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Latin America and the Caribbean News
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Workshop participants at the inaugural workshop after receiving participation certificates, with facilitator César Maldonado and Global Assessment Lead Jesús Rojas Juárez at the IIE LAC Office.
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Advancing English Language Learning and Teaching in Mexico to Further Access to International Education and the Global Economy
IIE LAC Supports the Professionalization of English Language Teaching in Mexico
The IIE LAC Assessment Team launched the first in a series of five TOEFL ITP Workshops. Beginning in September, three were held in Mexico City, while the fourth and fifth will take place in Guadalajara and Monterrey. More than 50 participants representing their institution or language center from 14 states have have attended one of the initial three intensive 8-hour one-day workshops and received certificates of participation. The workshop, created by Educational Testing Service (ETS) and delivered by IIE LAC team members, aims to equip English teachers and professors with the tools they need to help their students improve their English, and consequently, be better prepared for examinations like the TOEFL ITP in the medium to long term. At the same time, the workshops support the professionalization of English teaching in Mexico. They also formally serve as a review for the attendees of concepts in applied linguistics including learning objectives, formal and informal assessments, proscriptive versus descriptive influenced teaching, ESL versus EFL, and others. Crucially, the workshops provide teachers with a space to share experiences and best practices in language teaching, empowering them to become owners of their teaching styles and to adapt it while maintaining a student-centered, communicative approach. For more information on the Assessment services offered at IIE, please click here.
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IIE LAC member Iván Guerra administers a TOEFL Junior exam to binational migrant students in Tijuana, State of Baja California Norte, Mexico.
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IIE LAC Uses ETS (Educational Testing Service) Assessment Tools for Younger Students in Support of U.S.-Mexico Bilateral Initiative
Assessment representative for IIE LAC, Iván Guerra, oversaw the application of the TOEFL Junior examination to measure the English proficiency of bi-national migrant students enrolled in elementary school in the state of Baja California. The administration of the exam was carried out in support of the Baja California State Educational System, the Binational Program of Migrant Education (PROBEM) in Baja California, and the Seal of Biliteracy. PROBEM is the response of the governments of Mexico and the United States to the educational challenges faced by the migrant youth population between both countries. It seeks to assure, with equity and relevant measures, the continuity and quality of basic education for children and young people who divide their school year studies between Mexico and the United States. |
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Midwifery students from Mujeres Aliadas (State of Michoacán, Mexico), and CASA (State of Guanajuato, Mexico).
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Reducing Maternal Mortality Rates by Creating a Critical Mass of Midwives
Latin America’s maternal mortality rate remains high. Depending on the country, between 327 and 473 women per 100,000 continue to die annually in the region (Yale Global Health Review). To reduce these numbers and ensure safe births, access to medically trained midwives is crucial: evidence suggests (WHO) that “83% of maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths could be prevented if the adequate number of properly trained and well-supported nurses and midwives were available”. Mexico's nationwide MDG to reduce maternal mortality rates was not achieved in 2015 while the country´s caesarean section birth rate is still almost 70 percent [1], despite the real medical need being estimated by the WHO at 10% to 15%. [2]
IIE LAC, on behalf of the MacArthur Foundation Mexico, developed the Midwifery Training Scholarship and Capacity Building Program to support this effort as part of MacArthur Foundation´s Population and Reproductive Health Initiative . The program seeks to increase the number of trained midwives through the provision of student scholarships together with grants for schools and midwifery related organizations to improve their teaching and training capacities. Since its inception in 2017, 377 midwifery students have received scholarships, 8 institutions have benefited from grants for capacity building projects and the work has spanned 12 states in Mexico.
