Botswana

Botswana is a country located in the center of Southern Africa. It is a sovereign state whose eastern and southern borders are marked by river courses, while its western borders are lines of longitude and latitude through the Kalahari Desert. The northern borders are a combination of straight lines with a river course. It shares its borders with the countries of Namibia to the west and north via the Caprivi Strip, Zambia and Zimbabwe to the northeast, with the Zambezi River acting as the border between the sovereign state and Zambia. South Africa is its neighbor to the southeast and south. Before gaining independence in 1966, the country was a British protectorate referred to as Bechuanaland named after its dominant ethnic group, the Tswana or Bechuana. Following its independence, it has joined several organizations such as the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the African Union (AU), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The capital and largest city of the sovereign state is Gaborone.

Botswana is often recommended as a country worth visiting as a tourist, particularly if one is keen on safaris. However, the sovereign state can also provide students with great opportunities to gain an academic degree in addition to on-field experience. To begin with, the country has few yet accredited universities with the majority of them located in the capital of Gaborone. Each of the institutions provides a wide and in-depth range of subjects from which a pupil can choose including Business, Management, Finance & Banking, Computer Science, Tourism, Accounting, Engineering, Hospitality, Education, Design, Ecology and Natural Sciences. As already mentioned, the country also provides many opportunities to gain on-field experience via volunteer programs such as undergoing game ranger training to assist in wildlife parks, as well as joining customized faculty-led programs based on the chosen field of expertise. There is also an opportunity to earn a scholarship such as the Benjamin A. Gilman Critical Need Language Award which is awarded to a student who studies unusual languages. A requirement that can be easily met and taken advantage of as the country’s official language is English; however, many ethnic groups also continue to speak their local dialects including the dominant group of the Tswana who speak Sechuana.