IPSL Global Engagement at Westminster University

Program Reviews

Default avatar
Najwa
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

IPSL Vietnam

Going to Vietnam was a great experience. I was not encouraged to do any particular country, but the IPSL director loved Vietnam and it seemed like a good fit with my love for history and Buddhism. I did a content course, which put me in a different structure than others. Sometimes that was a bit challenging, so for Vietnam in particular, I would recommend volunteering. Even then, the staff at CSDS was so kind and helpful. IPSL was as informative as they could be and I feel like I have relationships with both IPSL and CSDS. The excursions I took were great, too. I would go back to Vietnam to do more.

Default avatar
Alex
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Amazing cultural and historical experience in Cusco

The IPSL program in Cusco was incredible. I learned so much about Inca Architecture, Spanish language, and Peruvian culture. Everyone involved was very friendly and supportive, especially my host family. Cusco is a beautiful city filled with so much life and history. There was a healthy balance between structured routine and freedom to explore. The architecture class was a highlight; I had the full attention of an expert on the topic, and every other class was a field trip to an important site.

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?
I ate cuy (guinea pig) and alpaca meat. The cuy was great! Alpaca was a bit tough.
Pros
  • Immersion in vibrant culture
  • Friendly people
  • Guidance through interesting educational subject matter
Default avatar
Courtney
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Hanoi Beautifully Busy

Read More
What was your funniest moment?
Getting lost while walking and deciding to go grab some food and magically found my way back 😂
Pros
  • Food so delicious
  • Multiple store fronts with just about anything you can imagine
  • People’s kindness
Cons
  • Not making sure you have a full coverage poncho 😂
  • Traffic 😂 I’m a good driver but they are professionals!!!!
  • Almost hitting my head going up steps that wrap around if you are a lil tall😂 “watch your head”
Response from IPSL Global Engagement at Westminster University

Courtney is the best type of IPSL participant! She took a risk and planted herself in a totally new environment and she thrived. As a "nontraditional" study abroad participant she wants people to know that anyone can have this experience.

Default avatar
Paige
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Bliss

I think that future participants should absolutely keep an open mind about how their experience will go and trust the people in charge. I never felt underprepared and whenever I had questions, someone was there to support me. My experience was unforgettable. I happy cry even months later thinking about it. I miss being in Hanoi, it is magical. It's amazing the culture you're able to expose yourself to. I am so happy that I went, absolutely you should go too! The staff will provide you with excursion ideas, you'll meet 20+ new friends from all over the world while you're there, depending on how long you stay, of course. I saw sights I never dreamed of, and felt so safe doing it all, I even took college classes while I was there which provided me with insight to the culture that surrounded me. I miss it every day.

What was your funniest moment?
A few of my friends and I were visiting the Golden Hand Bridge in Da Nang, and I took the silliest .5 picture of my friend; she and I laughed at this picture every time we saw it so hard until we were on the floor, literally, or coughing, or crying it was so dang funny.
Pros
  • The best friends you could ask for.
  • Solo trips or trips with new friends that you meet there!
  • Seeing other countries on your flight(s) over.
Cons
  • It might be difficult or scary on your own navigating the airports since they're all in a foreign language, but don't be afraid to ask people questions in your native language, or pull out Google Translate (Lifesaver!)
  • It's hot during the Summer! Pack cool/breathable clothes.
  • Leaving was the hardest thing I had to do.
Default avatar
Tifany
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Chinchina, Colombia volunteering

My experience in Chinchiná, Colombia was like no other. The accommodations and assistance provided by Minga House and IPSL made my short time program amazing and unique. Highly recommended!!

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Inmerse in the culture, explore the town, practice your Spanish with the locals and try all the Colombian food!
Default avatar
Onica
2/5
No, I don't recommend this program

BEWARE- Program has some good qualities, but needs to be greatly improved

Read More
Pros
  • Spanish classes were great
  • Food on the coast is delicious!
  • Colombians are super friendly and helpful
Cons
  • Lack of organization in the program so much that I had no idea what was going on
  • Lack of proper communcation, everyone on the team constantly had different ideas about how to approach the project and gave me differeent information every time I spoke to a member of the them
  • Over priced for this experience ($9000 out of pocket), no real skills learned, an exaggeration of how the time would be spent
Response from IPSL Global Engagement at Westminster University

IPSL appreciates the feedback and the opportunity to respond. We hope that this talented individual has the same opportunity to provide such feedback to their home university and, in particular, to their home university’s advising team.

IPSL is familiar with this participant's feedback. With every participant, we request an evaluation upon completion. We received these comments in writing a few months after the request and shared these in a meeting with our team. So, while the content of this review is familiar to us and was/is being addressed, we appreciate that this participant is sharing her ideas more broadly and for the opportunity for IPSL to respond.

As with all under-resourced organizations (and our partner in La Boquilla is one of those), priorities can, and do, shift daily. Our partner has limited human resources to accomplish their mission. The members all have full-time jobs and other obligations to sustain their lives. This is the nature of nonprofit/NGO/grassroots work across the globe and provides an excellent training ground for individuals interested in entering the field of nonprofit work. That said, the organization where they did their service was somewhat new to IPSL and there were/are kinks to iron out. All that said, our partners reported that the student, on more than one occasion, did not show up to pre-scheduled meetings; that is likely part of the reason there was increased room for ‘misinformation’.

