Learn more about FINCA International's exciting microfinance opportunities for college and graduate students through our global Fellows Program, our Academic Internships, and our Call for Microfinance Papers.

Field to Function: Harnessing Social Data to Empower Change
Working in conjunction with Georgetown University’s Master of Science in Foreign Service Program and partners within the microfinance industry, FINCA offered its third annual Microfinance Research Symposium, Field to Function: Harnessing Social Data to Empower Change (FINCA's annual Microfinance Research Symposium) on April 7, 2008,. The event featured a keynote address from FINCA Founder, John Hatch, following three research presentations and panel discussions. Women Advancing Microfinance (WAM) International hosted its second-annual microfinance career event, featuring a panel discussion on careers within the industry. The Symposium was held at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

The annual Field to Function Symposium is a unique platform where scholars, microfinance industry representatives and students from a variety of disciplines meet to recognize graduate research in microfinance and to continue dialogue on key industry topics. For details, see the Symposium Program, which includes bios of all the presenters and speakers. 

Through the synthesis of client-level research initiatives and student outreach programs, FINCA hopes to engage students, academics and young professionals in the field of microfinance and to further the academic and practical application of microfinance assessments. The annual Symposium is made possible through generous support from the John Templeton Foundation.

The universities' business and/or international studies graduate school departments sponsored the events; Ms. Portman was joined by their leading authorities on microfinance. Read about her visits to Columbia, UC Berkeley, USC, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, UCLA, and New York University. Her visit to Stanford was covered by  E! Entertainment Online - The Hum Blog. At left, FINCA's Ambassador of Hope Natalie Portman addresses students at USC.

FINCA actively engages student and university involvement in microfinance through several programs and initiatives. Find out how your school can become involved in FINCA’s mission to provide financial services to poor entrepreneurs throughout the world. For more information, please contact Jean-Amiel Jourdan. At right: Natalie Portman with the clients of a FINCA Uganda Village Bank.