Edmonds CC welcomes scholars from South Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Near East
09/30/2010
Edmonds College has received an award of $2,178,672 from the U.S. Department of State to administer a program to provide professional training to students from South Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Near East.
Edmonds, as the lead college, has partnered with Whatcom Community College and Pierce College to create the Northwest Community College Initiative to provide the educational programs stipulated in the grant. Edmonds is currently implementing a program through a similar State Department award for 34 Egyptian students who are presently at Edmonds, Whatcom, and Spokane Community Colleges.
The college received a $1.4 million grant for this program in 2009. Currently 17 Egyptian Fulbright scholars are pursuing certificates in Business, Information Technology, Construction Management, and Allied Health at Edmonds.
During the 2010-11 academic year, 38 students from Brazil, Cameroon, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Ghana, Kenya, Pakistan, Panama, South Africa, and Turkey will study in Washington state through this partnership. In addition to these students, there will also be a second group of 14 Egyptian participants. Edmonds College expects to host 20 of these students, seven from Egypt and 13 from other countries.
The program goals are to foster mutual understanding between the participating countries and the United States, and to provide young professionals from underprivileged backgrounds access to professional training. Participants will take classes toward certificates and will engage in a program designed to introduce them to aspects of the culture of the United States and to give them opportunities to share about their cultures.
The programs are funded by grants from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Edmonds College is one of only three groups in the United States to receive these awards — the funds provide valuable support to assist the college in its international education goal of fostering better understanding between people of the world and the local communities of the participating colleges.
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