Bridge Hosts U.S. Higher Education Roadshow in Chile

Bridge Education Group announced the organization of its first annual U.S. Higher Education Roadshow in Chile, an action-packed week of student recruitment and business development for a select group of U.S. universities. The event, which took place October 18 – 23 in Santiago and Valparaiso, was organized in partnership with the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso.

The two student fairs in Santiago and Valparaiso were hosted at local universities and attracted several hundred students with over 1,500 registering their interest in studying abroad.

The institutional participants of this exclusive event included Michigan State University, University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business, East Texas Baptist University, the StudyColorado Consortium and Western New England University. During the event, the institutions participated in student fairs, networking events with Chilean universities, and a closed-door session with the BECAS Chile government scholarship program for higher education. Participants also met with the human resource directors of local multinational corporations to discuss internship and executive education opportunities.

A highlight of the Higher Education Roadshow was a round table discussion with Chilean universities passionate about inter-institutional collaborations and international student mobility. The lively dialogue led to an open exchange of ideas and experiences including discussions around future partnerships for study abroad in Chile and similar short-term programs at U.S. institutions.

Chris McKenzie, Assistant Director for the Office of Study Abroad and Director of the American Semester Program at Michigan State University reflected on his experience at the event: “The entire Bridge staff did a fabulous job. Your agenda was ambitious and I think you have developed a terrific mix of opportunities that will attract universities.”

Attendee Leslie Carter, Associate Director for the Office of Globalization at the University of Denver said, “The range of activities and connections was something that made this event unique and particularly valuable to the University of Denver, Daniels College of Business. We were interested in the student fairs, corporate connections, and university connections as well as the valuable sharing of best practices with colleagues. It is a great concept, well done!”

Overall the event, organized by Bridge staff in Chile, offered U.S. higher education institutions a unique entry into the Chilean market and a window into a country with a strong and growing economy, stable democracy and established government support for international education.

Plans are already underway to continue the conversations started in Chile at future events, and to expand the U.S. Higher Education Roadshow beyond Chile in 2016. Institutions interested in participating in future events should email Lisa Rooney, Vice President of Institutional Relations at Bridge, at lrooney@bridge.edu.