THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY ENRICHMENT OF UNDERGRADUATE ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY STUDENTS FROM INTERNATIONAL SUMMER PROGRAMS: CASE STUDY (SUMMER 2019) 3MUGIS, RUSSIA

Hosted by the People’s Friendly University of Russia (RUDN), the Modeling, Monitoring, and Managing of Urban Green Infrastructure (3MUGIS) summer program was organized by the collaboration of the New York City Urban Soil Institute (NYC-USI), City University of New York – Brooklyn College, and under the auspices of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS). The program consisted of one-week lecture sessions and two-weeks of fieldwork across five bioclimatic zones, ranging from the sub-arctic tundra of the Kola Peninsula to the Southern Steps of Rostov, Black Sea. Faculty and guest lecturers included scientists with various expertise from Germany, USA, Russia, Italy, and France. Participants consisted of undergraduate and graduate students from Germany, USA, Russia, and China. Lead instructors enriched the participant with valuable content from different disciplines such as climatology, pedology, ecology, environmental geochemistry, hydrology, botany, and geology. Students were exposed to rigorous and hands-on practical field training at various natural preserves, industrial wastelands, and agricultural farmlands. The instructors provided a wealth of information in multi-disciplinary scientific fields that corroborated with knowledge pertaining to geological and environmental sciences. Participating students from different cultural and scientific backgrounds managed to optimize their own learning experience by sharing key aspects of their field of studies, learning from each other, and distilling information . The result of the three-week summer program was a remarkable expansion of skills that enhanced the participants’ research techniques, and correlated with numerous scientific fields including environmental geology. From a social point of view, international students had a unique platform to enjoy their time and bond with each other, thus promoting soft skills and infusing political boundaries.