Overview

Grand Challenges Global Experience (GCGX) kicks off in Summer 2025 with a five-week-long, 6-credit hour faculty-led study abroad program in South Africa. This program will take students across the country, allowing them the unique opportunity to encounter all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals in an African context interacting with the diverse social, political, and environmental ecosystems that range from Johannesburg to Cape Town. 

The program consists of two courses: “Sustainability, Technology, and Policy” and “Foundations of Leadership.” Classes will utilize an experiential learning orientation that will combine lectures and discussion with engagement in various private-sector, NGO, and governmental agencies working to address SDGs in South Africa and globally. Students will also partner with local institutions to develop and deploy focused solutions that address grand challenges globally.

This program is open to all Georgia Tech students, with priority given to Grand Challenges students and Public Policy majors. 

General Itinerary

This five-week program will take you through all three capital cities of South Africa. You will swim with sharks, watch sunrises on safari, and chill with the penguins on the southern tip of the African continent.
 

Learning Outcomes

GCGX will provide students with a unique opportunity to explore the intersection of sustainability, technology, and policy in one of the most unique countries in the world.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

The Details

GCGX dates, courses, faculty, costs, application link, and more.