Chile stands out for its academic quality at the world’s largest international higher education fair

Chile is home to 19 of the 100 best universities in Latin America (THE ranking). The country is an attractive place to study not only due to the quality of its education, but also its diverse geography and climate, which provide outstanding conditions for various disciplines. This year, 20 universities that form part of the Learn Chile network will be present at NAFSA 2022—the world’s largest international higher education fair, which will be held in Denver (United States) from May 31 to June 3—with a prominent 100m² country stand.

Chile is also the leading Latin American country in innovation and competitiveness rankings, and as such provides excellent professional opportunities for those who wish to study in the country. In that regard, progress in research on new renewable energy technologies makes Chile a future global leader in the supply of clean energy. The country also stands out for its cutting-edge research in areas such as health, astronomy, engineering, and mining.

Learn Chile is a network of higher education institutions, currently made up of 26 universities and technical institutes, that receives government support through export promotion agency ProChile. Its aim is to promote the internationalization of the country’s academic offering and raise awareness of Chile as an excellent destination for international students.

As usually occurs at NAFSA conferences—which will be attended by more than 8,000 university representatives from over 100 countries—this year, Chilean institutions expect to generate more than 100 new cooperation agreements with universities from around the world.

“Being present at NAFSA 2022 with Learn Chile enables us to work together to promote our country’s attributes, allowing our member institutions to focus their efforts on strengthening their academic offering and establishing new cooperation networks around the world”, said Ian Frederick, ProChile Trade Commissioner in the United States.

“With the Learn Chile brand, we are leveraging the advantages of economic growth in the education sector, increasing our global reach by being present at NAFSA 2022. On the other hand, the experience of studying in Chile is complemented by what students can learn outside the classroom, interacting with our people and experiencing our culture, geography, and gastronomy”.

Studying in Latin America

Latin America offers educational programs in line with its rich and diverse culture. In that regard, through Learn Chile, the country has promoted the creation of a network made up of the six countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru) that currently make up the Latin American Initiative for the Internationalization of Higher Education (INILAT).

The Chilean network has also developed the INILATmov+ project, a mobile platform to facilitate student exchanges between institutions from INILAT member countries. For the second semester of 2022, more than 2,500 programs and 10,000 free places are being offered via the platform.

Another key international project was the training provided to Learn Chile member universities on the implementation of the COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) methodology through its partnership with Florida International University. This innovative method enables Chilean and overseas professors to give the same class to their students remotely.

This initiative boosts cooperation with overseas universities and generates academic collaboration projects between students from different institutions. This case was presented by Learn Chile member institution Universidad de los Andes at the NAFSA Latin America and Caribbean Forum 2022.

Links with the United States

Chile will be present at the ambassadors’ meeting that will be held at NAFSA 2022 to strengthen academic cooperation between the various participating countries. The United States is the home country of the largest number of exchange students in Chile, with 1,800 American students coming to Chile every year before the pandemic.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chile received 32,000 foreign exchange students every year, generating an impact of more than USD 350 million annually in the local economy. With the return of in-person classes and promotion of Chile in major international higher education fairs, similar numbers of foreign exchange students are expected to come to the country going forward.

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