Chile offers warm welcome to overseas students

A group of 21 Chilean universities has launched an initiative to boost the number of international students in the country.

The scheme hopes to promote Chile as an “internationally recognised and qualified” destination for higher education.

The Learn Chile project, launched at the Association of International Educators fair in San Diego on 28 May, proclaims that Chile offers international students “a rich life experience”.

The project is aimed particularly at students from Europe, China, the US and Brazil, and is supported by the Chilean government.

Roberto Paiva, director of Pro Chile, part of Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “With this educational sector brand, we aim to encourage international students to come to Chile, and view it as a destination where they can advance in their academic degrees, while also enjoying a rich life experience, sightseeing, learning Spanish, and living in a safe and stable country.”

Learn Chile hopes that after completing their studies, international students will become ambassadors for the country and talk about the experiences they had with their peers.

The programme will also help Chilean students to build links with international students.

Interest in promoting Chilean higher education institutions to international students has increased in recent years. Chilean Ministry of Education figures suggest that the percentage of international students attending university increased on average 14 per cent each year between 2009 and 2012, and 26 per cent between 2012 and 2013, according to Learn Chile.

Mr Paiva added that this shows that “the efforts…to internationalise” have been “fruitful”.

The Learn Chile website offers tools to help students considering studying in Chile and a list of the 21 universities involved.

It also contains sections on visa and documentation advice, practical information about living in Chile and testimonials from almost 40 international students from a variety of countries.

holly.else@tsleducation.com