A look back at the spring 2025 Bootcamps
- Florence Robson
- Oct 8
- 3 min read
“For those looking to expand your problem-solving capacity, engage with global policy frameworks, or work across sectors and borders to produce real solutions — this program is for you. It is demanding. It is transformative. And it is real.”
Student at American University Kogod School of Business
The data is clear: students crave and thrive in collaborative, high-impact experiential learning environments. Our Global Sustainability Project Bootcamps provide students with unique experiences that go beyond the lecture hall, connecting them with peers and professionals around the world. The Bootcamps are designed to:
Catalyse international collaboration and virtual global mobility.
Contribute to sustainable development and community engagement.
Advance academic excellence and real-world problem-solving.
We're proud to share the overwhelmingly positive feedback and impressive scale of our spring 2025 Global Sustainability Project Bootcamps — proof that virtual, interdisciplinary experiences can be truly life-changing. Read on to see the impact in the participants’ own words.
The scale of impact
This spring, our Global Sustainability Project Bootcamps brought together students and faculty from over 35 higher education institutions across more than 25 countries. Over 200 experts from around the world coached and mentored students, ensuring a truly global and high-quality learning environment.
The Bootcamps also received overwhelmingly positive feedback from students:
Recommendation feedback: 8.8 /10
Where 10 = ‘extremely likely to recommend’ the experience to peers
Experience feedback: 8.6 /10
Where 10 = ‘one of their most exceptional educational experiences ever’
Learning feedback: 4.3 /5
This is the average of learners’ self-rated development during the program across 16 different mindsets and skills, where 5 = significant improvement.
As additional context: 53% of the self-rated development ratings provided by graduates across all skills were 5/5 !
Hear from Bootcamp participants
“It was virtual but very collaborative. You are constantly talking to teammates, meeting people from other teams, asking mentors questions. I’ve never experienced that before, nor have I heard of it in other settings.”
Chiara Cassina, student at IE University
“Being in a Bootcamp of this scale I could see the boldness and humility merging in everyone involved.”
Student at Sofia University
“This Bootcamp pushed me to think critically, collaborate globally, and apply design thinking to dire urban challenges.”
Student at BI Norwegian Business School
“This experience was incredibly rewarding — it sharpened my critical thinking, strengthened my collaborative skills, and deepened my understanding of how diverse perspectives can drive real-world impact… I walked away inspired and equipped with new tools to help create positive change.”
Student at American University Kogod School of Business
“How would I sum up the Bootcamp? Intense, exciting and life-changing.”
Sharon Wanyana, student at American University
Building internal capacity via the Experiential Educator Fellowship
Beyond empowering students, we offer a unique professional development opportunity for faculty. Through the Experiential Educator Fellowship, we support our partner universities in building their capacity to deliver effective and impactful experiential learning at scale. Fellows participate in a two-part online workshop and have the option to join a "teaching team" for a Bootcamp practicum, providing a valuable professional development experience that reinforces new skills and builds long-term value for their institution.
We were thrilled to have a cohort of 28 new Experiential Educator Fellows from across 16 countries complete the initial Experiential Learning Workshop component of their Fellowship in June and July this year.
Our post-workshop feedback form from this cohort of Fellows:
Recommendation feedback: 9.0 /10
Where 10 = ‘extremely likely to recommend’ the experience to peers)
Value feedback: 9.0 /10
Where 10 = ‘extremely valuable’
To find out how your institution can partner with us, reach out to Prof Jason Blackstock.
