Every Summer, the Payson Center for International Development offers intensive, two (2) to three (3) week long study-abroad programs with one (1), two (2) or three (3) courses per location. Courses are open to graduate students and non-Tulane graduate level-students. All courses earn three (3) credits. The cost varies based on location and number of courses taken in one location. (Note: Price does not include airfare). For Summer 2015, the Payson Center for International Development is pleased to offer courses in five (5) locations as part of the 2015 Global Development Summer Institute.

1. GIS
&
Information
Technology
Summer
Institute
in
Panama

2. Time
to
take
GIS
outside
the
lab…
! Geographic
Information
Systems
(GIS)
skills
are
in
high
demand…
! But
the
realities
of
implementing
GIS
projects
in
resource
constrained
environments
are
not
always
addressed.
! Commercial
GIS
such
as
ESRI
/
ArcGIS
tend
to
be
expensive,
clunky
and
not
very
user
–
friendly
affairs…
! So,
the
open-­‐source
geeks
came
in…
2

3. Time
to
take
GIS
outside
the
lab…
! Open
–
source,
free
GIS
that
you
can
install
on
any
laptops
! Proven
records
of
being
used
for
USAID,
Gates
and
PEPFAR
projects
3

4. Add
in
smartphone-­‐based
data
collection…
And
you
have
a
neat
set
of
skills
to
offer
to
any
public
health
project
involving
needs
assessment,
monitoring
and
evaluation
and
routine
or
strategic
health
information
systems…
4
(So,
ALL
of
them
??)

5. Do
I
need
to
know
anything
about
GIS
or
spatial
analysis
to
register
for
the
course?
! NO
!
! Having
some
practical
knowledge
of
Excel
will
not
hurt
though….
Do
I
need
to
speak
Spanish?
5
! Nope…

6. Where
will
all
this
take
place?
! A
couple
of
days
in
Panama
City…
6

7. 7
Then
we’re
off
to
Boquete….

8. 8
Then
we’re
off
to
Boquete….

9. Why
Boquete?
! Small
mountain
town,
lots
of
amenities
! (4th
largest
hub
in
Central
America
for
U.S.
retirees…)
! Rural
environment
(coffee
plantations
and
volcanoes)
! Tapestry
of
small
communities
and
multiple
environment
resources
à
Lots
of
possibilities
for
field
work.
9

10. What
will
we
do?
! Morning
classes:
learn
about
GIS
architecture,
present
case
–
studies,
and
labs,
labs,
labs!
! Afternoon:
usually
one
short
assignment
to
practice
the
skills
learned
in
class
that
day,
then
you’re
free
to
go
run
around.
! Field
excursions:
Boca
del
Toro,
Volcan
Baru,
Queztal
trail…
! Final
Assignment:
An
original
A
to
Z
data
collection,
analysis
and
mapping
study
10

11. Post
–
course
Internships
! Taking
advantage
of
Payson’s
connections
and
well
–
established
networks
in
Panama
! Possible
internship
with
UNDP,
Cathalac,
Victoria
Ward
(maternal
health
projects),
the
Smithsonian
Institute,
and
many
of
our
other
partners.
11

12. When
are
we
leaving?
! Dates:
May
18
–
June
6,
2°15
! Price
(not
including
airfare):
$
4,100
! Housing
to
be
confirmed.
Expect
shared
room
in
guest
house
/
coffee
plantation.
12

13. 13
See
y’all
there!