As an alumni of Gonzaga University’s Masters in Organizational Leadership, graduate teaching assistant, and currently pursuing my PhD, I’ve stayed connected and often answer questions for students about program offerings.

One question that comes up frequently: when I was a student, why did I choose one international immersion over another? Given the complexity of international travel due to the pandemic, even more students and mid-career professionals are interested on how to make the most impactful and value-added choice.

The two high-impact international immersions that are most-often asked about are the Brussels European Forum and Prague Summer University. Since there is such a high level of interest, we have hosted webclasses, interviews, and various meetings to talk about the experience with students all the way from undergrad to doctoral studies.

Striving to help get the information out there, I thought I’d share my answers to the top questions, providing a comparison and contrast between the two.

1. What year did I attend Prague and did I also consider Brussels?

I piloted both the Prague and Brussels program for Gonzaga in 2017. I have since attended Brussels again in 2018 and 2019 as a committee chair for the forum. I was elected Secretary of the Board of Munich European Forum, e.V. from 2019-2021–this is the organization in charge of the Brussels-based forum. In 2020, we grappled with the pandemic and converted the forum into a highly successful Virtual European Forum, which ran in 2021 as well. Since that time, the team has started preparations for Brussels European Forum 2022 which is slated for face-to-face in a small town near the ‘heart of Europe’ in Brussels, Belgium.

My colleague Dr. Adrian Popa, PhD, MPA has stayed in touch with the Charles University team and we’ve continued exploring partnership opportunities between Gonzaga and Charles, but this has proven problematic with the pandemic.

2. Did the class at Charles University meet my expectations and learning requirement?

The Charles University program was exceptional and the amount of material and learning was very valuable. At times, it was a lot to tackle, but I had a great deal of preparation learning about global politics and issues in the Brussels program.

There’s a different learning focus between the two programs. With Brussels, you have to intimately learn and assimilate the history, policies, and positions of your designated country, as well as the context and relations they have with other countries.  I continue to be amazed at the high-level of knowledge that the local participants had of not just European politics, but world politics. A lot of the students are in security, international relations, or political science programs. With my military and security relationship, I have an affinity for the NATO committee.

The Prague program is focused more on classroom theory and discussions.  You don’t have to be the expert on a country and you have an expected study program provided prior to attendance. The class program has a round-table of lecturers from different backgrounds and specialties.  It was a lot like receiving situation briefs, with in-depth read ahead requirements (about 90 hours).  Each day you would have a different lecturer and focus.  The mornings focused on the presentation, then the class attended lunch at different local eateries (paid for by Charles University), and in the afternoons you often had in-class exercises. 

As part of the program, after class you had different team-building activities, exercise courses (boats, ropes, etc.), dinners, and get-togethers that helped build a strong, cohesive group. We attended class in the heart of the city and after hours you had the freedom to explore Prague. By the end of the two weeks, people were parting with hugs and tears and smiles, and the group has stayed in contact over the years since. 

With Brussels, there are two experiences. There is the experience you have with your Gonzaga classmates, and the experience you will have at the Brussels European Forum.  The Gonzaga group spends a great deal of time together on-line preparing for the program.  There is a fair amount of classwork, but a lot of focus on preparing for the forum. When you arrive to Europe, you will spend time together before and after the forum. This builds strong relationships between your ORGL classmates and is the primary opportunity for exploring and experiencing Brussels.  When you start the forum, you will build extremely strong bonds with your delegation—namely because you will be working very closely together and for long periods.

For the most part, you will be working from early in the morning until late into the evening (10:30 p.m. most nights). Every night, there is a lounge that has seating areas, music, space for games, and a cash-based bar managed by the forum management. There is one day that is dedicated to visiting Brussels, attending special briefs and tours of NATO headquarters and other European offices. The other day is a scavenger hunt in the afternoon, or free time to explore nearby Leuven (highly suggested). One year, the new NATO headquarters was under construction, and sadly we did not get to visit. The forum managed to book the same high-level speakers to attend in person at our forum, providing a high level of access and value. Throughout the week (except when traveling in the city), there are three meals a day provided—European cafeteria food.  There is coffee, water, and snack service throughout the day while working in your delegation.  Proceedings are very formal with strict expectations on attire, use of electronics, and rules of order.

