Global Career Accelerator

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE REIMAGINED

Global Career Accelerator
UNXD 470

The Global Career Accelerator is a customized, 4-credit learning opportunity for Georgetown students. Delivered 100% online, the course enables Georgetown undergraduates from all majors to gain practical experience and build career-focused intercultural and technical skills. All students have access to the opportunity whether they have a traditional internship or not. Georgetown University is offering the Global Career Accelerator through a partnership with Podium Education, with the purpose of expanding the ways we can support students’ professional development. The Global Career Accelerator combines practical, professional and intercultural growth, aligning with Georgetown values of educating the whole person. See frequently asked questions below.

The Global Career Accelerator makes it simple to get real work experience through Georgetown University. The Global Career Accelerator represents an opportunity for Georgetown to increase access to experiential learning opportunities for all students. Not all students are able to secure an internship, and not all internships are created equal. But GCA uses a global platform that Podium has built that enables students to experience intercultural teamwork on real-world case projects based on the work of high-profile global companies. This makes it possible to develop professional, intercultural, and technical skills all in one arena.

We partnered with Georgetown partnered with Podium Education to offer this opportunity because they are committed to expanding access to this kind of experiential and professional development with a high degree of rigor and attention. Their collaboration with companies to build out 4-tracks of technical skill-building combined with research-based intercultural skill-building sessions makes for a unique experience that will prepare students for an interconnected and technology-filled world of work. This project aligns with other professional experience opportunities being developed by Georgetown, including the Capitol Applied Learning Labs (CALL), and credit-bearing professional development opportunities offered through all of the Schools.

Check back for more information and opportunities for Summer 2024!

In addition to Global Career Accelerator, the Red House is partnering with the Cawley Career Education Center to offer specialized sections of the long successful 1-credit career courses listed below. Students enrolled in UNXD 407: Global Career Accelerator are highly encouraged to take one or both of these courses that will be offered alongside GCA and are meant to deepen students reflection, meaning-making, and planning based on what they explore in GCA.

UNXD 190: Personal Narrative and Professional Discernment
This course provides students with the essential tools of career reflection, strategy, and resources designed to guide them toward paths of meaningful work and life beyond the Hilltop. We recommend it particularly for students who are just getting started with career planning or who aren’t sure what they’d like to pursue after college.
UNXD 351: What’s My Story?
This course will offer space and structure for students to reflect extensively on past experiences and to develop, integrate, and express a personal and career narrative that helps them move forward into the world.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do students register?

On Wednesday, May 17, students were sent an email from Podium that invited them to register for the course. Students were directed to the landing page, hosted on Georgetown’s website at globaltech.georgetown.edu, where they could find much more information and a form (“Reserve Your Spot”) to register their interest. Podium and The Red House are working together to register students manually through OUR.

Q: Will students who take UNXD 470 be eligible for financial aid?

It depends. GTX itself is 4 credits, which is below the 6 credit minimum needed to make a student eligible for financial aid. Options to get to the 6-credit minimum: students in GTX can also take other summer session courses or students can add 1-credit UNXD options offered during summer sessions. In particular, there are two options intentionally complementary to GTX.

Q: When is the ideal year for students to do this?

Global Tech Experience is open to rising sophomores, rising juniors, and rising seniors.

Q: Are there any prerequisites for GTX?

No. There are no prerequisites.

Q: Is this open to students from any school or major?

Yes, GTX is open to students from all schools and majors.

Q: Can students enroll in this course while taking other courses and/or having a job?

Yes, students can enroll in this 4-credit course while also working a summer job or taking other classes. Although it is not an internship, GTX provides rigorous technical, professional, and intercultural skill-building.

Q: Is this meant to replace real/ traditional internships?

No, GTX is not meant to replace an on-site internship. It is meant to expand access to different kinds of learning around global experiences and professional skill-building.

Q: To whom can I direct further questions?

Please feel free to send any further questions to:

Instruction Related Questions: Susannah McGowan, Director of Curriculum Transformation Initiatives, (sm256@georgetown.edu)

General Program Questions: Duncan Peacock, Senior Program Developer (gdp10@georgetown.edu)

Financial Aid and Enrollment Questions: Cristina Benitez, Red House Academic Manager (scb32@georgetown.edu)