Study Abroad Experience Reports

Program Overview

The Georgia Institute of Technology Leadership Program (Spring 2024) is an intensive, short-term overseas dispatch program aimed at developing leadership skills. Through this 8-day program, we learned about leadership through various activities. Also, one of the features was the opportunity to learn about the American civil rights movement in this program.

Program Activities and Site Visit

On Day 1 and Day 2, we participated in a welcome reception dinner and attended workshops on leadership. We introduced each other’s university and country in the welcome reception dinner. They greatly enjoyed the Tokyo Tech quiz with Japanese sweets as prizes and the Omikuji culture experience. Particularly memorable in leadership workshops was an athletic-type workshop called the “Leadership Challenge Course”. We experienced the importance of teamwork and individual leadership skills through high-altitude athletic activities and team problem-solving. For example, the participants crossed over a log at a height of several tens of meters, holding hands and gradually moving away from each other, or retrieved a ball inside a large circle using tools from outside the circle.

A scene from the Leadership Challenge Course on Day 2

On Day 3 and Day 4, we visited places like The King Center and The Center for Civil and Human Rights to learn about the civil rights movement. The sit-in experience there was impactful, appealing to our sense of hearing and touch. A sit-in is a nonviolent method of advocating for Black rights, simply sitting quietly in a facility practicing racial segregation. This was advocated by Martin Luther King Jr. who was influenced by Gandhi’s nonviolent disobedience.For example, some college students staged a sit-in to have lunch in a white-only area. The main problem with this simple approach is that they have to keep exposing themselves unarmed in the face of obvious hostility.

Verbal abuse, being pelted with objects, and dragged to the floor, yet they had to remain seated quietly.

As one of the civil rights movement leaders said, they probably won their freedom at the cost of their lives.Malcom X, one of the leaders of the civil rights movement, stated. As he said, those who fought for civil rights probably won their freedom at the cost of their lives.

Group photo in front of the APEX Museum on Day 3

On Day 5, we had free time, and most of us visited the Aquarium with students from Georgia Tech in the morning, gaining knowledge about animal conservation and marine life through various shows.

On Day 6, we studied the biases present in multicultural communication during a lecture. It’s crucial to communicate with an awareness of the differences in common sense and customs that often exist between different cultural spheres. We expanded our knowledge through discussions during the lecture.

On Days 7 and 8, we prepared and presented our final presentations. On the evening of Day 8, we watched the Invenure Prize Finals hosted by Georgia Tech, admiring the students’ creative ideas and actions, as well as the humorous atmosphere of the event.

Invenure Prize Finals on Day 8