Currently, there are more and more young people who choose to participate in exchange programs, since through them they gain life experience in another country, improving language skills and develop long lasting relationships with young people from various countries and social backgrounds.
These are some of the main benefits of exchange student programs:
1. Participating in an exchange student program gives the student the possibility of having an international curriculum. It increases the student relation’s management skills and allows learning and perfecting other languages. This, represents an advantage when presenting a college application, since it shows the ability to relate to people from different cultures and backgrounds
2. It’s a great start in the creation of your international network. Having a network of contacts is very important in terms of career development, since through them the student can find out about new trends, college opportunities or even a destination for their next vacation. By maintaining an international network with friends forged during exchange programs you will be expanding your college opportunities when the time comes.
3. It allows the young student to have access to new technologies and educational systems. The educational systems of each country are different and many have innovative or new technologies that are not available in other places, so the exchange student sees the possibility of developing multiple skills and learning the management of advanced programs that are not available in your study center.
4. Wider perspective of the world. Since the student will share with a new culture and a different way of life, the student will increase knowledge about the world. This is due to the fact that new ideas and visions are obtained around cultural, economic and political realities. Through this, it is possible to broaden your cultural sensitivity and thought process allowing the student to think of new ideas out of the box.
5. Contributes to the development of global competence and critical thinking. Industries today and in the future demand professionals who can solve complex problems, people who have critical thinking and who can work effectively in changing environments and with multicultural work teams. The exchange experience allows these skills to be developed, since the student will be in constant interaction with their peers and host family.