installed a solar microgrid at an all-girls high school with the nonprofit, GivePower. 

“We stay in the school or on the school grounds in tents and install solar panels to electrify the school, and then we have a big celebration with the community and the school children,” Kumar said.  

After this four-day activity, the students split into three groups for the research portion: education, engineering and needs assessment. In the education group, neuroscience junior Suhani Gajera said they provided outreach on safe drinking water practices in primary schools.

“(In) one class we taught about 120 students at once … so it was a little hard, but they’re such sweet kids,” Gajera said. “I think in the United States, we forget how (important) clean drinking water is. … It made me have a greater gratitude for water and the infrastructure that we have here.”

Students in the engineering group worked on a technical project optimizing GivePower’s solar water farm operation. Sustainability studies senior Elena Talarico Ribeiro said despite her lack of background in engineering, she enjoyed working with her group.

“We went to an actual water desalination plant with pipes (and got) a new tub for the water,” Talarico Ribeiro said. “We built the first step of it, which was more difficult than what I had assumed, but it was a lot of fun. Our professors and TAs … were helpful for the students because we were learning while they were installing pipes.” 

In the third group, needs assessment, students surveyed water access in three different communities. Kumar said they obtained interpreters from a Kenyan university to help speak with people on the street. 

“Walking around in Kenya you see donkeys, bikes (and) people carrying water,” Kumar said. “In the U.S. you don’t even know where the water is. … (The students) were talking to people walking in the streets. That kind of immersion you usually don’t get when you go to a different country.” 

Kumar said students should apply for the President’s Award for Global Learning because of the unique learning experience it provides.  

“It’s a rare opportunity to learn something that’s not possible by staying (in the U.S.) or doing an internship,” Kumar said. “You’ll be doing that for the rest of your life. This is an opportunity that comes around once in a lifetime.”