Faculty Testimonials

Dr. Bill Borrie

Australia, New Zealand and Fiji

"This program is a highly successful one that offers terrific academic outcomes with great value for money. Students report excitement and enthusiasm for the program, and very high levels of satisfaction. They leave with good insights and appreciation for the culture and ecology of the country, and a new found respect for travel and the exploration of other lands."

"Working with AUIP has always been a pleasure - you are incredibly responsive, super attentive to safety and risk management concerns and genuinely concerned for the learning and welfare of our participants. Since the directors have doctorates, they understand the academic environment with all its expectations, challenges and concerns.”

Dr. Nicholas Wheeler

Australia, New Zealand and Fiji

"The AUIP Study Abroad programs in the South Pacific are academically rigorous and socially intense. Students are introduced to a biological world as unique and ancient as any on earth, and they will study cultures that have developed, independently of our Euro-centered societies, for thousands of years. Indeed, these South Pacific venues are ideal for studying the critical questions surrounding the concept of sustainability, for ecosystems and societies."

Dr. Michael Harte

Antarctica

"Looking back on my experience as academic leader of the Oregon State University Study Abroad Antarctica Program, I couldn’t have been more fortunate—fortunate to be part of post-secondary education of the future. By this, I mean educational experiences that are experiential, transformational and truly global in scope, where instructors both impart knowledge and learn through participation.

Study Abroad is about experiencing other places and cultures and learning about yourself and your own culture as it’s viewed by others—warts and all. It is also a global business. Every year tens of thousands of US students spend a few weeks to a year studying overseas, paying both tuition to their home institution and considerable amounts of money for the travel part of their international experience. Our Antarctic program cost each of the 15 participants over US$8,000. American Universities International Programs is Oregon State University’s commercial partner, taking care of all the travel and trip logistics.

If you asked our students whether it was worth it, the answer would be a resounding yes. To see whales swimming amongst icebergs, to watch an Antarctic sunset (or was that sunrise?) at 2am on Christmas morning, to cruise among the ice flows of the Antarctic ocean in small zodiacs, are all unforgettable and irreplaceable experiences. Nevertheless, there is also a serious side.

The effects of climate change, and the impacts of human activity such as research and eco-tourism were never far from our minds. With 100,000 Adele penguins in a colony does it really matter if that momentary distraction of a nesting bird by a tourist led to the theft of its egg or chick by a hungry skua? How does the international movement of vessels and people increase the chance of the introduction of invasive species to remote isolated ecosystems and does this make the invasive species issue an economic or ecological one? Is the seemingly uncontrolled development in Ushuaia, the gateway port to Antarctica, somehow our fault as tourists? How can we reconcile the carbon footprint of 16 visitors to Antarctica with our professed commitment to sustainability? Is sustainable development a 21st century chimera and eco-tourism merely a marketing device? Is Antarctic tourism, as I suggested to them, less about sustainability and more about sustainable exploitation with an emphasis on exploitation?

From the time we first set foot on the Antarctic Peninsula, such intellectual questions became real and the subject of passionate discussions each evening in the bar aboard our vessel the Lyubov Orlova. For many students this was the first time they really had to confront these questions. Fortunately our students were well prepared for these debates. Already they had undertaken 15 weeks of course work exploring the past, present and future of the Antarctic continent. This lecture series itself is truly international, broadcast via the internet from Christchurch, New Zealand, to students throughout North America. Based at Canterbury University in New Zealand, Gateway Antarctica is at the forefront in fostering collaborative Antarctic research and education."

Dr. Brijesh Thapa

New Zealand

“The logistics and general support provided were extremely efficient which highly facilitated the overall success of the programs. Working with you has been very beneficial and we look forward to continuing our partnership.”

Dr. Bill Hamitt

Australia and Fiji

"This program is a highly successful one that offers terrific academic outcomes with great value for money. Students report excitement and enthusiasm for the program, and very high levels of satisfaction. They leave with good insights and appreciation for the culture and ecology of the country, and a new found respect for travel and the exploration of other lands."

"Working with AUIP has always been a pleasure - you are incredibly responsive, super attentive to safety and risk management concerns and genuinely concerned for the learning and welfare of our participants. Since the directors have doctorates, they understand the academic environment with all its expectations, challenges and concerns.”

Dr. Keith Bosak

Fiji

"The programs you offer are of the highest quality. No detail is left out; from excellent itineraries that provide the utmost in educational and experiential opportunities to guest speakers with expert knowledge of local areas and a professional staff that ensures safety, academic rigor and fun!"

Paul O'Dowd

Australia

"The AUIP program in Australia and the South Pacific is an intensive study abroad program in which students get the opportunity to participate in a very diverse field based learning experience. The syllabus exposes the students to a wide range of concepts relating to ecology, conservation and protected area management. The issues covered are highly relevant to today's world and are backed up by a deep exploration of the history of the living world. I have personally found the program to be highly enjoyable and challenging and it remains a highlight of my working year. I look very much forward to engaging this next round of students in the coming year and I always enjoy the ongoing discussion I maintain with previous year's participants, both students and faculty."

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