[1] http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2013/0410/Is-birth-the-old-fashioned-way-on-its-way-out-in-Mexico
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Brazilian University to Offer Fellowships for Interdisciplinary Research
The University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR) launched the pilot year of the Global Research Fellowship Program, a new initiative designed to expand the institution's global reach by facilitating the exchange of knowledge across borders. UNIFOR is one of Brazil's premier institutions, well-regarded nationally for its scientific research. IIE will manage the program, which will enable five Fellows from North American and European universities to conduct collaborative research projects with UNIFOR faculty in the fields of engineering, public health, computer science, and business. |
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Cargill President from Brazil Luiz Pretti is joined by Simone Beier, Cargill Lead in Brazil, Cargill mentors, seminar facilitators from Cargill Rosely Saca and Maria Rodriguez, IIE LAC members César Maldonado and Belén Plascencia, and 10 newly selected scholars from Brazil.
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Cargill Global Scholars Program Selects 2018 Scholars in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and the United States
Cargill Global Scholars, managed by IIE on behalf of Cargill, is a multi-component, two-year program, since 2013, for high achieving undergraduate students in Brazil, China, India, Russia, Indonesia and the United States. Financial support is awarded to each student to use for expenses related to their academic life and leadership development is delivered through seminars provided by Cargill’s HR Global Team, networking events and a mentorship program with company executives, many of them in-person. Cargill Global Scholars currently has more than 192 students from around the world who participate in the program and represent more than 50 universities. The 6th edition of the In-Country Leadership Seminar in São Paulo took place from August 27-30 in an event that marked the first in person meeting of the 10 selected students with their mentors. The President of Cargill Brazil, Luiz Pretti, was present to congratulate the students on their achievements. In addition to USD $ 5,000, students will have the opportunity meet the scholars from the other 5 countries for another week of leadership development in an international location. For more information on the Cargill Global Scholars Program, please click here. |
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National Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States is from September 15-October 15
National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the cultures, histories, and accomplishments of the Americans of Hispanic or Latino ancestry across the United States, which exceeded 50 million in 2010, constituting more than 16 percent of the total U.S. population. Initiated in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week, the celebration expanded in 1988 to span a month-long period beginning on September 15 and ending on October 15, the starting date coinciding with the independence anniversaries of Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua Across the United States. Many communities and schools take time to recognize and honor this heritage in the areas of education, labor, among others. In the 2016/2017 period, the number of total students for Latin America studying in the USA in undergraduate, graduate, and non-degree programs was almost 80,000, according to Open Doors® data. During the commemoration, the Hispanic Association of and Colleges and Universities (HACU) and other organizations and associations create initiatives to educate and empower Hispanic youth, like their National HSI's Week. For more information and statistics on Latinos in the United States, please click here. |
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Student Testimonial: Anas Al Maghrabi
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There are 68 million displaced persons worldwide and only 1% have access to higher education. These are the often-recited statistics of the global forced displacement crisis. While important, they miss a key point - why higher education accessibility matters.
With the average length of displacement today lasting approximately 26 years, displacement is no longer a transient state. This leaves many university-aged persons without the resources to reach higher education. Attention has been given to the disparity in humanitarian aid as many universities and organizations worldwide have committed to helping bridge the accessibility gap through funding and advising services. Still, it is critical to note that supporting vulnerable students does not only support the student. Universities, their campus, and their student body greatly benefit from supporting students from diverse and vulnerable backgrounds.
To show the holistic power of higher education, IIE PEER worked with Bard College Berlin, a member of IIE’s Syria Consortium for Higher Education in Crisis, to create a series of videos showcasing how diverse education access has affected their campus and student body. Read the whole article here and watch the videos here. |
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Finnish International Symposium Builds Connections
At the recent Generation Study Abroad International Symposium, IIE brought university representatives and international education leaders together in Helsinki, Finland, in partnership with the Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI) and the Fulbright Finland Foundation, from September 17th to 18th. The symposium focused on study abroad opportunities and international partnerships, highlighting innovations and solutions that increase and diversify the participation of Americans studying abroad, with particular focus on the European region. Marie Royce, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs delivered opening remarks at the symposium.
Terhi Mölsä, CEO of the Fulbright Finland Foundation and several officials from the Ministry of Education and Culture presented at the symposium. Assistant Secretary Royce, Caroline Casagrande, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs and U.S. Ambassador to Finland Robert Pence, spoke at a reception hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki. In addition, U.S. Fulbright student and scholar grantees and alumni in Helsinki were involved as symposium participants and panelists, as well as guests of the reception.
