‌Undergraduate students learning through the college’s partnerships with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3, participated in a live international video conference with four of the college’s international students from the program in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Prague-based students, three from Russia and one from Indonesia, are participants in an innovative course, "New Perspectives in Economics," which combines face-to-face and online learning.

Two students learning through the college’s longstanding partnership with Local 3 participated from New York City as part of their requirements for a survey course, "Economics for Working People," offered this fall.

The two students who are members of IAM participated from California and Tennessee and are part of the first cohort in the new partnership with the union, which is designed to provide its more than 630,000 members in North America with the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree from the college.

The students exchanged views and explored a variety of common themes, including rising inequality, the economic effect of foreign and domestic political agendas, the growth in the power of large corporations and the accompanying environmental degradation.

Tanweer Ali, a mentor and member of the college's Prague faculty, and Michael Merrill, dean of the college’s Harry Van Arsdale Jr. Center for Labor Studies, led the virtual discussion. The video conference took place on Nov. 14.