Note to editors: Media are invited to attend this event at the CINTERMEX Convention Center in Monterrey on October 16 at 17:00. Steven Dorsey is available for interview. Contact Andrea Dhamer at (mobile) +01-718-501-5606 for information and to arrange an interview.
October 14, 2013—IIE’s leading expert on global development, Steven Dorsey, will lead a discussion on Internationalizing Higher Education through Scholarship Programs with several high level participants from the governments of Mexico and Brazil at the at the upcoming CAIE conference in Monterrey, Mexico. The event will be held at the CINTERMEX Convention Center at 5:00 p.m. on October 16.
With governments around the world increasingly investing in higher education as a means to economic prosperity and capacity building, scholarships for international study and training are playing an ever greater role. There has been a significant increase in such investment during the past five years, with an emphasis on training large numbers of students in the STEM fields. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has included education as a major area on his agenda, and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff made higher education scholarships a cornerstone of her national agenda, with the launch of the Brazilian Government’s immensely successful Scientific Mobility Program, an initiative of unprecedented size and scale. The scholarship program, which is managed by IIE in the United States, aims to send over 100,000 Brazilian STEM students abroad. The governments of Mexico, Peru and Argentina have also taken action in recent years to invest in scholarships to prepare their young people for the global workforce.
IIE’s Vice President of International Development and Operations, Stephen Dorsey, will moderate the discussion. Mr. Dorsey brings 30 years of experience in international development, including serving as the Country Director for the U.S. Peace Corps in Costa Rica for four years. The distinguished government speakers are: Mr. Paulo Speller, Secretario de Educación Superior, Brasil; Ms. Valerie Cárdenas Dugal, Advisor to the Undersecretary of High School Education, Ministry of Public Education, Mexico; and Mrs. Lydia Antonio, Deputy Director General at the Directorate General for North American Affairs of Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Drawing on IIE’s expertise in the region, the discussion will look at the effectiveness of national scholarship programs across Latin America, identify challenges and best practices and address a number of key questions, including:
- What makes for an effective scholarship program?
- How can stakeholders at the state and national level best work together on such programs?
- How can government best engage with the private sector to develop a skilled workforce through scholarships?
- How do we best measure the return on investment (ROI) of such programs?
The Institute of International Education has been involved in many of these programs over the years, first through the Latin America Division at its New York headquarters beginning in the 1930s, and then through the IIE Latin America regional office in Mexico City since 1974. The Institute has launched partnerships with a number of organizations and government agencies to build global talent in Latin America to undertake new research, develop strategic higher education links, and engage leaders in dialogue on the role of higher education institutions as incubators of innovation, workforce development, and international discourse.
Initiatives like the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program are designed to provide the next generation with access to leading universities and academic departments; to expand research and teaching capacity in STEM fields that are key to national economic growth; and to develop future leaders who speak multiple languages, are aware of current research developments and have developed networks of colleagues across borders. At the forefront of many of these efforts, IIE has seen firsthand the tremendously positive impact of these programs over time.
A new book published by IIE earlier this year, Latin America’s New Knowledge Economy: Higher Education, Government, and International Collaboration, contains writings from experts all over the U.S. and Latin America that review the policies, institutions and programs that have helped bring about impressive growth and change in Latin America, as well as their outcomes in terms of access, workforce training and research.
About the Institute of International Education
The Institute of International Education is a world leader in the international exchange of people and ideas. An independent, not-for-profit organization founded in 1919, IIE has a network of 19 offices and affiliates worldwide and over 1,200 member institutions. IIE designs and implements programs of study and training for students, educators, young professionals and trainees from all sectors with funding from government agencies, foundations, and corporations. IIE also conducts policy research and program evaluations, and provides advising and counseling on international education and opportunities abroad.
About the Conference of the Americas on International Education (CAIE)
Conference of the Americas on International Education is a prestigious forum where the international community can meet with key Inter-American decision-makers, university managers, international organizations, government officials and representatives from both the private and philanthropic sectors from across the Americas and around the world. CAIE aims to provide an Inter-American common space to share paradigms, models, trends and best practices on internationalization issues that contribute to the quality and innovation of higher education in its national, regional and international dimensions. It does so through promoting dialogue, exchanges, collaboration, networks and partnerships at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels, in the four languages of the Americas (English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French). This is the third such conference, following on the success of CAIE-Canada 2010 and CAIE-Brazil 2012. The 2013 theme is “Knowledge and Mobility: Responsibility and Resources”.
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