To further strengthen U.S. and Finnish institutional relationships, partners in Finland helped organize a partnership forum and university site visits on September 19. Participants in IIE’s International Academic Partnerships Program (IAPP) to Finland took part in the symposium, as part of a larger six-month program.
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Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program Marks 40th Anniversary
The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program celebrated 40 years of bringing international professionals to the United States at a pan-African alumni conference in Johannesburg, South Africa from September 14 to 16. Conference topics included economic development and good governance, while also acknowledging the legacy of the program's nearly 6,000 fellows and alumni, and their home communities.
Over the course of the program's history, 29 percent of program fellows and alumni hailed from Sub-Saharan Africa. Alumni from this region of the world have established successful and change-making careers in areas including, but not limited to, public policy, economic development, law and human rights, and more. Learn more about Humphrey alumna Agnes Igoye, who established a law-enforcement system to protect girls in Uganda from human trafficking. Her story is one of many. |
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Participants of the NYU Abu Dhabi Forum on Global Education
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NYU Abu Dhabi Global Forum on Education
The IIE outreach team, representing NYU Abu Dhabi, kicked off its 2018-19 events cycle with the Global Forum on Education at the NYU Abu Dhabi Campus at the end of September. Participants included representatives from educational high school level organizations from over ten countries. The event is designed to help participants discover the global opportunities provided by NYU Abu Dhabi, and to explore ways to collaborate across the various organizations represented. It is always exciting to see the ideas that stem from these gatherings and to find new and creative ways to continue to attract bright students from around the world to NYU Abu Dhabi. IIE is pleased to facilitate these events that always prove to be productive not only in terms of contributing to the global work of international education but also provide powerful and transformative experiences for the individual participants. To find out more about the program, please click here. |
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Karen Kelly, one of the two NYU AD officers for Latin America and the Caribbean at IIE LAC.
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The Legacy of International Education
During April, outreach officer Karen Kelly, found herself in conversation with the Ixcaragua family from the small city of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Mr. Donald Ixcaragua was granted a Fulbright Scholarship ten years ago, and the whole family had the opportunity to join him for his studies in Chicago, USA. It was during that time that his children truly grew to love reading and their minds were opened to the world and learned about the importance of understanding other cultures. Today, their son Samuel is in his second year at NYU Abu Dhabi and their daughter Pamela is in the process of applying. This is an example of how international exchange experiences can have a long-lasting effect, even down through different generations.
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China: An Emerging International Higher Education Hub
By Hang Gao
Since the beginning of this century, building regional education hubs has become a key trend in cross-border educational development. As a critical part of the worldwide internationalization of higher education, building an international higher education hub is regarded by the peripheral players as an important strategic opportunity. From the perspective of "glocalization," it is essential for these players to employ differentiated strategies based on their comparative advantages. Under the "Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)," China is building an international higher education hub in order to play a more positive role in the international higher education arena. To read the complete article, click here. |
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Publications and Research
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Expanding Vistas: International Academic Mobility in Brazil
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In this issue, we highlight one of IIE's publications and research reports: Expanding Vistas. International Academic Mobility in Brazil. This study provides insight into global mobility in Brazil's higher education sector. With support from the Australian Government's Department of Education and Training, the IIE Center for Academic Mobility Research examines select indicators of internationalization in Brazilian higher education, including the provision of courses taught in English, virtual learning, and initiatives to support inbound and outbound student flows. The findings can help to expand Brazilian higher education institutions' capacity to gather and report mobility data. For a full list of reports click here. |
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Interconnected Education: Building Bridges Through International Partnerships
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As we try to define the future of international education, one thing is clear: partnerships will continue to be the key to many institutions’ internationalization strategies. In the Fall 2018 issue of the IIENetworker magazine, Interconnected Education: Building Bridges Through International Partnerships, experts share their perspectives on the partnership models shaping the future of international education. From government-to-government collaborations to new database solutions to building an entire institution around a core partnership, the authors invite you to explore innovative ways to build bridges and to expand your international engagement. If you are trying to grow an established partnership or looking for new ways to engage on a budget, this IIENetworker will guide your planning with global best practices. Download the latest edition of the IIENetworker here. |
