Synergies Across Institutions : Connecting Partners to Ensure Faculty-Led Program Success
While faculty-led programs are the best choice for students and faculty looking to go abroad in an affordable, accessible and economic, time and money-wise format, unfortunately a major drawback and a sad reality is that sometimes if program enrolment isn’t met, the faculty-led program may be cancelled, and this isn’t fair for the faculty, the students who were finally able to have this incredible experiential learning experience. In other cases, participants may need to defer to a program that is less suited to their educational coursework and therefore less impactful for the internationalization of their education.
As premium providers of Faculty-led programs for the Study Abroad Association, we are committed to offering every customization possible. Our goal is for your faculty and participants to enjoy everything an FLP can offer. One way we address low enrollment and avoid cancellation is by combining programs across institutions. This ensures that every participant has the opportunity to join a study abroad program, regardless of circumstances.
We’re highlighting one program we ran recently in March 2026, in which two partner institutions, Winston Salem State University (WSSU) and Erskine College (ERC), came together for a combined faculty-led program to London and Paris with a focus on business and sports management.
FLP Customization: Business and Sports Management in London and Paris
Sports Management in London and Paris involves overseeing the business, organizational, and marketing aspects of sports teams, events, and facilities in two of Europe’s most iconic cities. In London, a global hub for sports like football, rugby, and cricket, sports management professionals work with major clubs (e.g., Chelsea FC, Arsenal FC) to manage sponsorships, operations, and fan engagement. London’s vibrant sports culture offers ample opportunities in both professional and grassroots sports.
In Paris, home to global events like the French Open and Paris Saint-Germain FC, sports management focuses on event planning, sports marketing, and administration. With France hosting large international competitions like the Olympics and the Tour de France, the city is a key player in European sports business, emphasizing strategic partnerships and global sports branding.
We’ll take you on a guided tour of the journey these participants took through London and Paris, and highlight the key activities they engaged in that integrated into their courses and learning.
From Westminster to Wembley
Participants arrived in London and, after settling into their accommodations, took a walking tour of the neighborhood, accessed nearby services, markets, and transportation, and received a safety briefing to ensure they felt safe and prepared in the event of need.
After the participants attended a welcome dinner where they enjoyed authentic cuisine, they kicked off their program together!
The next day, participants visited highlights of London, including Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, and the Jewel Tower. The participants then dived into learning related to their course, including the Wembley Stadium Tour, where they had the unique opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at the UK’s largest sports and music venue. Participants toured the stadium, walked on the field, and visited England’s National Football team’s locker rooms.
An Explosive Experience
On Day four, participants walked through Tower Bridge before visiting the Arsenal Stadium, with an Arsenal Legend guiding the tour.
In this experience, participants accessed the Directors’ Entrance, Directors’ Box, Diamond Club, Players’ Entrance, Home and Away Dressing Rooms, Head Coach’s Office, Players’ Tunnel, Pitchside and Home Dugout, Flash Interview Rooms, Press Conference Room, and Media Lounge. Participants also had the opportunity to speak with their guide about sports business management and learn about real-world applications of business and sports management.
After this incredible experience, participants went on a Christian Heritage London Walking tour. On this tour, participants immersed themselves in the City of London’s amazing church history, visited the British Museum, and attended Evensong at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
From Football to Fashion
On this day, participants had the opportunity to see business management in action and discover the ins and outs through a factory visit of a fashion business. The group saw the end-to-end process of how they design their patterns, the pattern cutting methods, the 3D pattern cutting and fitting, costing example, how to simplify a style to get into price, their PLM system and transparency, how to change a bestseller to get maximum sell through, the customer sealing process, tour the live factory and couturie. This gave participants another opportunity to see the full scope of business management and apply their learning in a real-world environment.
Bienvenue à Paris!
On Day 6, the participants began the exciting switch of gears and headed off to Paris! Upon arrival, participants enjoyed a historical & cultural walking tour of Paris. They strolled through Pont Neuf, Quartier Latin, Sorbonne, Panthéon, and the Jardin de Luxembourg. In the evening, they enjoyed a River Seine Cruise, taking in a panoramic view of the “City of Love”.
Experiencing the Senses of Paris: Sights, Smells, Sounds
Participants visited the Louvre Museum, seeing some of the best-known works of art, including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.
After lunch, participants went on a Rex Studio Tour. Rex Studio is the backstage of the biggest movie theater in Europe; it is a historical monument, in Art Deco style. Participants enjoyed an interactive tour with an audio guide, went behind the scenes, and discovered the legend and the stars of Europe’s largest cinema. The tour started in a transparent, panoramic elevator, which took them behind the gigantic screen of the Grand Rex. Participants were able to experience a bit of filmmaking by doing a voiceover on a film clip, learn about the special effects used in film, and discover a recreated old projection room and see archival content.
Service Learning: Paris from different Perspectives
On this day, participants had a life-changing experience through a service-learning activity, where they met a refugee who shared their experience of coming to France, their struggles with immigration, and their experiences of integration. After learning and connecting with the refugees, students gave back, prepared, and distributed food to support vulnerable communities, reinforcing lessons of social responsibility. Students were able to tie their knowledge of corporate social responsibility and business ethics to their experience and will carry these lessons forward.
Afterward, participants visited the Roland Garros Stadium. The stadium is a place steeped in tennis history, and participants got to go behind the Scenes, visit the Changing rooms, Press rooms, and Presidential grandstand.
Cheerio & Au revoir
On the final day, participants had the opportunity to visit the Musée du Parfum, also known as the Fragonard Musée du Parfum. There, they discovered the trade secrets of perfumes during a guided tour, attended an olfactory workshop where they learned about the history and secrets of perfumes, created their own unique Eau de Toilette, and learned how to create perfumes and olfactory notes. Participants visited museums where they witnessed the social and cultural practices surrounding perfume, from the Pharaohs to present-day usages.
This day was closed off with a farewell dinner, and reminiscing on the incredible memories and lessons learned during the program.
Why Joining with Institutions Creates Program Success
Faculty-led programs immerse participants into quit literally another world, another culture, and another atmosphere, and while its amazing when enrolment is effortlessly met in one institution, it can happen for many reasons that not all enrolment minimums can be met, and so when we partner our institutions and combine faculty-led programs across similar areas of study we’re able to not only immerse participants in other cultures but also with other institutions, even further broadening the depth of the experience.
Study abroad should be for everyone, and it should be accessible to everyone and we’re proud that at Study Abroad Association we work to find creative solutions to support every students chance to study abroad on a faculty-led program.
Are you ready to customize a faculty-led program for your course? Get started now!