Academic work starts right from home at the moment you get confirmation that you have been selected to participate in the Kulturstudier program. You receive instructions on the schedule for academic work as well as information about staff and the required reading materials, with this it is expected that everyone is fully prepared by the time you get to Cape Coast.

The semester was packed with sequences of lectures and seminars coupled with group assignments and summary reports. Lectures were put into three modules each model spanning two weeks by a tutor and guided by the seminar leaders.
Model one was all about getting to know Ghana but later delved deeper into the origin of sustainable development and its advancement through the years, model two was Political Economy and Nature while Model three was on Environmental Challenges and Resource Management in West Africa.
Most lectures had breakout sessions where students grouped and discussed key areas of the topic and this was the part I loved so much because it offered the opportunity for us to hear from those that preferred not to contribute through the lecturer either due to shyness or lack of confidence.

The seminars were equally amazing especially when it is a joint seminar with the geography and environmental science departments’ students of the University of Cape Coast. The discussions were virtually about debating on issues of environmental concerns in the global south particularly West Africa. This was really demanding because it pushed us to learn so much about other countries and their policies on the environment.

There was a grouping before every field trip and each group was expected to read and prepare before the field trips. During the trip, every group member is required to actively partake in the observation, questioning and note taking; a report is then prepared and presented in the class upon return from the trip. During this report presentation, class mates representing other groups often have so many questions for the presenters and in most cases; these questions could make you feel the need to study proper.

 

-Desmond-