Over one hundred faculty and senior staff members from Emory and neighboring Atlanta institutions have participated in intensive learning trips to Germany and India through the Halle Study Trip program. Drawn from a wide range of scholarly fields – in the health sciences, arts and sciences, law, theology, and business – the interdisciplinary Halle Study Trip delegations share one thing in common: they are not specialists on the country they visit.

In April 2007, The Halle Institute sponsored its first Student Study Trip to Brussels to learn more about the workings of the European Union (EU). The Study Trips are designed to help Emory accomplish the goal of having more students experience study abroad in an intensive learning environment. In spring 2008, a senior political science seminar class of 12 Emory College students will travel to Brussels and Berlin for one week.



 



"Learning through travel is one of the key programs at The Halle Institute. Those who participate are novices to the country, so the learning curve can be very steep. Understanding occurs most richly when people of different cultures meet face to face.”
- Claus M. Halle -

Based on Claus Halle’s vision, the Study Trip is one of the most unique programs of The Halle Institute, taking delegations of faculty and staff on rigorous tours of the cultural, economic and political lives of countries outside their areas of expertise in order to broaden participants’ intellectual horizons, and build ties among colleagues across the University and around the world. Upon their return, participants share their new knowledge and understanding at Emory, helping to broaden the perspectives of their students and colleagues, and to contribute to the larger goal of internationalizing the University.

The program currently offers two destinations, both driving forces in world economics and politics, but also countries near to Claus Halle’s heart: Germany, the place of his birth, and India, where he spent his early childhood. The Halle Institute plans to expand to other destinations in the future.

Each year, delegations of between 8-15 competitively selected professors and senior staff members complete a program of readings and orientation prior to traveling. On their 2-3 week itineraries they meet with leaders in government, business, education, culture, law and the media. Participants acquire knowledge of the history and traditions of Germany or India, and gain a better understanding of contemporary life in those two nations, as well as some of the important issues that currently concern the German and Indian people. Through continued collaboration with The Halle Institute, participants are encouraged to integrate their understanding of India or Germany into their research, teaching, and interactions with students and members of the Atlanta community. The Germany Study Trip is co-sponsored by Atlantik-Brücke.