Crafting Immersive Stories of Lisbon, Portugal

White buildings with orange terracotta roofs on a hill in Lisbon.

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Crafting Immersive Stories of Lisbon, Portugal

Join Kent State faculty and students on a structured, short-term international project in Portugal’s vibrant capital city. Working as a team with your classmates and a local nonprofit organization, you’ll develop a virtual reality product that will tell the rich history and contributions of African immigrants to Portugal.

Meet with us! Applications close on March 1!

Location

Lisbon, Portugal

Term

Summer

Housing

Apartment

Program Highlights

Have you ever walked through a city and wondered which cultures have made an impact on what you see today? Here’s your chance to uncover and share those stories by participating in a hands-on project in collaboration with an advocacy group in Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal. On this exciting short-term education abroad experience, you’ll be led by CCI faculty member Dr. David Silva and work in tandem with Batoto Yetu, a non-profit cultural and youth association that promotes the value and contributions of African culture in Lisbon.

Program Contact Information

Desiree Dube

Sr. Education Abroad Advisor

Email: ddube1@kent.edu

Office Phone: 330-672-7989

Important Dates & Billing

Application Deadline: March 1, 2025

Withdrawal Deadline: March 31, 2025

Payment Deadline: The program fee will be billed to your Kent State student account. The program fee deadline aligns with the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center's summer due dates. You should refer to the first Summer 2025 due date.

Program Dates: June 30 - July 31, 2025

Application Process

You will need to complete a Kent State Education Abroad application. These quick steps will help walk you through the process.

1. Start an Education Abroad Application

When you click the "Apply Now" button (located towards the top and bottom of this page), you will be brought to the Education Abroad application system where you can view program costs and start an application. Be sure to submit your application before the deadline!

2. Guest Application (If applicable)

Are you a student at another university? To apply for a Kent State education abroad program, you will first need to apply for admission to �� as a “Guest Student”. Please apply as either an “Undergraduate Guest Student” or as a “Graduate Guest Student”, depending on your course level.

Once you have applied and been accepted as a �� student, you will receive an email with your FlashLine login credentials. Activate your account and then proceed to the next step, which is to apply to the Education Abroad program of your interest. You can return to this page and follow the “Apply Now” button to start that application.

You can also refer to the FAQs for Guest Students if you need further help.

3. Wait for Acceptance

Once you have submitted your study abroad program application, it will be reviewed by the faculty leader. Applications are evaluated on a rolling basis. You should hear back from us within one month.

4. Commit to the Program

If you are accepted, you need to log back into your application by going to and clicking LOGIN. Once you see the name of your program, you need to click on it and commit (i.e., accept your offer of admission).

Academics

In this program you will take two courses, one is through �� and the other is a course through Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

Kent State Course Information

Course Name and CRN: EMAT 40999 and CCI 56089
Number of Credit Hours: 3

Course Description:

Working with our local partner Universidade Católica Portuguesa and their client, Portugal Cultural and Youth Association, students will spend approximately three weeks attending classes, working in teams and exploring the western region of the Iberian Peninsula.

In this hands-on course, students participate in collaborative, interdisciplinary teams to complete a technology-based project. Each project is designed to develop an innovative solution to a real-world problem, which in this case focuses on bringing to light the little-known contributions of African culture to Portuguese society.

Students will have the opportunity to use the, an augmented reality/virtual reality tool developed by Kent State Faculty. You will be guided through the various stages of product development – from ideation to implementation – in order to create AR/VR tours that tell the stories of the impact of African culture throughout the capital city.

In addition to honing your teamwork and design thinking skills, you will actively work on small group proposals for the whole semester, resulting in deliverables to share with fellow students, stakeholders, and partners – as well as in your portfolios and resumes.

The aim of this program is to enable you to become proficient in collaborating with professionals from other disciplines and cultures. Along with this process, important topics like secondary research and product evaluation will be explored by themselves and in the context of student-led efforts. 

Portuguese Language and Culture Course

Course Name: Universidade Católica Portuguesa's Portuguese Language and Culture Course
Number of Credit Hours: 3
Course Description: Portuguese language and culture course designed specifically for KSU students which can transfer back to Kent as a 3-credit hour upper division elective course.

Tentative Itinerary

Below is a tentative itinerary; however, the exact sequence and sites are subject to changes in availability and cost.

Students will typically take the UCP class in the morning and the KSU class in the afternoon. It is likely that one or two of the Kent classes will be moved to a time in the early evening to visit particular sites around the city. A schedule of exact times will be provided closer to the trip.

