Join EdGE

Welcome to Widening Circles

a program brought to you by UC Davis Global Learning Hub in partnership with Omprakash EdGE

Widening Circles offers UC Davis students immersive social impact internships around the world and a shared online learning space via our EdGE platform for ongoing critical dialogue and reflection.

Through a global network of social impact organizations, guidance from experienced mentors, multimedia storytelling, and a rigorous curriculum, Widening Circles enables students to explore new pathways for learning, sharing, connecting, and acting with purpose and humility in the face of global inequality and injustice.

This program will be taking place during Summer 2022. We invite you to submit your preliminary registration below (free and no commitment) so that you can learn more about the program and begin browsing internship opportunities.

What Is This?

Widening Circles helps UC Davis students connect with social impact organizations around the world and engage in critical dialogue and reflection about the complexities of striving for justice while crossing differences of culture and power. The program is a collaboration between the UC Davis Global Learning Hub and Omprakash, a Seattle-based global non-profit.

The program combines the following elements:

Social impact internships (online or in person)* with Omprakash Partners — grassroots organizations working in fields including education, health, human rights, migration, sustainability, and social enterprise in over 50 countries around the world
Online learning, mentorship, and community — the Omprakash EdGE online learning platform is designed to help you reflect on the complexities of striving for justice across differences of culture and power and to examine your own location within global flows of power and resources
Digital storytelling to document your internship experience — each student will create a series of multimedia blog posts that eventually form a Digital Portfolio that they can share with host organizations or others; students will present their work at a live Digital Symposium at the end of the program
Peer-to-peer learning, webinars, and periodic discussion groups to support community-building and critical reflection

*Not sure whether you'd prefer to travel or work remotely during Summer 2022? No problem! This program is designed to be flexible and adaptable to your own schedule and preferences. We encourage you to register below to get started with browsing internship opportunities as soon as possible, but you won't need to commit to anything until you feel comfortable doing so.

How Does It Work?

Program Overview & Timeline

The official program period will run between June 20, 2022 and August 26, 2022.

During this time, students will:

Complete the Widening Circles coursework via our EdGE online learning platform;

Pursue a social impact internship with an Omprakash Partner organization (online or in-person, or possibly hybrid);

Build a portfolio of digital storytelling posts that documents their Summer experience;

Participate in a Digital Symposium at the end of the program to share their work with each other and with a broader audience

Please note that internships can be shorter or longer than this official program window. Regardless of when you choose to start your internship, however, we encourage you to begin browsing and applying for internship opportunities as soon as possible. Check out our robust Partner network and search database to get a sense of how this works.

Once you register below, you will gain access to your EdGE Dashboard, where you'll be able to learn more about the program and begin planning your internship.

Program Cost, Transcript Notation, and Funding

Program Cost: $500 program fee, paid directly to Omprakash. Students who elect an in-person internship will have out-of-pocket expenses, including transportation to/from site and daily estimated costs which is listed for each internship.

Transcript Notation: All participating students will have the option to apply for and receive Transcript Notation through the Internship and Career Center.

Program Funding:

UC Davis students from the College of Engineering, College of Biological Sciences and College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences are eligible to apply for full program scholarships. Apply for funding through the Experiential and Intercultural Programs portal.
Omprakash Scholarships: All students can apply for an Omprakash scholarship after registering below. These scholarships will cover some or all of the $500 program fee.

What is the coursework about?

The EdGE online coursework is comprised of ten 'units,' each of which is oriented around an essential question.

In Units 1-2, we work to orient ourselves within the present moment and establish a shared framework for reflection, dialogue and action. We'll explore the risks of 'helping others' and consider how 'raising consciousness' might be a more radical force for social change
In Units 3-5, we use the theme of inequality as a lens through which to understand the different contexts and relationships in which we are immersed — both at home and away
In Units 6-10, we shift towards the work of storytelling and raising consciousness as we deepen our engagement across difference. We'll explore praxis as an alternative way to address social inequalities, and what it means to understand another 'culture' and engage in a 'community'

Why Join This Program?

Stay tuned for info about our current program!