3. What was the average age or experience level in the program?

The local population at Brussels is typically a younger group in the 18-29 range; bachelors, masters, and PhD students. There are typically around 60 people, with 12 coming from Gonzaga.  The Gonzaga student ages are across the board, from 22-64, and over the last few years we’ve seen all extremely high-performers: activists, mid-career military officers, highly successful CEOs, high-impact mid-career managers at global corporations, and policy makers from DC. The forum program is very much focused on geo-political simulation. For our Gonzaga students this program is an opportunity for active global leadership practice—leading across both culture and generation differentials. It is a very different experience from Prague.

Prague is much more focused on academics and the participants are typically in the 24-36 range.  There are generally many senior baccalaureate and masters’ students and a few non-student professionals.  One lady that attended came from Turkey where she works on their EU Accession contracting projects. She attended to learn more about EU culture, history, and politics. Again, you will see the impressive ORGL professional experience and age differences, but the “local population” (from 19 countries around the world) contained more professionals and the average age was a few years older.

4. Would you recommend this program to others at Gonzaga?

I fully recommend both programs, each in their own regard. Again, I’m biased since I piloted and worked with the Dr. Popa to provide feedback and suggestions for the growth and development of both courses. Both programs gave me an immense opportunity to learn and grow, built friendships across cultures and continents, and reshaped my worldview and aspirations for future career growth. 

Since attending these programs, I have taken the experiences and practices of leading across geographically dispersed teams with different generations and cultures, and used that skillset to pivot my career with my organization to new levels. I have expanded my role from managing and leading programs for a group of 700 personnel at my organization, to developing and leading programs for over 3,400 personnel spanning the globe from Japan to Washington, DC, onwards now to leading the digital transformation strategy for a 16,500-person $2.2 billion organization while stepping into the role of Champion for a 482,000-person enterprise digital transformation effort.

Both Brussels and Prague provide a different type of experience that will sit with different career focuses, learning styles, and world experiences.

The Brussels program is focused on the political simulations for G-20, NATO, and the European Union and you are in-role, working long periods as your assigned character. There is not much “off-time” while at the forum. The online Gonzaga class is extremely important in framing the forum as an opportunity for global leadership practice where you are leading as a member of a multi-generational, multi-cultural team, while simulating a diplomatic role.

The Prague program is focused on being an academic student and holding discussions about the current state of the world. You have set class times, where you are in the role of a student, and ample free time after school. There is not an online Gonzaga class, but you have around 90 hours of reading to prepare, and you are required to complete a seminar paper on a topic approved by the faculty advisor at Charles University. The typical length of the paper is 15-20 pages, so not too crazy. Mine ended up being around 36 with references, just to make sure I covered the topic adequately.

As far as additional recommendations, whichever program you choose:

(A) Travel to Europe early if you can. Get there with a couple days to acclimate and beat the jet lag. If you want, stop in another country on your way in. For example, you can travel to London, Barcelona, Copenhagen, and a couple other places at a major savings if you buy in advance. Check out www.google.com/flights and use the map feature to see a quick list of the cheapest locations. It also has a calendar and chart function to show you which travel dates are cheapest. I often check prices using one way tickets to figure out the optimal fly-in and fly-out dates. If the prices and dates are right, fly in to Brussels or Prague using a local airline. Local airlines are cheap, so are trains.

(B) DoD Personnel: On a security clearance note, make sure to check with your security office on OCONUS travel requirements. If you keep in touch with people you meet after the programs, verify requirements for “close and continuing contact with foreign nationals.”  Different adjudication officers take social media relationships under consideration in different ways. Some just want to know and you only fill out forms for continuing face-to-face relationships. Others want to know all the details. My approach is to document and ask about everything and then let the security officer say what you need to do. 

As a final opportunity, check out these videos to gain further insight and context on both Prague and Brussels.