San Juan, May 21 (EFE).- Leaders of Puerto Rico’s universities agreed Wednesday that studies in English and Spanish, as well as hybrid courses and internships, are key to attracting international students.
Representatives and experts discussed opportunities at the “Educational Tourism: Puerto Rico as an Academic Destination” forum.
Thanks to a partnership between Agencia EFE and GFR Media, the event was held on Wednesday at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Resort & Casino Hotel in San Juan.
Bilingual programs for international students
The president of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, Rafael Ramirez, said at the conference that his institution offers bilingual programs in all master’s degrees and law, optometry, and nursing, making it possible to attract foreign students.
“International students come looking for accreditations, that they are transferable, that the programs are homologated, and that wherever they want to go they can take their degree,” Ramirez said during the panel “The Island as a Classroom”.
For his part, Javier Carrión, in charge of International Affairs at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), was delighted to say his school has the most foreign students on the island (about 600). Their goal, though, is to increase the number.
Carrión highlighted the initiative of the UPR’s COOP courses, which allow students to obtain university credits through supervised internships.
“The campuses are assigned a coordinator for all academic programs. The student remains part of the required orientation between the student and the UPR teacher,” explained the university representative during his speech.
Hybrid courses
Likewise, Gladys Nieves, president of EDP University, highlighted their hybrid mode with face-to-face and remote studies for health courses.
“Students work in the United States, take online courses, and come to Puerto Rico to do the clinical part. They only stay for three months of the year,” Nieves said.
Finally, Ana G. Méndez University’s (UAGM) strategy to attract international students, according to Rafael F. Nadal, vice president of International Affairs, is short graduate and postgraduate degrees.
“Short degrees are a market opportunity,” said Nadal, adding that his goal is to focus more on one-year master’s degrees as, for example, there are in Spain.
Also participating in this event was Francisco Millán, Spain’s Economic and Commercial Manager in Puerto Rico, who explained the different initiatives implemented in Spanish universities to attract students from other countries.
“We have 1.7 million university students in Spain, of which 200,000 are foreigners, about 12%, and the proportion of foreigners is much higher in postgraduate, masters, doctorates, than people who study bachelor’s degrees, because of recognition,” Millán stressed.
The forum was sponsored by Discover Puerto Rico, T-Mobile, EDP University, Rooms to Go, and Sheraton Puerto Rico Resort & Casino. EFE