July 5, 2007 - Alberta Advanced Education and Technology's Internationalizing the Teaching and Learning Practice: Awards of Distinction was recently awarded to Dr. Emma Emgård, Ambrose's Assistant Professor of Intercultural Studies, for her development of the onSite program.

onSite is a highly successful program started by Dr. Charles Cook in 1993. In the last four years, onSiters interned in 19 nations on all six continents! Dr. Emgård sees onSite as central to Ambrose's education of international workers. "The students get a chance to test their theories and theology in a cross-cultural setting, and when they return to school, they are inspired to learn more."

In their third year any Ambrose student can spend 8-12 months abroad. They take their academic knowledge (anthropology, theology etc.) and apply it to daily life with orphans, AIDS patients, refugees, or tsunami victims or they use what they have learned at Ambrose to teach ESL, computers skills or math in a local school or church. Through their experiences, students develop both self-awareness and a deep appreciation for cultural diversity. They learn to understand and thrive in new cultures as they work with people different from themselves. They learn to trust God to help them overcome loneliness and the strangeness of life away from home. When they experience culture shock, they turn to their mentors. Each student has both a local and a North American expat mentor, and a visit from an Ambrose professor can also help them make sense of their experience. onSite is a life-changing event.

In notifying Dr. Emgård of the award Dan Rizzoli from Alberta Advanced Education and Technology wrote, "Your outstanding internationalization initiative is helping successfully position Alberta for its role in an increasingly interdependent world."

Contact: Dr. Emma Emgård
Assistant Professor of Intercultural Studies
Phone: 403.410.4903
E-mail: eemgard@auc-nuc.ca
Website: www.auc-nuc.ca/onsite