Big Pond is committed to enabling a fairer future through our programming and how we go about our work.
Big Pond is the winner of the Forum on Education Abroad’s Award for Advancing the SDGs Through Education Abroad 2023.
We are proud that all of our programming has been recognized as engaging students with the local community and builds their interest in climate action through our enriching wrap-around activities.
Ireland is a creative society, full of people invested in making a difference to their neighborhoods and local areas.
All Big Pond students are introduced to values-driven entrepreneurs making a real difference through their work.
Students taking our Global Internship Course are guaranteed to be engaged in an environment with a wholesome work culture. Big Pond’s internship partners all have one thing in common: a shared and lived mission to be sustainable, whether it’s socially, environmentally or economically.
'Big Zero' is Big Pond's fully accredited Carbon Literacy & Community Action micro credential.
Completely complementary, Big Zero is resume boosting evidence that an education aboad experience with Big Pond is a lot more than just credits.
What's more, we make Big Zero available to others in Higher Education to use.
We offset all students’ transatlantic return flights through local reforestation.
Each student spends an educational day planting trees as part of our approach towards making their carbon footprint understandable and tangible.
Part of Ireland will always show the visible, positive impact of a Big Pond student: several trees rewilding native woodland.
We recognize that to fulfil the requirements of many majors and minors, study abroad students will need a large menu of options to select their courses from.
That’s why we have partnered with four of Dublin’s leading universities: Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, Dublin City University and DBS.
Through Big Pond, students have hundreds of course choices covering Business, English, Drama, Film, History, Languages, Music, Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, Health, Economics, Education, Philosophy, Psychology, Politics, Computing and more.
Exploring Contemporary Ireland - Culture, Identity and Change spans Irish history, society and the people and events that have shaped the country and its capital.
Students analyze specific themes defining Ireland’s identity as a modern European nation but with a strong national identity.
Ireland is made up of communities and newcomers. This is especially the case in Dublin.
Their identities, their sense of belonging and their impact on the geography of the city provides important lessons for the future as well as the past - a fascinating mirror for study abroad students thinking about America as much as for Ireland.
The mental and physical health of our students is our priority. As a responsible education abroad provider we recognize that we can only meet students’ growth needs by taking into consideration their environmental, personal, mental and emotional wellbeing.
We provide full medical cover and work closely with a counselling service in Dublin. All students studying with Big Pond will have access to therapy.
We maintain a constant presence in the same residential complex where all students live.
Highfield House is a purpose built student accommodation facility and our office is less than one minute’s walk from any student apartment. The Big Pond residential center is located in a firmly local neighborhood, a great place to live and study
We produce resources so others within the sector have practical advice towards moving their study abroad operations in a climate conscious direction. These include Climate Conscious Study Abroad: An Operational Guide.
Big Pond leads from the front: all our staff are certified ‘Carbon Literate’ and we have an organizational approach towards carbon reduction, compensation and education.
