U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter noted the importance of educational and cultural exchanges between the U.S. and Germany in his remarks at a forum in Berlin on Monday. In particular, Secretary Carter spoke to the value of exchanges in preparing young citizens for success in a global economy:
Despite regular interactions, local businesses have only “moderately favorable” opinions of international students in their college towns, according to a recent article in Inside Higher Ed.
While the benefits of international experience and global skills are widely recognized, U.S. colleges and universities struggle to diversify access to international education and study abroad, according to a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
On the occasion of the recent annual conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stressed the importance of international education noting that:
President Obama noted the “extraordinary” leadership skills of exchange participants during a question and answer session with 75 fellows from the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) in Washington, DC this week.
Commenting on the bright futures of the fellows, who represent all ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, Obama remarked:
As it enters its second year, the Generation Study Abroad initiative will use scholarships and targeted outreach about study abroad programs – including more inclusive marketing materials – to increase diversity among study abroad participants, reports Insight Into Diversity.
For the first time in 15 years, an increasing number of people worldwide are learning German as a foreign language, the ICEF Monitor reports. According to the results of the 2015 “Deutsch als Fremdsprache weltweit” (German as a foreign language worldwide) survey, conducted every five years, 15.4 million individuals across the globe are currently studying German.