Iowa State students have until Jan. 22 to apply to the Vermeer International Leadership Program for the 2018-19 academic year and Feb. 1 to apply to the Global Leadership Study Abroad to Sweden program for summer 2018. Both global leadership opportunities are offered by the Leadership Studies Program and led by its faculty. The Leadership Studies Program is coordinated by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics.
The Vermeer International Leadership Program offers a year-long, in-depth leadership experience focused on developing leadership capacities and cultural competency. Students selected for the 20-member cohort take two courses together – LD ST 322, “Leadership Styles and Strategies in a Diverse Society,” in fall 2018 and LD ST 360x, “Cultural Competency and Global Leadership,” in spring 2019 – and travel while studying leadership in multi-national companies.
During their year in the program, the 20 students selected will identify and research a global challenge as part of their leadership courses. They will visit Vermeer’s headquarters in Pella, Iowa, in the fall and an overseas Vermeer facility over the 2019 spring break. Vermeer’s financial support for the program provides each student with a travel stipend for the international experience as well as a $2,000 scholarship for the 2018-19 academic year.
“The partnership between Vermeer and the Leadership Studies Program at Iowa State offers our students a unique opportunity to study real-world leadership challenges in an international corporation,” said leadership studies lecturer Tara Widner, who has coordinated the Vermeer International Leadership Program since the 2016-17 academic year.
The program is open to all full-time undergraduate students at Iowa State, with priority given to students with an interest in engineering, business or agriculture and who have two or more years of study remaining before earning their bachelor’s degree. The program is supported by the Vermeer Corp., a global industrial and agricultural equipment company with headquarters in Pella, Iowa.
Interested students can visit the Vermeer International Leadership Program page on the Leadership Studies Program website for application information. Applications for this program are due by 8 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 22.
This is the fourth summer the Global Leadership Study Abroad to Sweden program has been offered. Up to 20 students will be selected for the program to earn three to six hours of leadership studies course credits while visiting Stockholm, Sweden, and the surrounding area from May 9 through June 2, 2018. Students take two courses – LD ST/W S 333, “Women and Leadership,” and LD ST 360x, “Cultural Competency and Global Leadership” – during their time in Sweden.
Students and faculty take in the view from the rooftop of a campus building at KTH, Iowa State’s partner university in Stockholm, while on a walking tour.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for students to study leadership in an international context and take courses that broaden their cultural competencies,” said leadership studies lecturer Amber Manning-Ouellette, who participated in the 2016 program, led the 2017 trip and will lead the trip again in 2018.
To be eligible, students must have at least sophomore status at the beginning of summer 2018, a minimum GPA of 2.5 and be at least 18 years of age upon departure. The anticipated cost for the program – which includes tuition, flight, housing, ground transportation, entrance fees, tours and some meals – is approximately $5,569 per student for in-state tuition and $8,892 for non-resident tuition. All students selected will receive a $750 tuition waiver from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In addition, all students will be eligible for a Stanley Global Leaders scholarship ranging from $500 to $2,000, offered by the Catt Center through a gift from the late Mary Jo and Richard Stanley of Muscatine, Iowa.
Interested students can visit the study abroad page on the Leadership Studies Program website for more information about the program. Students can apply for the study abroad program here. Applications for this program are due by midnight on Feb. 1.