Call for Proposals:
SAIS IDEV/CARI Student Practicum

With generous funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the China Africa Research Initiative at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS-CARI) is sponsoring one student practicum group in the International Development Program (IDEV) to do a practicum on a China-Africa related topic in the 2020-2021 academic year. We are currently seeking practicum clients, with an application deadline of July 15th, 2020.
 
The practicum class is a capstone option for second year master’s degree students at SAIS. A three to four-person team works under faculty supervision for a client, on a development-related problem. We have funding for a team to do fieldwork during the four-week January intersession. The practicum class gives students the opportunity to use their analytical, research and management skills, and it gives prospective employers a chance to work with our students as free consultants. Practicum terms of reference or contracts are determined in collaboration with the client. The students do not receive a stipend. Please note that, due to security measures, we do not send students to countries/cities that have a level 3 or level 4 travel advisory warning per the State Department’s website.
 
In past years, the students sponsored by CARI have worked with TechnoServe in Lusaka, with Jefferies in Luanda, with SACE in Nairobi and with WWF in Beijing and Nairobi. For TechnoServe, the consulting team produced an inclusive business plan for the China-Africa Cotton Company's operations in Zambia. For Jefferies, the practicum students conducted research on Chinese loans extended to Africa, with a focus on interpreting the principles China would apply in its restructuring of sovereign debts to Africa. For WWF, they explored economic and environmental benefits for China-Africa economic interactions, looking at promoting trade and investment in Green Products. For SACE, the team worked to increase China-Africa trade and investment through research on emerging issues and initiatives to increase economic interactions between China and Africa.

Please click here for more information about previous practicum projects and presentations as well as the IDEV practicum in general.
 
If you have ideas for a practicum project on China-Africa (i.e. NOT a research project, but a proposal that would involve something more applied: an evaluation, design, survey, strategic plan, etc.), please contact us directly at sais-cari@jhu.edu.