Feature

Atlantic College: Project Weeks

H. M. Iftekhar Akter(Upol)

Every year at the end of the second year mock exams starts the 'Project Week' which gives the students of Atlantic College not only an opportunity to take a break from the hectic routine of College life but also to do something worthwhile and meaningful. Doing a project over this 11 day break is compulsory and a part of life of an Atlantic College student. The projects could be almost anything from appreciating cultures of a foreign land to language courses to outfield activities and it usually lasts for at least six to seven days.

The projects can either be staff-led or individual student organised. Usually the staff led projects involve a group of 15-25 students and also involves going to some other countries. Some of the staff-led projects this year went to Spain, Germany, Palestine-Israel, Morocco, Austria, Italy and Holland. There were two groups in Germany, Nuremberg and Berlin. Both these projects were history based and students were taken to lots of museums and concentration camps which allowed them to see in depth how people suffered in the hands of the Nazis during the Second World War. The group that went to Austria was our very own Atlantic College choir.

They performed several concerts throughout Vienna and then went to tour other parts in Austria. Some of the students from the choir were quoted as saying 'This was one of the mesmerizing experiences of my life and the way the audience showed their appreciation was quite amazing'. While the projects in Morocco and Mallorca in Spain were more physical. Led by professionals the Moroccan project was a rock climbing one where the students got an opportunity to learn the arts of rock climbing while the students in Mallorca went through a tough fitness schedule including running in the beaches and other fitness program.

The Israel-Palestine project was also one of the highlights because it allowed the students in that trip to personally see the differences, sufferings and effects of the conflict on the people living in that region. But the staff-led projects don't necessarily have to be outside the country in fact it can be inside the campus. One of the staff led projects that was carried out in the campus was the Yearbook project where lots of students helped put the yearbook together as it is completely done by the students from taking pictures, to writing articles and even editing and designing layout.

The student led projects are also very interesting and worthwhile. One of my friends went to the Welch Refugee Council and worked there for a week. Some other students did an extensive research study on the architecture of buildings in Cardiff and comparing it to the architecture of the buildings of a nearby town. Others went to Dublin and Belfast where they compared the differences in cultures between Northern and Southern Ireland. The heart of our campus is a 16th century castle so one of the students decided to do an extensive study on the architecture of the castle and another student helped him taking pictures from different angles and locations. Apart from these there were lots of other interesting projects like work experiences, work shadowing, lambing etc.

The project that I went to this year was Madrid which consisted of students mainly from Spanish classes with four native speakers and 3 staff members. The main objective of Madrid project was to speak Spanish all the time in order to improve our spoken Spanish to prepare us for our oral exam and the IB and also to learn about the cultures and history of Spain but relax at the same time. We went to lots of museums, cathedrals, churches and Palaces. The Palace we went to was 'The Palacio Real' which the biggest palace in Europe with about 2800 rooms. It was used by the Kings and Queen of Spain from 1734 until 1931. It was originally commissioned by Felipe V in 1734 and construction took 26 years. During that time two more kings, Carlos III and Carlos IV also influenced the design and décor. We also went to a huge cathedral just outside Madrid which serves as a burial site for most of the Spanish kings for the last five centuries and is situated on the top of a hill and looks absolutely magical. We also went to two art galleries: one was modern art which had paintings by famous painters such as Picasso, Salvador Dali etc; and the other gallery which had paintings by painters from the 15th and 16th century artists. The bull fighting arena called 'Las Ventas' also a great tourist attraction but the only problem was that it wasn't the bull-fighting season yet so we actually couldn't see a bull-fight.. This project helped me not only to explore Spanish culture and history but also to relax just before the IB exam which will definitely help me to concentrate harder on my studies.

Final Year Student of IB
Atlantic College.