WorldTeach Bangladesh One Year Program Profile
WorldTeach is honored to continue its partnership with the Asian University for Women, an international university located in Chittagong that seeks to provide a world-class education to promising young women from diverse cultural, religious, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds from across South and South East Asia and the Middle East.
AUW aspires to develop thoughtful and ethical leaders through an innovative, rigorous curriculum that encompasses the liberal arts and sciences at the undergraduate level.
The WorldTeach Bangladesh program began in 2008 with volunteers assisting the then brand new Asian University for Women in its inaugural year as an educational institution. The 2012 departure group will mark our fourth cohort of volunteers serving AUW. An AUW education encompasses four important aspects - academic programs, extra-curricular programs, residential living experience & leadership programs - to develop each student as a leader. This unique program provides an incredible opportunity to be intimately involved in the education process of bright young women who will use this knowledge to affect positive change for their home countries transitioning socially, economically and politically.
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For me, being a WorldTeach volunteer means seeing the world through the eyes of my students. As a political science T.A., I have discussed freedom of expression with students from |
Volunteer Role
Each year the WorldTeach Bangladesh volunteer role is tweaked to best serve the 400+ students of AUW in their achievement of a liberal arts education. In 2012, WorldTeach Bangladesh volunteers will continue the current model that each volunteer serve to maximize their own skills and expertise within the university curriculum. Most volunteers will have dual responsibilities amongst the roles of: Teaching Assistants to support the undergraduate program, tutors in the university's Writing Center, Writing Seminar leader, lab assistant and/or English teacher at the Access Academy. Click here to see what current WT Bangladesh volunteers are doing!
As a Teaching Assistant, volunteers will assist for one or two undergraduate classes, attending classroom lectures, assisting with grading, and holding office hours to provide individualize assistance. In addition, volunteers may be asked to lead small discussion seminars as well as assist their students with essay writing. The AUW core curriculum includes courses in social analysis, literature & civilization studies, ethical reasoning and 
mathematics & science. As such, likely fields include political science, literature, economics, sociology, anthropology, ethics, environmental science, math, biology, and public health. As an AUW Teaching Assistant, volunteers will be partnered with a faculty member and work closely with their assigned professor to provide students with increased opportunities to understand academic material and receive feedback on their written work. Often, this work will focus on reading comprehension, rhetoric and composition in order to aid undergraduates with academic writing and expression.
The AUW curriculum seeks to develop in students: creativity of thought and vision, critical thinking and reasoning skills, and exceptional writing and speaking skills. As a Writing Center tutor, volunteers will work with students to develop these skills through one-on-one tutoring sessions and group workshops. Volunteers are essential to the functioning of the Writing Center and are encouraged to bring their ideas to its constant improvement.
Beyond the university walls, WorldTeach volunteers will serve as ambassadors of AUW to the larger Chittagong community by teaching English and other skills to target communities such as local women entrepreneurs. Volunteers are also expected to serve as mentors and advisors in running community activities both within the university as well as supporting and expanding outreach activities. AUW currently has over 50 student clubs and initiatives, where volunteers are encouraged to take a leadership role and participate according to their interests. Such activities include a large variety of school clubs from photography to volleyball as well as more academic groups such as the debate team, Model UN, and entrepreneurs club.
Given AUW students’ relative proficiency in the English language, volunteers in Bangladesh are not teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language to the same extent as other WorldTeach volunteers, thus they will not be eligible for WorldTeach TEFL certification.
Placements & Housing
All placements are at the AUW in Chittagong, a coastal city in southeast Bangladesh. Volunteer teachers will be housed in a secure apartment complex in Chittagong. Volunteers will have their own private bedroom in a suite of three to four bedrooms, sharing a living room, kitchen, and bathroom with other volunteers, and perhaps other teachers. AUW will provide lunch and dinner free of charge at the school cafeteria and volunteers will be in charge of providing their own breakfast. AUW housing includes dining facilities, gym facilities as well as wireless internet. AUW does not pay volunteers' utilities bills.
Financial Information
This program is fully-funded by the Asian University for Women. The program includes pre-departure information and preparation, round-trip international airfare, health insurance, in-country orientation, transportation to your site, meals and housing during orientation and throughout your teaching service, and 24-hour field support.
There is, however, a US$2,500 required deposit which will be refunded to volunteers upon completion of the program. Please read more about costs and services.
WorldTeach Bangladesh volunteers receive a monthly stipend once they begin teaching of $300 per month. This stipend is quite sufficient to cover the costs of food, local travel and utilities.
Many volunteers are able to successfully fundraise all or a significant portion of their volunteer commitment. Please refer to our fundraising guide for more information about fundraising possibilities.
Read more about costs and services here.
Requirements
Volunteers must:
- Be native or near-native English speaker
- Have a Bachelor's degree (in any subject); Master's degrees encouraged
- Minimum GPA of 3.0
- Be flexible, open-minded, patient and mature
- Have a deep interest in women's issues, especially their role in international development
- Possess a desire to teach in