Last fall, hundreds of students in Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico gathered around their computers to participate in a virtual conference—an international business round table. They listened to Anna Cablik, a Panama native and one of the most prominent businesswomen in Atlanta, talk about how to start a small business in a global environment; they heard Nuby Fowler, a champion of business development by women and minorities (and small-business administrator for the southeastern United States) talk about the financial resources available to small businesses; and they also heard Bernardo Mendez, the Mexican consul for commercial affairs in San Francisco, discuss networking and information resources. The purpose of the conference? To inspire, empower, and inform. The students? All participants in a unique Walden University/Laureate International Universities dual degree program in international business.

 

“We want our students to think in terms of starting their own businesses,” says faculty member Cristina Espinosa, who helped organize the event. “It’s all about giving them an international experience that can broaden their perspective on how they can contribute to the growth of their own economies and understand the global economy.”

 

It’s just one example of the ways in which Walden University and Laureate International Universities are creating exciting new opportunities for their students, providing greater access to higher education, and effecting positive social change. And it’s only just beginning.

 

“The world is getting smaller, and the need for global understanding is getting larger,” says Walden’s president, Dr. Paula E. Peinovich. “Walden’s partnerships with Laureate International Universities institutions are creating a ‘global classroom’ that expands the horizons of students around the world and, ultimately, plays an important role in developing and sustaining a global society. It is a high calling.”

 

An Increasing Demand for Higher Education
The Laureate International Universities network was conceived in 1999 as part of Sylvan Learning Systems’ effort to expand its role in education from providing K–12 tutoring to increasing access to higher education around the world. As the global higher education network grew—including the purchases of Walden University and National Technological University—it split from Sylvan to become its own publicly traded company, Laureate Education, Inc.

 

“We set out to create a network of private universities that knows no geographic or academic boundaries—one that creates limitless opportunities for aspiring students,” says Douglas Becker, chairman and CEO of Laureate Education. “The Laureate International Universities network provides our students around the world with a multicultural perspective and access to a range of international educational opportunities.” Today, the network has grown to include 25 accredited institutions with 58 campuses in 16 countries. Collectively, Laureate’s campus-based and online universities offer more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, and serve more than 240,000 students.

 

The programs are career-oriented. “Taken together, the affiliated international universities offer degrees in the most desired career paths,” says Chris Symanoskie, director of corporate communications for Laureate Education. “That includes everything from law, engineering, business, and psychology to medicine, veterinary medicine, and dentistry. Throughout the network, the goal—like that of Walden’s—is to provide an education that is immediately relevant to the workplace.”

 

What’s inspired this phenomenal growth? For one thing, the demand for higher education is growing, worldwide. “It relates to the phenomenon of the rising middle class and the recognition that higher education is one of the best investments a person can make,” Symanoskie says.

 

In addition, governments in many of the countries in which Laureate has affiliates have focused on increasing access to primary and secondary educations, but are unable to meet the ever-growing demand for higher education. “There are more and more aspiring students and not enough seats for them at the college level,” says Craig Lundsten, director of business development for Laureate International Universities. “That has allowed Laureate to identify and expand high-quality, accredited partner institutions that recognize the value of providing their students with an international edge.”

 

Each of Laureate’s campus-based schools has its own rich history, distinctive traditions, and unique curricula and programs. As examples, the École Supérieure du Commerce Extérieur, established in 1968, was the first school in France specializing in international trade. The Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello is one of the largest and most prestigious private universities in Chile, with programs that prepare graduates and professionals in traditional and emerging fields. And the Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland comprises two accredited and highly specialized schools—Glion Hotel School and Glion Sports Management School.

 

“One of the primary premises of Laureate is the absolute respect of the rich cultural and national context in which the universities operate,” says German Ramirez, president of Universidad de las Americas, in Chile. All of the universities share a common commitment to providing students around the world with greater access to higher education, to preparing students for job opportunities, to effecting positive social change—and to educating students for a global economy.

