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What's News
Mid-semester program-satisfaction survey results underscore success of The Scholar Ship experience
 To ensure we deliver on the extraordinary experience we are committed to delivering, we conduct a series of surveys throughout each voyage. This proactive approach is critical to understanding the environment from first-hand sources, thus enabling us to implement solutions as part of our continuous-improvement philosophy.
The results from our recent mid-semester program-satisfaction survey validate the positive experience students are having. Reflecting the high quality of the experience, the vast majority of students indicate that they would recommend the program to friends and fellow students back home. Students also gave particularly high ratings to the diversity of the student population onboard and to the value of the learning that takes place not only within the classroom but also outside the classroom. In other words, our ratings are confirming the tremendous value of our academic vision to combine in-classroom instruction with a multicultural student body and experiential learning both in port and onboard our ship.
View student testimonials >
Rotaract Club in South Africa and The Scholar Ship join forces to undertake service project in Cape Town
 On the first of March, during The Scholar Ship’s week-long stay in Cape Town, approximately fifty students participated in a service project with the Wynberg chapter of Rotaract. Together, they painted Entshona Primary School in Philippi, which educates 900 children in the community. The school was formed without the support of government structures and funding, though recently it was registered with the Department of Education. Regrettably, funding and resources to the school remain substantially low, resulting in an unfavorable learning environment.
This service project is an example of a continuing series of collaborations between The Scholar Ship and Rotaract chapters around the world.
“As soon as I boarded the ship in Hong Kong, I started meeting Rotaractors from Morocco, Canada, USA, and Ghana, as well as children of Rotarians, ROTEX members, and Student Exchange,” says Corina Paraschiv, an undergraduate student who is active in her local Rotaract chapter in Montreal. “Together, we have been meeting with Rotary and Rotaract clubs in most of the ports we have visited during the voyage. And instead of missing my Rotaract club back home, I have found that I am making new Rotary contacts worldwide for our club. We have been active throughout the voyage in humanitarian work and learning about each others’ perspectives on leadership and volunteer work.”
Learn about our Community Service Grants for Rotaractors >
TSS Research Institute holds two successful workshops during Cape Town visit
The Scholar Ship Research Institute hosted two major international workshops in Cape Town. The first workshop examined what lessons governments, the private sector and civil society organisations in South Africa and India can learn from their respective efforts to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Entitled "Confronting the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in South Africa and India," the workshop received favourable comments from keynote speaker Professor Alan Whiteside, who has been a member of the United Nations Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa. "The Scholar Ship is a really amazing innovation in education and leadership. I found it valuable to have the opportunity to hear from colleagues from India. The HIV/AIDS epidemic there is different, but there are lessons that can be taken both ways. Particularly rewarding was the opportunity to talk to the students and faculty on the ship. I believe they will have benefited greatly from this experience," said Professor Whiteside.
 The second workshop provided capacity building of young African scientists, to promote science-based responses by Africans to challenges and opportunities facing their continent. Capacity building was conducted through teaching information technology applications to plan and conduct research, to support policy decisions based on geographic information systems, and to promote entrepreneurship and innovation. A key emphasis of the workshop was the promotion of Open Source software applications and Open Access databases. Participants came from 14 different countries across the African continent, and half of the participants were women scientists. Judith Mbau, Research Scientist with the Department of Zoology at the National Museums of Kenya said, "Geo-spatial information provides knowledge which in turn gives power for decision making. This is critical on the African continent where the majority of our people are entirely dependent on natural resources. This workshop serves not only to improve our capacity as young scientists, but also to enhance the effectiveness of conservation efforts on the continent."
Learn more about the TSS Research Institute >
Port
Spotlight: Guayaquil, Ecuador
 The September 2008 voyage calls on Ecuador’s largest city, Guayaquil. Ecuador’s wealth of National Parks and lively culture provides the substance for academic field programs and shore excursions alike. Trips to the Amazon rain forest, The Galápagos islands, Andean volcanoes and the revitalized Las Peñas district of Guayaquil are a sampling of the extensive possibilities Ecuador offers.
