Students experience the real world abroad

For the second year in a row, under an inter-university agreement, a delegation of 10 University of Ottawa spent part of their summer studying at the Université de la Polynésie Française.

Natacha Gagné, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, who is conducting comparative research on the Maori of New Zealand and the Tahitians of French Polynesia, accompanied the students, aged 21 to 23, to study at the French Polynesian university for three weeks in May. The international development and globalization students had the opportunity to learn first-hand about French Polynesian history, politics, economy, culture and society.

Participating included Sara-Michèle Bard, Elisabeth-Anne Bélanger, Eugénie Boudreau, Marie-Pier Cloutier, Jessica Desjardins, Elsbeth Eryou, Stephanie Ireland, Nicholas Joubarne, Anne-Marie McNulty and Hayley Price.

“The professors at the university of French Polynesia are passionate about their teaching,” says fourth-year honours co-op student Elsbeth Eyrou, who researched the impacts of tourism on women in French Polynesia.

The international development and globalization program’s summer field research courses also provided other students the opportunity to refine and expand their knowledge in Argentina, Senegal, Kenya and South Africa.