There’s a lot to love about this tropical paradise
Long a crossroads for culture and business due to the canal that runs through it, Panama makes perfect sense as a host country due to its smorgasbord of African, American Indian, North American, and Spanish influences. While definitely a melting pot due to steady immigration, rich cultural traditions unique to Panama still abound due to an indigenous population that has taken painstaking efforts to maintain their traditions.
On the natural side, Panama’s pristine rainforests, mist-topped mountains, and unspoiled coastlines provided an enviable backdrop to engage in place-based learning. Due to the pleasant surroundings, many of our student-bonding activities take place on Panama’s sandy beaches and in its crystal waters.
For their home base, students spent the term living in dormitories just outside of Panama City in the Ciudad del Saber (City of Knowledge). Consisting of 200+ buildings and over 5,000 residents, the Ciudad del Saber is an independently-run hub of innovation constructed on the former Fort Clayton military base. Ciudad del Saber is now home to myriad innovators, researchers, students, and educators, many of whom attend and work at the international universities who maintain campuses there. Like our students, everyone who resides in the Ciudad del Saber aspire to achieve human and sustainable development through the pursuit of knowledge.
Project opportunities for students in Panama include creating innovative products and an accompanying business plan in a fabrication lab, exploring Panama’s hidden anthropological treasures by creating a documentary film, and a deep dive into the concept of blockchain.
Zheka ’20
ON HER PANAMA TERM
“It was the first country during my TGS career where I managed to meditate on my own, and this says a lot. Panama was absolutely stunning in every possible sense. Also, the Nutella brioche at Playa Venao was an absolute highlight!”
How can students design an innovative product in a fabrication lab that solves a problem?
Creating a documentary that represents a local cultural phenomenon viewed through either a social, political, economic, environmental, or demographic lens
Designing the schematic for a decentralized application on a blockchain framework that improves security, efficiency, or quality of life for a target industry or community
By the final years of high school, something begins to change. For many students, curiosity gives way to routine. Learning becomes increasingly focused on completing assignments, preparing for exams, and earning grades. The sense of wonder that comes so naturally in childhood (remember that feeling?) can slowly be replaced by simply getting through the next semester. Recent research highlights some of the challenges students face in today's classrooms. According to...
As the future of work evolves, so do the skills students need. Experts forecast that nearly 40% of today’s core job skills will be transformed or no longer relevant by 2030. At THINK Global School, we see education as a shared journey shaped by students, educators, and families who believe in learning that evolves with the world. Over the past several weeks, we hosted the first two sessions of the...
What happens when we gather our students around a microphone and ask them to reflect on their first term of immersive learning? Pure magic. As the first term of the 2025–26 school year came to a close in Botswana, we found ourselves listening closely to our students as they reflected on what they had discovered about themselves, each other, and the world. What started as a simple conversation became a...
As we bring our Oaxaca term to a close, I want to take a moment to reflect on what has been a deeply meaningful chapter in our shared journey. This term has been grounded in community and connection, and it is hard to imagine a more fitting setting for that work than Oaxaca. Oaxaca Student Showcase Last week we celebrated our term of learning with our Oaxaca Showcase. This was...
Ready to embark on the educational journey of a lifetime?
A passion for travel. A strong academic record. And the desire to improve the world as you experience it. If this sounds like you, you just might be our ideal candidate! Start your application with a five-minute inquiry form - you never know where you might end up.
Ready to embark on the educational journey of a lifetime?
A passion for travel. A strong academic record. And the desire to improve the world as you experience it. If this sounds like you, you just might be our ideal candidate! Start your application with a five-minute inquiry form - you never know where you might end up.
