Study Abroad

Northern Uganda Collaborative Learning Partnership

The Center for Peace and Development has been coordinating the Northern Uganda Collaborative Learning Partnership since 2016. The program operates in Gulu, Uganda. Students and faculty at the University of Oklahoma partner with local grassroots organizations to learn from each other in unique and meaningful ways.

The way it works is that local partners suggest projects that are important to them. Each course (we refer them as “tracks”) adopts a syllabus that has general shared objectives related to cultural learning and humility, general objectives related to the collaborative project done with the local partner, and objectives related to the coursework in each discipline.

Sample Syllabus

The following is an example syllabus for a track from the summer of 2016. The local partner is St. Monica’s School of Basic Learning for Women.

Overarching Learning Objectives

Develop an understanding of and an appreciation for different cultural settings.
Acquire professional and personal tools to interpret nuanced contextual differences in economic, cultural, and political conditions and to use those tools in an applied project.
Develop the multidisciplinary teamwork skills that are required today to address complicated global and local problems.

Partners learn from each other in unique and meaningful ways

Overarching Service Learning Goals

To work in a multidisciplinary team to help St. Monica’s reach its goals, taking into account the nuances of local community and culture.
To work with St. Monica’s in assessing their ability to create positive change for the campus and the community.
To give OU students the chance to reflect on the importance of culture and contextual differences to professional work through journals and iterative group discussion.

Discipline Specific Goals for Planning, Design, and Engineering Students

To understand and apply the concepts of safe drinking water delivery as part of a broader community embedded WaSH plan at St. Monica’s School in Uganda.
To understand and apply the concepts of proper sanitation and hygiene as part of a broader WaSH plan for St. Monica’s School.
To practice the acquisition and interpretation of data in support of the planning, design, and development of a WaSH plan.
To engage in development of a WaSH plan alongside students and faculty of various academic disciplines.
To gain appreciation of the importance of cultural context for the development of a WaSH plan.
To explore innovative solutions to local water and sanitation challenges.

Discipline Specific Goals for Entrepreneurship Students

To gain a broad understanding of international entrepreneurship and how startups and procedures can be different in countries outside of the United States.
To understand the potential for entrepreneurial ventures to mitigate social issues in developing regions.
To gain an understanding of the positive and negative roles that entrepreneurial ventures can play in a community and the ethical questions that should be considered.
To gain experience doing community research by gathering information required to formulate a business plan for a water business in Gulu, Uganda.
To gain appreciation of the importance of cultural context when researching or developing an entrepreneurial venture in a developing region.

Discipline Specific Goals for Education Students

To gain a broad understanding of primary education in Uganda and how education can be different in countries outside of the United States.
To demonstrate understanding of how to adapt instruction and curriculum intended for children to meet the needs of adult learners in a culturally sensitive manner.
To understand how to use cultural context to support St. Monica’s adult learners in strengthening the education of their own children.
To understand how to work effectively across cultural boundaries to assist St. Monica’s teachers in providing active teaching and learning strategies in classroom.
To work with OU peers to find ways to help St. Monica’s teachers and learners meet their educational needs.

Africa in Context

In addition to the time spent int Gulu, Uganda, all students take the course Africa in Context, which is aimed at providing an understanding of colonialism and contemporary social and cultural context of Uganda. A key component of this is the focus on critical reflection on media portrayals of sub-Saharan Africa and on students’ own social positions as they interact with local partners.

Past Programs, Courses, and Collaborative Projects

Year	Courses Offered	Collaborative Projects
2024 (Summer)	Africa in Context (IAS) Introduction to African Aesthetics (AFAM) Special Topics/Seminar (EDUC)	Grassroots Women's Peace Conferance
2023 (Summer)	Africa in Context (IAS) Gender and War (HR) Uganda Service Learning (EDUC)	Culturally responsive literacy tutoring project.
2022 (Summer)	Africa in Context (IAS) Gender and War (HR) Uganda Service Learning (EDUC) Techincal Practicum in Uganda (CEES)	Culturally responsive literacy tutoring project.
2019 (Summer)	Technical Learning in Uganda (CEES) Africa in Context (IAS) Uganda Service Learning (EDUC) Comprehensive Planning Studio(RCPL)	Grassroots Women’s Peace Conference and the Baseline Survey.
2019 (Winter)	Special Topics/Seminar: Political Economy of Aid (ECON) Quantitative and Qualitative Field Studies with Grassroots Organizations (RCPL)	Baseline Survey.
2018 (Summer)	Technical Learning in Uganda (CEES) Africa in Context (IAS) Uganda Service Learning (EDUC) Comprehensive Planning Studio (RCPL)	Grassroots Women’s Peace Conference.
2017 (Summer)	Uganda Service Learning (EDUC) Service-Learning in Uganda (CEES) Africa in Context (IAS) Social Entrepreneurship (CCEW)	Culturally responsive literacy tutoring project with the School of Basic Learning at St. Monica’s.
2017 (Winter)	Women Creating Social Change (WGS) Comprehensive Planning Studio (RCPL)	Women’s Advocacy Photovoice Project.
2016 (Summer)	WaTER Technical Field Methods (CEES) Uganda Service Learning (EDUC) Service-Learning in Uganda Comprehensive Planning Studio (RCPL) Social Entrepreneurship (CCEW)	Community-Based Research of Local Water Systems in Northern Uganda. St. Monica Campus Site Water Plan.