Description

Providing students with a globally focused project that is related to course content is an effective strategy for global learning. The Diplomacy Lab provides an opportunity for faculty and students to undertake a project that addresses a real-world global problem. The following information is offered by the U.S. State Department:

Launched by the U.S. Department of State in 2013, Diplomacy Lab is a public-private partnership between the Department of State and more than sixty U.S. academic institutions, including community colleges, public and private universities, and minority-serving institutions. Through the Diplomacy Lab partnership, academic teams conduct research around various Department-identified topics in priority policy areas.

Diplomacy Lab engages the American public in the work of the State Department to address complex global challenges by broadening the State Department’s research base. Diplomacy Lab harnesses the expertise and fresh perspectives of students and faculty members across the nation to conduct research on key foreign policy topics. By guiding student teams through real-world challenges identified by the State Department, the initiative provides policymakers with diverse perspectives and practical research solutions to inform their decision-making processes.

The State Department is responsible for responding to a wide array of international issues and challenges, including climate change, democracy and human rights, global health, energy security, gender equality, economic policy, trafficking in persons, food security, and conflict and stabilization. Diplomacy Lab projects come from offices across the Department and at posts around the globe.

Indiana University’s Indianapolis campus has been a Diplomacy Lab partner for more than a decade. Integrating a Diplomacy Lab project into a course is a no-cost, supported strategy for internationalizing the curriculum. In most cases, instructors who implement Diplomacy Lab projects will connect via video call with the State Department officials who created the project description as they prepare to implement the project and at other points during the semester depending on the needs of those involved.