Opportunities for High Schools
SIS Intercultural Study Abroad is dedicated to creating formative intercultural experiences. While many of our students come to us individually from universities, we are happy to arrange short-term study abroad experiences for accompanied high-school or secondary school groups. These study trips can be tailored to the group’s needs, and, at the time being, can take place either in Siena, Italy or Brussels, Belgium.
Read on for two sample itineraries we feel may be of interest and appropriate for younger learners – keeping in mind that SIS can also design a customized program to suit the needs of the class! These study trips can take place during winter break, spring break or at the beginning of summer, and can also range in length.
Why bring your class to Siena and Tuscany?
EXPLORE A 10-DAY PROGRAM FOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN SIENA
Siena is a smart, small city with high standards of quality of life, a great historic, artistic and cultural heritage and a great tradition of hospitality towards students.
Siena is always ranked among the safest cities of Italy and its urban structure, with its Historical Center Unesco site from 1995, allows each student to have a full immersion experience in the life, culture and beauties of the city.
It’s the location of The Palio, one of the most important, famous and fascinating historical celebrations in the world.
It’s also very famous for food and wine and, thanks to the natural beauty of its amazing province, where you can find a unique concentration of art and the amazing hills of the typical Tuscan countryside, even three more UNESCO sites (San Gimignano – Historical Center, Pienza – Historical Center and Valdorcia, the amazing area of Montalcino and Montepulciano) and other wonderful places like the Chianti area!
Siena is in the core of Tuscany and Italy, and close to many of the most famous and beautiful Italian cities, like Florence, Rome and Venice.
Finally, Standard Italian is based on the Tuscan dialect and is the official language of Italy, thanks also to the prestige of many historical writers like Dante Alighieri and Francesco Petrarca.
We are sure that Siena is the perfect location for a great study abroad experience in Italy! Discover all this beauty with us!
Why bring your class to Brussels?
EXPLORE A 10-DAY PROGRAM FOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN BRUSSELS
There is probably no better place in Europe for a true intercultural experience than Brussels.
Belgium, as a nation, is in fact an example of multicultural cooperation with three official languages – French, Dutch and German – spoken by three different communities. Furthermore, Brussels is a cosmopolitan city and has a key role in Europe. Despite being less renowned than other major European capitals such as Rome, London or Paris, Brussels and Belgium in general have repeatedly been the scene of significant historical events of European history, such as the defeat of Napoleon in Waterloo. Because of its position in the heart of Europe, Brussels has always been also a geographic crossroads for encounters among European peoples.
On account of all this, Brussels became the natural “capital” of Europe and was chosen to host the headquarters of the European Institutions, numerous European organizations and NGOs. Approximately 32% of its residents are in fact of non-Belgian European origins both as a result of waves of migration and of the arrival of Eurocrats.
At the same time, diversity in Brussels goes way beyond European borders, as 36% of its residents are of other backgrounds, mostly Moroccan, Turkish, and Sub-Saharan African. This is due primarily to the colonial history of Belgium and its bilateral agreements signed during the second half of the 20th century with countless African and Middle-Eastern countries.
The bond between SIS and Brussels was born when members of SIS staff moved there in 2015 to undertake their higher education degrees. Since then, we started building a program that could give our students the opportunity to develop intercultural competences. At SIS this has always been our major goal and we believe that interning in a city as diverse and unique as Brussels is the perfect way to achieve it.