DukeEngage adds four programs

Since launching in 2007, DukeEngage has aimed to give students an immersive experience that enhances them and community partners. In October, the initiative added four programs to its roster of thirty-six, allowing students to go deep into the culture and issues of cities in the U.S. and abroad.

Students—up to eight in each program—can now engage in Detroit; Miami; Belgrade, Serbia; and Seoul, South Korea.

In Seoul, students will help North Korean settlers with their studies, contributing to English language classes, math, sports, art, and computer education. They’ll also design extracurricular programs for the Korean students. South Korea’s cultural context will also factor into the experience. “We want students to intellectually engage in the history, political economy, and culture of the two Koreas,” program leader Nayoung Aimee Kwon, Andrew W. Mellon assistant professor of Asian and Middle Eastern studies, told The Chronicle.

Students who head to Belgrade will be placed in organizations working on social-change efforts in a country that has stabilized after enduring a number of conflicts since the breakup of Yugoslavia. In Miami, the focus will be on working with members of the city’s Latino population. Participants will work with UNIDAD of Miami Beach, an organization committed to advocacy and leadership development, serving as mentors to high-school students, facilitating health care and English as a Second Language workshops, and assisting senior citizens.

Finally, in Detroit, students will be placed into teams and will collaborate with organizations to create and implement projects to help the city in several ways, including in the areas of economic development, environmental sustainability, and health innovation.