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March 2007
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS |
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AU/NTL Students Head to Canada in Pilot Residence Program When ice and snow shut down Washington during the February storm, a hardy cohort of graduate students was piloting an international program in a chillier place yet—Montreal, Canada, where temperatures plunged below zero. Their reception was warm, though. And the hot chocolate and “beaver’s tails” by a frozen canal proved to be an experience to remember. The students who went north in February are earning a master’s of science degree in organization development at the School of Public Affairs. The graduate program, in its 27th year, is known as AU/NTL because it’s offered in partnership with the National Training Laboratory Institute. The program now includes a 10-day international residency as part of its course requirement. “We want to heighten the emphasis on cultural competence and give people practice working in international settings,” said Program Director Katherine Farquhar. The AU/NTL program is aimed at applying behavioral science research and theory in practical ways to help organizations and their people manage change. Its graduates, midcareer professionals, often become organization development consultants. As part of the program, the students worked with French Canadian, English Canadian, and AU professors, completing a four-day “compressed consulting sequence” with field clients that included an orchestra, a hotel chain, an audio-visual production firm, and a social service agency. They got a taste of the cultural diversity of Canada. They also got a taste of a northern winter, although mainly from the warmth of conference rooms and hotels. On a side trip to Ottawa, they ate fried dough called “beaver tails” and sipped hot chocolate with marshmallows by a frozen canal, where they also got to enjoy the skating. “It was quite a good time,” Farquhar laughed. The experience will be repeated next year. -Sally Acharya, originally published in American Weekly | |||
