Research Experience: The first core component of the research experience will be working on projects, with the theme of improving the international cyberinfrastructure by conducting applications or developing middleware. There are several projects that exist now as part of PRAGMA for which undergraduate involvement will be ideal. However, undergraduate projects will not be limited to those currently existing in PRAGMA. Participation in this program will meet the Practicum requirement at Sixth College and may enroll for academic credit. [Note: Enrollment in Sixth College is NOT a requirement for this program.]

Summer at an International Host Institution: The second core component of the program is that the student will spend a summer at an international host institution, interacting with scientists, research professionals and students.

Dual Mentors: The third core component of the program is that each student will have two mentors, one affiliated with UCSD, and one associated with the host institution. The students will be an important glue between these two mentors, enhancing the collaboration possibility beyond the duration of the specific experience.

International and Cultural Experience: An important component of the program is its international and cultural framework. As mentioned previously, the Academic Internship Program (AIP) will provide the organizational infrastructure to support the students while they are in the US and when they are working abroad. In addition, we will be working with UCSD's Education Abroad Program. It will deliver the cultural competency component of the program. Furthermore, we will encourage students to participate in language courses prior to the summer experience, as another view into the culture. We will encourage our students to take advantage of the Heritage Language Program in the Department of Linguistics that offers courses in Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Cantonese and Hindi/Urdu.