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The Future of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean
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By Ariel Fiszbein and Sarah Stanton
In the past two decades, countries across the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region have significantly expanded access to education, yet educational quality and relevance remain low at all levels. LAC students consistently perform below their peers from countries with similar income levels, and dropout and repetition rates remain high in most countries. Overall, inefficiency and unequal outcomes plague all levels of the educational system in the region. Furthermore, education has not proven responsive to labor market demands. Without adequate education and skills training, a large share of LAC's rich human capital resources remain underdeveloped, contributing to slow economic growth and low productivity in the region. More than half of LAC's labor force currently works in the informal sector, and the number of young people who are neither working nor studying (called " Ninis," from the Spanish " Ni estudian ni trabajan") is on the rise in many countries. Ensuring the quality and relevance of educational policies and outcomes has the power to affirm the human rights of LAC's citizens, increase growth, and close opportunity gaps throughout the region. To access the complete report, click here.
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EducationUSA's Global Guide 2018
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The annual Global Guide is EducationUSA's signature resource to guide U.S. colleges and universities in their approach to international student recruitment. EducationUSA produces an annual publication written by EducationUSA Regional Educational Advising Coordinators (REACS) with Washington, D.C. staff. These regional chapters present detailed information on current recruitment trends, country highlights, and government scholarships written by experts on the ground. The Global Guide provides U.S. higher education recruiters with detailed statistics on in-person and virtual outreach, along with tips on the best means of communication with students from the region. Download this year's Global Guide here. |
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Higher Education, Internationalization, and Regional Integration in Latin America and the Caribbean
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We would like to announce that the book "Higher Education, Internationalization, and Regional Integration in Latin America and the Caribbean", coordinated by Dr. Jocelyne Gacel-Ávila and published under the framework of the Regional Conference of Higher Education (CRES) 2018 by the International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC)-United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the National University of Córdoba is now available in Spanish.
In it, you will find the first Regional Survey on trends in internationalization in tertiary education in Latin America and the Caribbean (OBIRET Survey), where around 400 institutions from 22 different countries in the region participated. Read the complete book by clicking here. |
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Calls, Events and Upcoming Deadlines
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Fundación Mexicana para la Educación, la Tecnología y la Ciencia (FUNED)
Fundación Mexicana para la Educación, la Tecnología y la Ciencia (FUNED) is a privately operated foundation that provides complementary financial aid and scholarships for Mexican students who wish to pursue their master's degree abroad in top ranked universities. Please visit FUNED to find out about their upcoming deadlines. |
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COMEXUS – Becas Fulbright-García Robles
The U.S.-Mexico Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (COMEXUS), through the Fulbright-García Robles scholarships supports Mexican and American students, researchers and teachers to conduct postgraduate studies, research assignments, and teaching and professionalization programs in Mexico and the United States. Please click here to see their upcoming deadlines. |
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Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU) 32nd Annual Conference
October 6-8 | Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Conference on Educational Leadership
November 2-4 | Nashville, Tennessee, USA
International Association of Universities (IAU) International Conference 2018
November 13-15 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Convention 2018
November 16-18 | New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Instituciones de Educación Superior (ANUIES) Conference 2018
November 21-23 | Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico
Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) Annual Conference 2019
January 20-23 | San Francisco, California, USA
Institute of International Education (IIE) Summit 2019
February 17-19 | New York City, New York, USA
American Council on Education (ACE) 2019 Annual Meeting
March 9-12 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Brazilian Association for International Education (FAUBAI) Conference 2019
April 13-17 | Belém, Pará, Brazil
Association of International Educators (NAFSA) Conference 2019
May 26-31 | Washington DC, USA
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