The observation that the organization has a ‘leadership’ issue is excellent and accurate. We have encouraged them to work on this which we all believe could potentially help them accomplish more of their mission.

Regarding excursions, ideally, they are spread out throughout a program – or during the period a course is being taught. That said, IPSL never promises when excursions will happen and, in fact, we mention explicitly that excursions can change due to circumstances beyond our control (closures, roads washing out in rainy seasons, etc.). But we always replace a cancelled excursion with another, complementary one. We have spoken with the leadership at our partner in La Boquilla and we addressed issues around communication and the Orientation Tour. But as mentioned above, ‘no-shows’ on the part of students/participants send a message that the participant is uninterested.

IPSL does an excellent job of preparing students/participants for the differences in cultures, including gender and race relations in different program locations. What a participant interprets as misogynistic may, indeed, be misogynistic through their own cultural lens, but it may also be a cultural issue or, again, a function of not having the capacity/time to address an issue in the moment. IPSL’s community-based organizations abroad are routinely some of the most resource-scarce groups addressing the most pressing needs in their communities. There is plenty of opportunity to observe, assess, design interventions/programs, present findings, and/or simply bear witness and serve. It is the participant’s particular framework through which they view the situation that contributes – or not – to the support of the organization’s
mission. We are not sure how the air conditioner issue is an example of misogynistic behavior, but we do know that the AC issue was addressed to the satisfaction of the roommate.

Any successful project and/or placement in an IPSL partner requires that all three legs of the three-legged stool do their part. IPSL never promised a formal course on project management. Indeed, the course/fieldwork was the sole responsibility of the participant’s home university.

The participant was approved and selected for this placement precisely due to their military background in managing people and projects. A key piece of what was missing from this participant’s academic experience was the home university advisor who was completely missing-in-action from the student’s entire fieldwork placement experience. There was no support from the very individuals responsible for the required outcomes. IPSL did not (and cannot) assume the role of a participant’s home university advisor in such situations. Yes, there were issues with some of the on-the-ground experiences that were IPSL’s responsibility, and we did what we could to address those issues as soon as humanly possible. What IPSL cannot do – and won’t take responsibility for – is a home institution’s lack of support for their own student.

The participant’s statement that IPSL as a company only wanted their money and fooled them into their participation is sadly untrue. The participant was approved and selected, for this placement, precisely due to their military background in managing people and projects. All the necessary preparations were made in advance and when the inevitable issues arose (as they always do), IPSL did what it could to address them. IPSL is pleased that the participant acknowledges the contributions of our Veteran staff member; we appreciate this. Lastly, IPSL is a nonprofit organization; we are not a company and over 80% of our revenues are reinvested in the various communities we serve.

Default avatar
Brenda
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

The Grassroots Study Abroad Program that Changed My Life!

Read More
What was your funniest moment?
There were many (!) joyous moments of connection and discovery whilst teaching English classes to unaccompanied minors in a refugee camp outside the city. Additionally, while teaching Trauma Recovery Yoga to children in a homeless shelter, the kids never ceased to do and say the funniest things!
Default avatar
Majo
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

IPSL Semester Thessaloniki

This was the first time the program was run independently from any school and it was a bit disorganized.
My service site (the main reason I did this program) was an 2:30 hrs away from where I lived and getting there was pretty expensive. The program director gave me 100€ to pay for the transportation but it only covered one of the three months I was there. I found my own service in the city and volunteered there as well. The program was only two students and this made socializing hard. Overall, it was a good experience but there was still some things that need to be taken care of if they want to have a very successful program. My host family was great, the food was always excellent and Thessaloniki is a fun city to live in. I wish I had spoken Greek and had more Greek classes.

What would you improve about this program?
There needs to be more organization with the program, especially academically.
Default avatar
Sydney
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

My Tanzania Experience

The study abroad program and service learning provided by IPSL was an amazing experience that will last a lifetime. The classes I took were Swahili and a class about the community, which met three days a week. These taught me a lot about the community and its culture as well as the basics of the local language. Not many people in the U.S. can say that they have taken a Swahili class in their life before. I also loved the service incorporation part, I volunteered in a small, private clinic four days a week and absolutely loved it. In my future, I would like to be a doctor, so this exposed me to what this is like, not only the field but in another country, which is a priceless experience.
My program director made my experience even better. He would take me on excursions on Fridays, he provided me with different places to go for food, excursions, and shopping, and he gave me advice for when I was feeling homesick. I was the only student in the program at the time, so there was a lot of one-on-one time, which was very helpful when he was teaching me Swahili and about the community if I had any questions.

What would you improve about this program?
Providing more information to students about their host family and living situation as well as the neighborhood would be nice to know.
Emma
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Life Changing Experience

Traveling to Peru with IPSL changed my life. Everyone says that happens when they study abroad but for me it is true. When I decided to go abroad with IPSL I was looking for a program that could help me increase my Spanish language skills, was academically rigorous and had service-learning so that I could learn to become a better activist and engage in the community. I did not want to be another tourist abroad. IPSL checked all these boxes for me. What it also did was help me change my life path through their eye-opening and engaging volunteer placements. Not only did I build skills that has allowed me to become the activist I am today but my volunteer placement working at an animal sanctuary helped me realize that I wanted to work with animals, something I never thought I would be engaged with. My experience with IPSL was so profound that I changed colleges and went on another IPSL program to Greece! There are many choices that you can make in your life but one choice you will never regret is studying abroad with IPSL.