Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

U. Hawaii study abroad takes students to Mongolia
By Ashgan Djalali
Ka Leo O Hawaii, U. Hawaii
December 15, 2008

This summer, University of Hawaii students will have the opportunity to study abroad in Mongolia, a country located between China and Russia.

Hoping to exert UH's influence in Asia, the new program has the potential to "be the bridge between east and west," according to Dr. Tsedev Damiran, a professor at the Academy of Management in Mongolia who is currently a visiting scholar at UH.

Damiran believes the program will be an eye-opening experience for students, given Mongolia's political revolution. Currently, Mongolia is transitioning from a communist country to a republic.

"It is interesting to see the change that is going on," Damiran said. "Mongolia is a very interesting place geopolitically."

After two weeks of preperation at UH, students will travel to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, where they will stay at the Academy of Management.

The program will consist of a mixture of lecture in the morning and field study in the afternoon.

"This is a deal," said Dr. Richard Pratt, director of Public Administration. "Travel changes your view of everything."

Pratt and Damairan recommend this program to anyone interested in Asian and European history.

"Anyone who wants to experience a physically and culturally beautiful place (is a candidate for the program)," Pratt said, who worked with Damiran to start the program.

"Together, we have lots of connections to put together a very good program," Pratt said.

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