This summer, 93 Lehigh students and 12 faculty mentors will travel to five locations—Kuppam, India; Almaty, Kazakhstan; San Francisco, California; Manila, the Philippines; and Makeni, Sierra Leone—to conduct fieldwork that will advance their interdisciplinary, multi-year projects forward. These impact-driven, on-the-ground journeys are a core component of Creative Inquiry’s Global Social Impact Fellowship #GSIF and Silicon Valley Social Impact Fellowship #SVSIF programs, giving students the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge to real-world challenges through integrated learning, research, and entrepreneurial engagement.
On Saturday, May 3, Lehigh’s newest campus space at 472 Vine Street buzzed with energy during an immersive seven-hour retreat designed to prepare students for the months ahead. The upcoming fieldwork will build on work done over the Spring semester by all of the teams, work which will also continue through the Fall semester as they analyze and synthesize their fieldwork experiences. The retreat featured panels, lectures, and practical planning sessions as these soon-to-be traveling changemakers readied themselves for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
From AI-powered healthcare tools in Sierra Leone, to low-tech mobile solutions supporting tuberculosis drug treatment adherence in the Philippines, to gamified sustainability education for young learners in Kazakhstan, students and their faculty mentors are working on socially impactful projects that span disciplines and borders. These immersive fieldwork experiences are designed to drive meaningful change, laying the groundwork for innovation that continues long after the travel ends.
In a short video accompanying this story, several students share what they’re most excited about as they prepare to embark on their global fieldwork. Their reflections offer a glimpse into the passion, curiosity, and purpose driving this year’s cohort of Impact Fellows.
Special thanks to the faculty project mentors who will guide students during fieldwork and continue to provide oversight and continuity on these projects. Eric Obeysekare, Khanjan Mehta, Bill Whitney, Michael Spear, Dhruv Seshadri, Joseph Menicucci, Thomas Gartner, David Kramp, Xuanhong Cheng, Michael Gusmano, Willy Das, and Sam Dewalt.