ProChile, the Chilean Trade Commission, and 12 Chilean Universities were presentat the 61st Annual Conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educatorsheld May 26 - 29 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
During the event, representatives from the Chilean universities worked to build and maintain relationships with international education leaders from U.S. basedschools to further grow their higher education and international student exchange programs.
According to the Higher Education Council (Consejo Superior de Educación), 7,146students were admitted to Chilean universities in 2006, increasing significantly from the 5,100 who entered in 2005. Chilean universities present at NAFSA included: Pontificia Universidad Católicade Chile, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Universidad Andrés Bello, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Universidad de los Andes, Universidad del Desarrollo, Universidad Finis Terrae, Universidad Mayor, Universidad del Pacífico, Universidad de Talca, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, and Universidad de Viña del Mar.
ProChile hosted a successful wine and cheese reception on May 27th at their booth during the lunch hour and a cocktail party at the Kyoto Gardens Hotel theevening of May 28th. Among those in attendance at the cocktail party were the Chilean delegation, the Ministry of Education, Chile, the Consul General of Chile and representatives from UC Davis. Other highlights of Chile`s participation in the NAFSA Expo included a seminar about the Internationalization of Higher Education Around the World for which Nuria Alsina, International Academic Affairs Director at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, was a speaker. She highlighted trends ininternationalization, the economic globalization of Chile, and the country`s outstanding experience in training students from other Latin American countries in environmental studies, astrophysics, engineering, and medicine, to name a few fields.
A winning poster from the Universidad de Viña del Mar`s Cultures inContact course was also presented at the"Internationalizing the Curriculum and Campus" Poster Fair.
Commented Viviana Araneda, Trade Commissioner of ProChile in Los Angeles,"Chile is becoming a trendy - and yet still relatively affordable - destination for foreign students, offering a creativity hub with investments in scientific and technological research, a safe and economically stable destination to discover Latin culture and learn Spanish, and a geography that includes vast coasts, lakes, volcanoes, glaciers, valleys, native forests, deserts and offers a widerange of climates and landscapes. We are thrilled to be able to share Chile`so fferings with international educators at the NAFSA event and build new relationships with U.S. based schools to continue our growth going forward." Added Osvaldo Marcial Marinao, Head of Services Department of ProChile, "Our goal is to increase the number of foreign students who take Spanish, specializedand term exchange courses. Foreign students have a positive impact in the universities` internationalization and, of course, in the economic development of the country."
More info at http://www.chileinfo.com/.
Crier CommunicationsShaina Zalma, 310-274-1072 x203shaina@crierpr.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