Day 1 - Depart Cleveland
Day 2 - Arrive in Lisbon
Day 3 - Orientation at Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Day 4 - UCP class morning (9am to noon) – KSU class (1:30 - 4:15) afternoon
Day 5 - UCP class morning (9am to noon) – KSU class (1:30 - 4:15) afternoon
Day 6 - 8 - Free
Day 9 - UCP class morning (9am to noon) – KSU class (1:30 - 4:15) afternoon
Day 10 - UCP class morning (9am to noon) – KSU class (1:30 - 4:15) afternoon
Day 11 - UCP class morning (9am to noon) – KSU class (1:30 - 4:15) afternoon
Day 12 - UCP class morning (9am to noon) – KSU class (1:30 - 4:15) afternoon
Day 13 - Friday free or optional day trip to Sintra, organized by UCP summer programs staff. Cost included in program fee.
Day 14 - Free
Day 15 - Free
Day 16 - UCP class morning (9am to noon) – KSU class (1:30 - 4:15) afternoon
Day 17 - UCP class morning (9am to noon) – KSU class (1:30 - 4:15) afternoon
Day 18 - UCP class morning (9am to noon) – KSU class (1:30 - 4:15) afternoon
Day 19 - UCP class morning (9am to noon) – KSU class (1:30 - 4:15) afternoon
Day 20 - Friday free or optional day trip to Setubal, organized by UCP summer programs staff. Cost included in program fee.
Day 21 - Free
Day 22 - Free
Day 23 - UCP class morning (9am to noon) – KSU class (1:30 - 4:15) afternoon
Day 24 - UCP class morning (9am to noon) – KSU class (1:30 - 4:15) afternoon
Day 25 - UCP class morning (9am to noon) – KSU class (1:30 - 4:15) afternoon
Day 26 - UCP class morning (9am to noon) – KSU class (1:30 - 4:15) afternoon
Day 27 - 28 - Free
Day 29 - Final presentations to client or extra work day if needed
Day 30 - Free day or client presentation if needed
Day 31 - Free day or optional surf lesson
Day 32 - Depart Lisbon to Cleveland

Location & Transportation

Lisbon, Portugal

As the capital city of Portugal, Lisbon is a vibrant and charismatic hub for urban and coastal life. It’s a hilly location, which gives you breathtaking views of colorful buildings set against the background of the body of water where the River Tagus meets the Atlantic Ocean.

Lisbon is best known for its year-round mild temperatures and distinct architecture. You can find a mixture of structures that are hundreds of years old alongside modern buildings showcasing the city’s rich diversity. 

Transportation

Students will use public transportation in Lisbon.

International Flight

Students can choose to fly to and from Portugal with a group flight arranged by ��, or students can choose to fly independently. If you are flying independently, the dates and times to arrive and depart will be provided to you.

Financial Aid & Scholarships

It is possible to use your federal financial aid to go on ��-approved education abroad programs. You can learn more on the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center website.

It is also possible to use most Kent State scholarships for education abroad costs. You can find education abroad scholarships on ScholarshipUniverse.

If you have any questions about using your financial aid and scholarships for study abroad, you can contact the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center.

Health & Safety

Pre-Departure Orientation

Prior to your study abroad experience, you will participate in a mandatory pre-departure orientation hosted by the Office of Global Education. During this orientation, you will be provided with information including but not limited to:

international travel procedures;
in-country resources;
health and safety resources and information;
culture shock and resources to help prepare for living abroad.

All students are encouraged to register with the prior to departure.

You can also review a wide variety of resources we’ve pulled together for you on our “Before You Go” page.

Country Profile

You can learn more about your destination(s), including travel advisories, through the .

In addition, we encourage you to visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) travel page for for traveling to your destination(s).

If vaccinations or medications are needed according to the CDC, you should make arrangements for appointments with your healthcare provider or the DeWeese Health Center as soon as possible. Appointment openings at the DeWeese Health Center are limited and vaccines may need to be ordered, which takes time. Please note that not all immunizations are available at the DeWeese Health Center.

Costs and Funding

Costs for the program will differ for every student. You can use our Cost Calculator to get an estimate of what you might expect for your program.

We also encourage you to meet with your Education Abroad Advisor and reach out to Financial Aid the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center to see how your aid may apply to an international program.

Your Journey is Just Beginning

Before You Go

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