Sign up

Have some pie!

US State Department endorses “education diplomacy”

Evan Ryan, the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Culture Affairs, this month endorsed international education’s role in tackling global issues and boosting the country’s foreign outreach.

"At the Department of State, we see ourselves as direct partners with you in ensuring that young people from around the world have access to international educational opportunities," said Assistant Secretary of State Evan Ryan. Photo: Kelsey Brannan, Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Async-Nu Contractor

International higher education is one of the US’s top ten service sector exports

Speaking at the sixth annual EducationUSA Forum in Washington D.C., Ryan told the delegation of university representatives and regional educational experts that student mobility is “essential to the US foreign policy agenda”.

“Your work contributes directly to the creation of a safer, more secure, and more prosperous world for us all,” she said.

“True global engagement happens in the classrooms, libraries, dormitories, and laboratories on your campuses”

“Utilising international educational opportunities to promote engagement between young people as we prepare them for the workforce is exactly what we mean when we talk about ‘education diplomacy’ at the State Department.”

Ryan went on to say that cross- country collaboration is imperative to tackle global issues like climate change, food security, energy resources, and the rise of violent extremism.

“Campus communities play an essential role in preparing students to be engaged citizens and critical thinkers,” she said adding, “true global engagement happens in the classrooms, libraries, dormitories, and laboratories on your campuses.”

“You and your faculty, staff, and administrators are helping to build the ties between individual students today that ultimately translate into stronger relations between entire nations tomorrow,” she continued.

Last year the inbound number of foreign students in the US reached a record high of 880,000 , up 8% on 2013.

But Ryan underlined that foreign students represent only 4% of total higher education enrolments in the country.

“Our educational system attracts more international students than any other higher education system in the world, but we can and we will do more,” she said.

Ryan also mentioned the State Department’s Study Abroad office, announced earlier this year, that will manage state funded scholarship programmes and advocate for more outbound mobility.

“Our educational system attracts more international students than any other higher education system in the world, but we can and we will do more”

“While we’ve made some progress in the last couple of years in increasing the number of US outbound students, only 1.5% of the almost 20 million American students enrolled in higher education programmes studied abroad in the last academic year,” she said.

“There is still plenty of room for growth in outbound student mobility and we are redoubling our commitment to make it happen.”

International higher education is one of the US’s top ten service sector exports contributing more than $27bn to the national economy.

The forum is the largest gathering of government-backed EducationUSA representatives who are stationed 170 countries worldwide to provide international students with information about study opportunities in the US.

The department has also paired with MOOC provider Coursera to offer students “test drives” of US college classrooms and launched virtual recruitment fairs.

This year more than 575 university representatives and 60 Education US regional experts attended the three day event.

Related articles

Still looking? Find by category:

Add your comment

9 Responses to US State Department endorses “education diplomacy”

  1. Being an international student isn’t easy, given our complex culture and language. Assistance must come from numerous sources to aid these young people embarking on life’s journey. A new award-winning worldwide book/ebook that aids anyone coming to the US is “What Foreigners Need To Know About America From A To Z: How to Understand Crazy American Culture, People, Government, Business, Language and More.” It is used in foreign Fulbright student programs and endorsed worldwide by ambassadors, educators, and editors. It also identifies “foreigners” who became successful in the US and how they contributed to our society, including students.
    A chapter on education explains how to be accepted to an American university and cope with a confusing new culture, friendship process and daunting classroom differences. Some stay after graduation. It has chapters that explain how US businesses operate and how to get a job (which differs from most countries), a must for those who want to work for an American firm here or overseas.
    It also has chapters that identify the most common English grammar and speech problems foreigners have and tips for easily overcoming them, the number one stumbling block they say they have to succeeding here.
    Most struggle in their efforts and need guidance from schools’ international departments, immigration protection, host families, concerned neighbors and fellow students, and books like this to extend a cultural helping hand so we all have a win-win situation. Good luck to all wherever you study!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Disclaimer: All user contributions posted on this site are those of the user ONLY and NOT those of The PIE Ltd or its associated trademarks, websites and services. The PIE Ltd does not necessarily endorse, support, sanction, encourage, verify or agree with any comments, opinions or statements or other content provided by users.
PIENEWS

To receive The PIE Weekly with our top stories and insights, and other updates from us, please

SIGN UP HERE