Here’s what Lonely Planet has to say about Guayaquil and Ecuador… “Ecuador may be tiny, but it sure packs a spectacular punch. The smallest country in the rugged Andean highlands, Ecuador has an array of vibrant indigenous cultures, well-preserved colonial architecture, otherworldly volcanic landscapes, dense rainforest and sublime islands - all in a nation no bigger than the US state of Nevada.”
When The Scholar Ship arrives on October 11th, Guayaquil will be in the midst of a four-day festival combining the celebration of its independence day (9 October) and Día de la Raza (12 October). The city is full of cultural events during this extended holiday.
Shore Excursion Profile - The Galápagos Islands
Discover the mysteries of evolution of life on Earth on a three, four, or five-day journey to the Galápagos. Walk and snorkel around the islands to witness the colonies of magnificent frigate birds, blue-footed boobies, Galápagos fur seals, Galápagos grasshoppers, snakes, land and marine iguanas, lava lizards, palo santo trees, sea lions, swallow-tailed gulls and tropical birds. Visit the turquoise water of the “Lava Tunnels” near Puerto Ayora, and find penguins, pacific green sea turtles, and white-tipped reef sharks. The tours include a visit to the Charles Darwin Station.
Learn
more about our experiential-based
port program >
Moments of Inspiration
From the ship's mail server:
Hi Everyone,
I have saved around seven thousand dollars to try and get an NPO (non-profit organization) off the ground. I would really like to try and start an organization that can do some real good and will continue to provide positive services long after I'm gone. I have a few ideas about the purpose and organization of this NPO, however, there are many aspects of the organization that are still up for discussion and I am looking for some people to get involved.
One of the main reasons I came on this program was to make connections with people that were willing to put some serious time and energy into creating something that will actually do some good. I know there are some really intelligent and driven people on this ship and I hope that some people can step up and help create something real. I feel like the purpose of this whole TSS experience is to try and utilize the resources at hand to create something bigger than our selves.
With all of the countries represented on this ship, and all the traveling we will do in the future, we can have members worldwide that can find out where and how funds need to be allocated locally to make the most impact. The beauty of this organization is that it will be ours; we all know each other and can help fund each other’s endeavors globally. I know this is a pretty broad mission statement (if a mission statement at all), and I would be interested in your ideas about how to keep it focused enough to be effective, yet broad enough not to limit ourselves.
This NPO is in no way mine, it’s ours. I don't want feedback – I want membership. The goals and principles of this organization are not set in stone. Let's make it personal and try and achieve the things we're individually and collectively really passionate about.
Thanks, everyone.
Angelo
Angelo Alfano is an undergraduate student from California, USA, currently studying in the Conflict Studies Learning Circle aboard the January 2008 voyage.
What Can The Scholar Ship Offer You?
To succeed in this increasingly interdependent world, you need
more than linguistic abilities. You need the intercultural knowledge
and understanding that comes from experiences among many cultures.
Aboard The Scholar Ship, you will live and learn in a multicultural
community that simply does not exist elsewhere. View
our video library and learn what The Scholar Ship can do for you!
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The Scholar Ship is a globally recognized academic program aboard a transformed passenger ship hosting both undergraduate and postgraduate students on semester-long voyages around the world. Participants from diverse cultural backgrounds come together to co-create life-changing experiences that develop their intercultural competence and foster friendships reaching the far corners of the world.
Do you have questions you would like to ask students currently
aboard The Scholar Ship? We bet you do! There are a few more scheduled live
chats this voyage in which you can participate to gain a student perspective
that is informative and interactive. 
"The Scholar Ship experience has been the greatest and most rewarding challenge of my life so far. I've invested all my energy into this project and have gotten more back than I could have ever dreamed of in terms of friendships, self-reflection, and cultural awareness."
