When your studies span global economies, it’s not always easy to gain hands-on experience. The students in the Faculty of Arts’ International Trade Minor use both theoretical and practical approaches to study how goods and services cross borders. It’s a field that has implications for citizens, governments, not-for-profits and businesses around the world.
With the generous support of Waterloo alumni, the International Trade Minor Fund provided 13 travel awards in 2019 to support an international field course focused on attending the spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, DC this past April.
“Being surrounded by some of the world’s most powerful and influential people in the fields of economics, finance, politics, and international trade and development left me feeling empowered and excited about making change.”
– Melita Trtovac, student
During the five-day trip, students examined the role of these two organizations in the global economy, attending public lectures put on by the World Bank and IMF as well as presentations by civil society organizations. They heard from speakers including heads of state and their finance ministers, United Nations officials, economists and policy directors and founders of the world’s leading not-for-profits, tech companies and foundations. Meetings addressed a variety of topics including income equality, investing in human capital, foreign direct investment, climate change, fragile states, female empowerment and globalization.
Bessma Momani, a professor of political science at Waterloo and senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, led the field trip. She was delighted that students would gain real experience and learn “how governing the global economy is difficult and multi-faceted.” The range of speakers from around the world was a particular draw: “Students had an opportunity to hear directly from practitioners who are in the situation of trying to manage multiple interests.”
Melita Trtovac, a third-year Political Science major, was among the students who travelled to Washington. She comments: “This field course was an extremely valuable experience for me as I was able to learn, connect and collaborate with global leaders and innovators about global issues, and specifically topics that I study at Waterloo.”
Now Melita is able to apply her field experiences to her research on foreign investments that promote female education and entrepreneurship in developing countries.
Top banner photo shows student Melita Trtovac at IMF meetings. Just above, the students of Political Science (PSCI) 493 field course in front of the White House, Washington, DC.
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