I am happy to announce that Philadelphia university students will have access to a new virtual exchange in August – “How to Succeed as an Innovator.”
Many of our region’s university students have not been able to study abroad or participate in internships abroad because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
We don’t want our region’s students to miss out on these unique and transformational learning experiences. Our future global leaders need vital dialogue skills to work with people from other countries; to understand the complexity of global issues; and to develop cross-cultural relationships.
Thanks to the Stevens Initiative, Citizen Diplomacy is one of 18 programs funded as part of the Stevens Initiative Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic. With this funding, we are launching “How to Succeed as an Innovator” and it is fully underwritten for students to take part in for free.
This virtual international exchange is exclusively designed to connect students in Philadelphia and Egypt, between the ages of 18 – 22 years old, who are interested in improving our world through science, technology, engineering, and math innovations. Young adults with a passion for STEM need to understand that to successfully bring an innovation to the public, you need to network, build social capital, and think like an entrepreneur.
In this part-time exchange, from August 3 – 26, students will learn key dialogue and cross-cultural communication techniques and discuss the role of dialogue, stereotypes and bias in their community and in the larger global conversation of STEM business leaders of color. They will be introduced to special guest speakers, who are leaders in social entrepreneurship or have brought scientific discoveries to market. And most important, they will connect personally with peers in Egypt.
At the core of Citizen Diplomacy’s mission is building mutual understanding across cultures. Now, as Philadelphia faces its own structural racism, Citizen Diplomacy is teaching our university students to be STEM business leaders who are prepared to have real conversations on stereotypes and bias.
While traditional in-person exchange programs have been cancelled for the summer, virtual exchange programs like ‘How to Succeed as an Innovator’ continue to be a sustainable and accessible global learning tool.
Follow us on Facebook to see our stories from this exciting new exchange. Read the full press release here.
Take care,
Siobhán
P.S. If you have a university student in your life who is passionate about STEM and would like to participate in this free, virtual exchange, please encourage them to participate and register here.
This program is organized by Citizen Diplomacy International and made possible by a generous grant through The Stevens Initiative Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic. The Stevens Initiative is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government, and is administered by the Aspen Institute. It is also supported by the Bezos Family Foundation and the governments of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