 

	WITH 58 CAMPUSES SPANNING 16 COUNTRIES, THE LAUREATE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITIES NETWORK OFFERS WALDEN TRAVELERS A WONDERFUL WINDOW TO THE WORLD.   ALUMNI AND FRIENDS CAN MAKE THEIR NEXT INTERNATIONAL TRIP A TRUE LEARNING EXPERIENCE THROUGH THE WALDEN ALUMNI UNIVERSITY TRAVEL PROGRAM, WHICH PAIRS WALDEN VISITORS WITH A LOCAL CAMPUS PROFESSOR. BEYOND ENJOYING THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF A NEW CITY, WALDEN TRAVELERS WILL LEARN ABOUT THE HISTORY, PEOPLE, AND POLITICS THAT MAKE THEIR DESTINATION WORLD-CLASS.   EACH TRIP IS DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR WALDEN ALUMNI, CATERING TO DIVERSE INTERESTS AND A DESIRE TO EXPERIENCE NEW CULTURES. SINCE EACH ITINERARY IS UNIQUE TO THE REGION, NO TWO TRIPS WILL EVER BE ALIKE.   WALDEN WILL KICK OFF ITS FIRST EXCURSION IN GLION, SWITZERLAND, IN JUNE 2007. TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE, OR TO LEARN ABOUT UPCOMING TRIPS, PLEASE CONTACT SIEMER & HAND TRAVEL AT TRAVEL@SIEMERHAND.COM OR CALL 800-451-4321.

 

 

An International Edge
That’s the key Laureate advantage: The international focus. Students at Laureate-affiliated institutions are part of an international educational network. They have access to study-abroad programs, faculty who visit from across the network, shared global services, and, increasingly, cultural exchange programs.

 

A global career Web site, first developed in Mexico and shared among Laureate institutions worldwide, provides international job listings to Walden alumni and to students at Laureate-affiliated universities around the world. Laureate’s corporate partners can access the database to find recent grads, working adults, and graduate students. Walden alumni can also post job opportunities that exist at their organizations.

 

Through a leading-edge global mentoring program, Walden alumni and students at campus-based institutions have access to a database of professionals in a variety of fields for guidance on curriculum planning, skills development, and career planning. It’s international—meaning students can communicate with a mentor in another country. (For more about the career and mentoring programs, see the “Supporting International Careers” below.)

 

Students are also taking advantage of exchange programs. In Spain alone, several hundred students from other Laureate-affiliated universities are currently studying at Universidad Europea de Madrid. Walden M.B.A. students will also have the opportunity to study abroad as part of a program that focuses on global business. (See “Connect to Success” in News Briefs.)

 

Curriculum sharing of all kinds benefits the schools, the students, and the overall network. As an example, a student at the Universidad del Valle de México can now enroll in a program in hospitality management developed by Les Roches Hotel Management School. Based in Switzerland, Les Roches is one of the top-ranked hospitality schools in the world and a part of the Laureate International Universities network. Laureate makes it possible for a student in Mexico to get a world-class degree in hospitality management without leaving his or her country.

 

Walden’s Growing Role
Increasingly, this kind of cross-pollination involves Walden. Through a variety of Laureate programs, more students at Laureate-affiliated universities are gaining access to a U.S. education, and more Walden students are benefiting from access to this unique international network.

 

“Walden and Laureate are really taking the lead in teaching people how to interact with people from other cultures, thereby preparing a new generation of business people,” says Gino Natalicchio, a faculty member who teaches in the Walden dual degree partnership with institutions in Latin America. “It’s the only opportunity I know of around the world where an employer can tap into someone who understands the global environment. These students are being exposed to different approaches to learning and to a global environment.”

 

Through the Laureate network, new international residency programs are opening up to Walden students. Last summer, nearly 100 doctoral students took part in Walden’s first international residency program. Held at a Laureate-affiliated university in Spain, Universidad Europea de Madrid (UEM), the program included a presentation by Dr. Agueda Benito Capa on “Higher Education in Europe: The UEM Approach.” Participants, many of them education students, not only gained valuable insights into the European academic perspective, they also got a firsthand look at the culture itself. They took a private tour of the world’s largest art gallery, El Prado, and also visited the historic El Escorial Monastery. They went to a flamenco show and a soccer match. For the doctoral students, many of whom had never been outside the United States, it was an enriching experience. In 2007, similar residency programs are planned at the Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello in Santiago, Chile; the University of Liverpool in England; and UEM again.

