PBPL 85: Global Policy Leadership Travels to Northern Ireland

This post is part of a series on the Global Policy Leadership Practicum through PBPL 85. Students reflect on their experiences as part the travel abroad portion of the course to Northern Ireland during the winter break.

Public Policy 85, Global Policy Leadership Practicum, is a course that combines experiential learning and public policy, creating a unique and interactive learning environment for students. The course serves as a tool for connecting a select group of Dartmouth students to real-world international policy experience. Twelve rising juniors and seniors who have demonstrated keen interest in public policy while at Dartmouth are selected each year for participation in the course. Taught by renowned Senior Lecturer and Policy Fellow, Charles Wheelan '88, each year the course addresses a different international public policy debate. The unique aspect of the course is that it takes learning beyond the classroom and textbook by traveling to the country of study during winter break.

PBPL 85 students in front of Trinity College Dublin, December 2014.

Last year, students worked to address economic reform in India and traveled to Mumbai, the rural village of Kasar Malai, and the factories of Noida. This fall, the class covered the Northern Ireland peace talks. On December 2nd, the twelve students and Wheelan traveled to London, England and then onto Dublin, Northern Ireland. They will spend two weeks meeting with local policy leaders: politicians, academics, journalists, business leaders, US diplomats, and other experts “on the ground” who can help to inform their topic of study.

At the conclusion of the international visit, the participating students are responsible for producing a single collaborative 30-40 page briefing memo with specific policy recommendations. This is an amazing opportunity for public policy students to get hands-on experience of applying what they learned throughout the course.