Throughout the semester, DIS students have the opportunity to engage in experiential learning in a number of ways; from weekly Field Studies within their cities to week-long Study Tours across Europe, and Core Course travel weeks within Scandinavia. As an optional experience, they can create even more of these opportunities through Exploration Electives.
These highly interactive elective courses encourage students to regularly explore academic material outside of the typical classroom setting with frequent excursions across Stockholm and Copenhagen. Through these excursions and class discussions, they develop creative projects later explored on a Study Tour somewhere in Europe. Unlike Core Courses, Exploration Elective Study Tours are driven by the students, revolving around their creative projects.
Exploration Electives in Stockholm include: Photo Documentary & Discovery, and Scandinavian Textiles and Fashion Workshop.
Exploration Electives in Copenhagen include: Battlefield Europe: Military History of World War II, Curating in Europe, Disaster Management Leadership, Integrated Climate Change Planning, and Investing for Impact and Change.
Read below to hear from Student Bloggers, in their own words, about their takeaways from the experiences.
Olivia, Curating in Europe, DIS Copenhagen
“Being able to delve even deeper into the field of curating (on an all-expenses-paid trip, no less) was an experience unlike any other. The independent, self-driven aspects of the tour (individual interviews and projects, ample free time to explore on our own, etc.) pushed me to engage with Berlin in a truly unique way that couldn’t have been done if I went there on my own time.”
Read more about Olivia’s time in Berlin.
Mikayla, Scandinavian Textiles and Fashion Workshop, DIS Stockholm
“I got to know my classmates a lot better on this trip. Our class only meets once a week on Tuesdays and we’re often traveling around Stockholm, so there are some people I’ve never talked to much. Other people I’ve interacted with solely at DIS. Now there was lots of time to share stories over lunch or dinner, on the train ride, and while walking around the city. It’s always exciting to get to know people better and discover that you have a lot of things to talk about!”
Read more about Mikayla’s trip to Copenhagen.
Vikram, Integrated Climate Change Planning, DIS Copenhagen
“While in Bordeaux, we ate locally, explored using public transport, learned about the major city changes and got the full French experience. Additionally, one of our days was dedicated to studying DARWIN, an urban renewal project that has really shown promise for a bright and sustainable future. Being in teams of 3-4 people, we had a chance to create, educate and execute a full project surrounding the idea of sustainable scalability of the DARWIN community into a fully fledged neighborhood. … The project gave us a chance to really explore our team work abilities, and put our skills of social capture to the test. Not only was this project a practical experience for the future, it was also a great way to see another city in Europe within the context of sustainability.”