CIEEL – Centre for International Experiential Education and Learning was formed to contribute to further innovations and good case practices for the development and spread of experiential education and learning around the world.

Experiential learning is a process through which students develop knowledge, skills, and values from direct experiences outside a traditional academic setting. CIEEL experiential learning programs encompass a variety of activities including internships, research, study abroad, and other creative and professional work experiences. These learning programs stimulate academic inquiry by promoting interdisciplinary learning, civic engagement, career development, cultural awareness, leadership, and other professional and intellectual skills.

Learning that is considered “experiential” contain all the following elements:

1. Reflection, critical analysis and synthesis
2. Opportunities for students to take initiative, make decisions, and be accountable for the results
3. Opportunities for students to engage intellectually, creatively, emotionally, socially, or physically
4. A designed learning experience that includes the possibility to learn from natural consequences, mistakes, and successes

CIEEL initiated activities for its first regional institution in India, namely CIEEL India in 2011. With 5 years of fieldwork and experience, its first learning programs were formally opened for operations in Dharamsala, a town in the foothills of the Himalayas in north India, and Pune, in southwest India.