Deputy Assistant Secretary for Private Sector Exchange at the US Department of State, Robin Lerner, implored over 650 delegates from over 120 countries attending the 2014 World Youth and Student Travel Conference (WYSTC) in Dublin last week to invest and engage in the 100,000 Strong in the Americas initiative.
As well as financial contributions to the Innovation Fund which is awarded to universities, Lerner – who works for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs – urged delegates to consider two key themes; institutional innovation within exchange programmes, particularly internships, and capturing a diverse wealth of student backgrounds, such as those students from underprivileged backgrounds.
Exchange programme organisers from the US were among the various youth and student travel companies attending the annual conference.
Lerner told delegates that they could help source students that fit the 100k Strong profile but don’t have the means: “It can be financially hindering so we want to see the Innovation Fund and these partnerships have the ability to get people from underserved communities with diverse backgrounds into study abroad.”
She continued, “In our inter-connected world students must live an international lifestyle, they must be able to operate in an international atmosphere, they need to understand cross cultural competencies, they need to have language skills, all of that comes from studying abroad.”
“If we create institutional innovation on exchanges, we can address any of the barriers that might hinder exchange”
Launched by Obama in 2011, the 100K Strong initiative promotes student exchange between universities in the US, Latin America and the Caribbean under 13 different categories and aims for 100,000 students both inbound to the US and outbound by 2020, which Lerner described as “ambitious” and with “a lot of room for growth.”
An original 100K Strong initiative to get 100,000 US students studying in China also launched in 2010 and subsequently became a permanent foundation.
“If we create institutional innovation on exchanges, we can address any of the barriers that might hinder exchange,” implored Lerner.
“Creating language teaching programmes; scholarships that live and breathe in the university; professional development for faculty staff, all of these things will lead towards student mobility,” she added.
Currently, around 65,000 students from Latin America study annually in the US and about 46,000 American students travel to Latin America to study.
Lerner herself has set up a blog page within the official state department website that details her interaction with students on the J-1 visa programmes as she travels to J-1 participant sites.
Now in its 23rd year, WYSTC is the annual event of WYSE Travel Confederation. Focusing on student travel and youth travel, next year it will be held in Cape Town, South Africa.
