PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (Feb. 15, 2023) – Prairie View A&M University has been awarded a grant to host one of four Increase and Diversity Education Abroad for U.S. Students (IDEAS) workshops organized by World Learning. The grant award further solidifies PVAMU’s place as a leading institution in providing international study-abroad opportunities for students.
“Hosting this workshop helps the world benefit from our expertise and see us actively contributing to campus internationalization in meaningful and effective ways,” said Godlove Fonjweng, Ph.D., executive director of International Programs at PVAMU. “The Office of International Programs at PVAMU envisions being a nationally recognized program that is playing an important, contributing role in helping ensure PVAMU graduates seamlessly integrate into an increasingly interconnected global economy and community.”
PVAMU’s IDEAS workshop, which is set to be held on April 14, 2023, will address “Fighting Climate Change Through Connection Between Study Abroad and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”
At the direction of the U.S. Department of State’s USA Study Abroad branch within the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, World Learning awarded grants for other workshops to University of Washington at Tacoma, College of Southern Nevada and University of Wyoming. Announced on Study Abroad Day, the workshops will focus on experiential learning, inclusion and enhancing education at community colleges.
World Learning is part of the Vermont-based School for International Training (SIT), which was founded in the 1960s as the first training site for US Peace Corps Volunteers. World Learning seeks to “enhance the capacity and commitment of individuals, institutions and communities to create a more peaceful and just world through education, sustainable development and exchange,” according to the organization’s website.
They accomplish this goal by concentrating on five critical program areas:
- People-to-people exchanges
- Global education
- Institutional strengthening
- Youth workforce and entrepreneurship
- Civic engagement
- TESOL I English teacher training
To date, World Learning states that it has impacted more than 150 countries “to find comprehensive solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, such as poverty, conflict, and inequality.”
It’s no wonder that PVAMU’s popular international program will host an upcoming IDEAS workshop, said Fonjweng.
“The mission of Prairie View A&M University’s Office of International Programs is to infuse global content in the University’s teaching, research, service and aesthetic functions,” he said. “We achieve this through targeted and intentional programming designed to enhance the global competence of our graduates.”
Designed to increase each university’s ability to administer and deploy Study Abroad programs effectively, the IDEAS workshops will benefit both faculty and students from around the country.
“The workshop will help us prepare faculty and international educators from PVAMU and around the country who can deliver the type of international programming that helps students expand their international perspectives,” said Fonjweng. “By studying abroad, students learn about other people and their ways of life, thus preparing themselves for our increasingly interconnected global community.”
To register for the IDEAS workshop at PVAMU, click here. To apply for a Study Abroad opportunity, please email international@PVAMU.EDU or call 936-261-2132 or 936-261-5453.
By Kerry Laird
-PVAMU-