Field Training Overview

Field Training Overview

MDP students participate in “hands-on” field-training sessions of up to three months’ duration. Begun typically after completion of the first academic year, they constitute a structured, “clinical” training program, giving students the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of integrated development approaches in a real-world context. Students may work in Africa, Asia, or Latin America, for example, in teams dedicated to solving development challenges.

With careful input from collaborating MDP organizations, appropriate development projects for students to join are identified. Site visits, meetings, lectures, and other academic events are examples of activities that may be organized to complement the students’ fieldwork.

Students, on completion of their field training, reflect on their experiences, prepare a consolidated field-training report, and may provide recommendations for addressing the complex development challenges that they encountered in the field. They offer a comprehensive analysis of local conditions, explain possible measures for reducing poverty, and suggest a roadmap for working toward sustainable development.

Browse Field Training Sites

Emory University
Emory University
Emory University

The Emory program approaches the two summers of MDP field training as successive stages in a single process of professionalization

Kampung Pueh , Malaysia

Kampung Pueh is a Salako Dayak community located at the foot of Gunung Pueh (Mount Pueh) and near the mouth of Sungai Pueh (Pueh river), in Malaysia.

Koraro - Millennium Villages Project , Ethiopia
Millennium Villages Project
Columbia University

The Koraro Millennium Villages cluster is located in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, a semi-arid area with a short rainy season.

Mayange, Rwanda
Mayange, Rwanda , Rwanda
Millennium Village Project
TCD and UCD, Dublin

For Columbia and TCD/UCD students in Rwanda, Summer 2012

Mbola - Millennium Villages Project , Tanzania
Millennium Villages Project
Columbia University

The Mbola cluster is located in the Uyui district in central Tanzania, approximately 36 km from the nearest city center of Tabora.

Okavango Research Institute (ORI) , Botswana
Okavango Research Institute (ORI)
University of Botswana

established for the study and conservation of the Okavango Delta and southern African wetlands, river basins, watersheds and the Kgalagadi drylands

Potou - Millennium Villages Project , Senegal
Millennium Villages Project
Columbia University

The Potou Millennium Villages are located in the coastal and inland dry lands of northwestern Senegal where the majority of inhabitants practice agric

Ruhiira - Millennium Villages Project , Uganda
Millennium Villages Project
Columbia University

Ruhiira is a cluster of eight villages located in the Isingiro District of southwestern Uganda, near the town and commercial center of Mbarara

Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation
Samlout - Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation , Cambodia
Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation (MJP)
Columbia University

Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation

Sauri - Millennium Villages Project , Kenya
Millennium Villages Project
Columbia University

The Sauri cluster is the first and largest site in the MV project, with 11 Millennium Villages and a population that has grown to approximately 75,000

Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin
Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin , Rwanda
National University of Rwanda
TCD and UCD, Dublin

Provide students with an understanding of the recent history of Rwanda, including current cultural, environmental, health, and political conditions