Professional Tours
Beyond the academic programming and social events planned each quarter, GLI offers several professional tours in and near San Diego each quarter, customized and tailored to the interests, backgrounds and requests of GLI Fellows and sponsoring organizations and government ministries.
Local professional tours include visits to the following sites, among others: Sempra Energy, San Diego Gas and Electric, Wells Fargo, San Diego Union-Tribune, Qualcomm, Solar Turbines, McMillin Real Estate, Sony, SAIC, San Diego local government, and a variety of maquiladoras in Tijuana, Mexico.
Additionally, GLI staff and faculty develop and design two optional1 professional tours each year. Accompanied by GLI Chair and staff, the Fellows can travel to the San Francisco Bay Area in the Winter Quarter for a series of meetings and presentations in the Financial District and nearby Silicon Valley. The Fellows can also travel to Washington, D.C. in the Spring Quarter to meet with a variety of think tanks, governmental and financial institutions, and lobbying organizations.
In previous years, San Francisco professional tours have included visits to Silicon Valley companies such as Google, Intel, Cisco Systems, and Apple. The Wells Fargo Trade Bank, U.S. Commercial Service, Levi Strauss & Co., the Federal Reserve Bank, San Francisco City Hall, and the Securities and Exchange Commission comprise the San Francisco and Financial District segments of the itinerary.
During the Washington, D.C. professional tour, GLI Fellows participate in a variety of activities including site and cultural visits. Meetings often include the staff directors themselves for Congressional Committees, such as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Committee on International Relations in the U.S. House of Representatives. Visits also include the Congressional Research Service, U.S.- Asia Pacific Council, Samuels International Associates, U.S. Department of State, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Institute of International Economics.
Free time is scheduled in the itinerary and can be used for individual sightseeing. A guided tour is also included in the itinerary.
Sample Itineraries
Sample Itinerary for San Francisco Professional Tour (pdf - 25kb)
Sample Itinerary for Washington, D.C. Professional Tour (pdf - 22kb)
1Optional Professional Tours are not included in the Program Tuition. The price of each Professional Tour includes air/ground travel, hotel accommodations (based on a double occupancy), some meals, meeting arrangements, and a guided tour of the city. See application form for current pricing.
