What if that path included real-world skill development through full cultural immersion and collective action on shared global challenges? This landmark partnership begins to answer that call, inviting other institutions to join in embedding this new way of learning into degree pathways.
August 28, 2025
The University of Pittsburgh and Tilting Futures today announced a precedent-setting agreement that integrates immersive, credit-bearing global experiential learning directly into undergraduate degree pathways. Beginning next semester, students who complete Tilting Futures’ Take Action Lab: Human Rights in Cape Town, South Africa will be eligible to earn 12 academic credits from the University of Pittsburgh.
This milestone reflects a growing recognition in higher education that students need more than classroom learning alone to prepare for the future. By embedding Tilting Futures’ evidence-based, semester-long apprenticeship and global learning model into a Tier One university’s curriculum, the University of Pittsburgh is setting a precedent that other institutions can adopt to broaden participation in rigorous, real-world learning.
“We couldn’t imagine a better first partner to pioneer and scale this new model of immersive global learning,” said Erin Lewellen, CEO of Tilting Futures. “Together with Pitt, we are demonstrating a distinctly new approach to building the uniquely human skills young people need to be future-ready, skills like empathy, cross-cultural collaboration, and ethical leadership that no technology can replace. Since 2010, Tilting Futures has engaged thousands of young people, and with Take Action Lab we are bringing that proven model into the heart of higher education, creating a blueprint to ensure these transformative opportunities are the norm in higher education, not the exception.”
The partnership was championed by the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (Pitt-Johnstown), whose leadership and commitment to innovative, student-centered education played a pivotal role in advancing the agreement.
“We are thrilled to partner with Tilting Futures to launch this groundbreaking venture, offering students across the country and around the world the chance to earn credits from the world-class University of Pittsburgh while learning and doing impactful service in South Africa,” said Dr. Jem Spectar, President of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. “This exceptional learning opportunity is a collaboration between Tilting Futures, a leading non-profit committed to transforming students’ lives, and talented Pitt-Johnstown faculty. Together, they have designed an innovative and immersive curriculum in which students learn by doing, applying knowledge to practical experiences, resulting in deeper and more lasting learning that contributes to greater resilience, agency, and self-efficacy – attributes that are essential for personal and professional success and for becoming effective global changemakers.”
Through Take Action Lab: Human Rights, students apprentice with community-based organizations in Cape Town while engaging in weekly seminars that build cross-cultural communication, ethical leadership, and systems-thinking skills. The program’s outcomes are supported by a strong body of impact research, underscoring its value as a model for a new era in higher education.
This milestone is only the beginning. Together, Pitt and Tilting Futures are laying the groundwork for additional universities and colleges to join as anchor partners, ensuring more students have the opportunity to participate in immersive, credit-bearing global learning. By expanding these opportunities, we can better equip young people to collaborate across lines of difference and lead collective action on complex and deeply interconnected challenges that no single country or community can solve alone.
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About The University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown
Founded in 1927, the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown (Pitt-Johnstown) is the first and largest regional campus of the University of Pittsburgh. Located on 725 acres in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania, Pitt-Johnstown provides high-quality, personal learning experiences that build foundational skills, bolster career readiness, and foster personal and professional success. Key UPJ distinctions include:
- Nationally ranked by US News as one of the great and accessible “A+ Schools” that support all students in thriving, and consistently a best top 10 Regional Public College in the North.
- Top 5 Nursing program in the US and other great career readiness programs in engineering, business, and education, with a hands-on, practical focus, including internships and apprenticeships.
- Recognized for programs that build “in-demand job skills” and increase lifetime earnings; excellent placement rates; ranked as a high-access and high-earnings institution (Carnegie Foundation).
Learn more at https://www.johnstown.pitt.edu/
About Tilting Futures
Tilting Futures is building a worldwide coalition of young people with the skills and networks to solve our most complex global challenges. For 15 years, we have been equipping emerging leaders (ages 17-22) to navigate diverse perspectives, engage in civil dialogue, and drive positive impact in their communities and careers. Our flagship program, Take Action Labs, immerses students in hands-on apprenticeships, blending real-world experience with self-discovery and global orientation. With rising demand from students, higher education institutions, and industry leaders, we are working to integrate this powerful learning model into mainstream education, ensuring access for all. When they graduate, our students join a global alumni community 3,000+ strong, continuing to collaborate, lead, and drive impact across sectors and borders.
Learn more at https://go.tiltingfutures.org/annual-report/
Contacts
Aziza Musa
Chief External Affairs Officer, Tilting Futures
Raymond B. Wrabley, Jr., PhD
Vice President for Academic Affairs
