STUDENTS IN COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS: THE KEY TO SUSTAINABLE BENEFITS IN GEOSCIENTISTS WITHOUT BORDERS PROJECTS

The three requirements for a good Geoscientists Without Borders project are 1) humanitarian benefit, 2) applied geoscience technology, and 3) active student involvement. Recently a graduate applicant wrote in his essay that he wanted to learn enough to lead his own Geoscientists Without Borders project some day. The student involvement is a key component in the creation of sustainable benefits. Geoscientists Without Borders requires students to engage with a global community in some cases and in a local community in others. The experience changes all of them for the rest of their careers. But it makes even more difference to a project outcome.

Several case examples around the world will be presented that identify the best ways to engage a student for a sustainable benefit to the community and the students. We will follow the path to a successful student engagement rather than just an exciting travel experience. Students have initiated successful projects that brought the instuctor along for the ride and project leaders have brought students to new understandings of where geoscience can lead them. Whether through the participation of one student living in the area, working daily with the community leadership and workers, blogging about the experience or the actions of a local group of students digging in to make a difference in their own community, the effect is electric for both the student and the community.

Students have been the most passionate participant in the projects; excited to interact with the community, excited to be making a difference in the lives of people, and excited about their chosen profession. The outcome of the student involvement is essential to creating sustainable benefits to a community and we demonstrate it in the examples.