 

 

Walden’s online programs are being integrated into the Laureate International Universities network in exciting new ways. The dual degree program that featured the international business round table last fall is one example. Originally introduced at the Universidad del Valle de México in 2005, the program was expanded in the summer of 2006 to include the Universidad Interamericana de Costa Rica and Universidad Latinoamericana de Ciencia y Tecnologia. As of fall 2006, more than 500 students are enrolled. “There’s a tremendous enthusiasm for these programs among students,” Espinosa says. “It opens the opportunity for an international education at an affordable cost, one that gives these students a broader vision of the world. It prepares them to work with U.S. companies, or in international companies.”

 

Ultimately, according to Natalicchio, the dual degree program enriches the Walden environment. “It creates a group of students who will end up being scholars with a wide spectrum of perspectives and opinions. And that enhances everyone’s experience,” he says. Espinosa adds: “Ultimately, as the program expands, it will offer opportunities for U.S. students to interact with students in Latin America.”

 

	WALDEN IS THE FLAGSHIP ONLINE UNIVERSITY IN THE LAUREATE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITIES NETWORK, BUT IT’S NOT THE NETWORK’S ONLY UNIVERSITY ONLINE. LAUREATE ONLINE EDUCATION IS THE EXCLUSIVE WORLDWIDE E-LEARNING PARTNER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL, DELIVERING GRADUATE PROGRAMS ONLINE TO WORKING PROFESSIONALS IN MORE THAN 130 COUNTRIES. IN ADDITION TO AN M.B.A. AND TECHNOLOGY DEGREES, THE PARTNERSHIP NOW OFFERS A MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH DEGREE. THIS ONLINE PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM WAS DEVELOPED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL’S MEDICAL SCHOOL—ONE OF THE SPECIALTIES ON WHICH THE UNIVERSITY IS BUILT.

 

 

A Global Commitment to Community Service
The campus-based institutions of the Laureate network share Walden’s commitment to the greater good. At the Universidad del Valle de México, the Centers of Education and Human Development provide invaluable services to children with mental and physical disabilities while offering students and professors the opportunity to learn the best practices in their field. In 1982, the first such center was launched at the Tlalpan campus in response to local parents’ need for guidance in raising children with Down syndrome, autism, and other developmental disabilities. During the past 25 years, this center has ensured that thousands of children develop to their full potential. Its successes have been replicated at three other campuses. For Marco Antonio Hurtado, a single parent whose son has progressed significantly under the care and support of center staff, “the center truly is a second home.”

 

The Center for Marine Studies at Quintay at the Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello in Chile works with local fishermen to preserve sea life in the area. “Together with the residents of Quintay, students and professors at the Center for Marine Studies are conserving the marine life of our country,” says director Diego Ramírez. “This collaboration not only contributes to our students’ and professors’ learning, but also bolsters their and the local fishermen’s commitment to protecting the environment.”

 

Community commitment also thrives at Laureate’s corporate headquarters. The Sylvan/Laureate Foundation has contributed more than $5.5 million to nonprofit education institutions. Additionally, Laureate International Universities recently initiated a partnership with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, which represents more than 450 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the United States, Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain, and Portugal. The partnership will award more than $8 million in tuition scholarships for Latinos and other students to study abroad.

 

Finally, Laureate has joined with the International Youth Foundation to launch the YouthActionNet social entrepreneurship training and awards program throughout the network. According to Douglas Becker, chairman and CEO of Laureate Education, co-founder of the Sylvan/Laureate Foundation, and chair-elect of the International Youth Foundation: “Engaging local communities in positive social change initiatives is a priority for Laureate institutions worldwide.”

 

	HOW CAN WALDEN ALUMNI SUPPORT CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMS AND FOSTER POSITIVE SOCIAL CHANGE? CONSIDER INVITING A STUDENT FROM A LAUREATE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITIES NETWORK INSTITUTION TO SERVE AS AN INTERN FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION. SIMPLY POST THE OPPORTUNITY IN THE GLOBAL CAREER CENTER OR ITS COUNTERPART, THE GLOBAL MENTORSHIP PROGRAM. YOU CAN ALSO LOOK FOR NETWORKING AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOURSELF.

 

 

Laureate International Universities Network Map

Laureate International Universities Slideshow

 

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