It’s been a fantastic year for API’s staff, students, interns, volunteers, alumni and friends! Thousands of people had priceless experiences abroad through our study, intern, teach, work & volunteer abroad programs. In 2018, we were recognized by the Forum on Education Abroad’s Quality Improvement Program for Education Abroad (QUIP). In addition, we visited hundreds of study abroad fairs and got to know so many great people. As we head into 2019, we’re hopeful it will be a prosperous and rewarding year for each and every one of you. Here are some more 2018 API highlights!
New summer program options
2018 brought more opportunities than ever for those who choose to go abroad with API! One area where we saw the most growth this year was in our summer programs. Expanding these options is great news for students with busy academic years who still want to study abroad!
Some of our newest summer programs include studying luxury design management in Paris and Florence as well as a a fantastic summer filmmaking program at the University of Auckland. Speaking of New Zealand, API also added a national expedition and internship program in Wellington. This program takes students to both the north and south islands to pursue real-world problems relevant to their degree (from Journalism to Disaster Risk Management & more!).
Heading north, in 2018 we also added new summer programs at University College London as well as as at Corvinus University of Budapest. In addition, we launched a brand new Spanish & Sustainability Practice summer program with ICDS in San Jose, Costa Rica. This unique summer program allows students to take Spanish in the capital before completing a second course (Sustainability Practices) at a local farm! The course centers on recycling, forestry, organic agriculture, clean energy and more.
Expanded teach/work/volunteer opportunities
2018 was a growing and changing year for our teach, work and volunteer abroad programs. In March, we announced a new teach homestay program in Shanghai, China. This program combines educational travel, English teaching and tutoring, childcare, travel and formal Mandarin lessons into an authentic experience for anyone interested in exploring a non-traditional, fully-immersive teaching abroad experience. For more information on this program or other non-traditional API programs, give us a call (800-844-4124)!
New semester & academic year programs
One semester program we added in 2018 is especially enticing for any Harry Potter or Downton Abbey fan. That’s because this program is at the beautiful Harlaxton Manor; a stunning English manor house just an hour train ride from London. Not only does the campus look like a castle, Harlaxton College offers house competitions (think Gryffindor versus Slytherin)!
We also added a January term option in Lisbon, with courses in Cross-Cultural Communication and Negotiation (in English) and Creativity in Marketing (in Portuguese). For tourism, hospitality & gastronomy students, we added a new option in Barcelona at CETT! Seeing this growth has been exciting, because it means providing more opportunities for more students to see the world.
Expanded internship placements
Our internship team makes sure each internship placement is tailor-made for you! 2018 was no exception and we were able to place interns in dozens of job fields around the world. Some examples of our internship placements this year include energy research, culinary arts, museum curation, cartography, and travel writing. We also placed students in international business internships, accounting internships, and entrepreneur internships.
2018 also brought more opportunities for API students to utilize internship “add-ons” in their study abroad program. One example: this year we collaborated with our partners at East China Normal University to begin offering a credit-bearing internship for students who are studying abroad in Shanghai. In addition, students who enroll in our Diplomacy & International Relations Program in Dubrovnik can also now take a non-credit internship. Placements include working at an NGO that promotes cultural festivals in Dubrovnik, working at a local news organization, or working with underprivileged students on their schoolwork.
Successful customized programs
2018 was a great year for API and the university institutions we partner with around the world. Some examples of the fun collaborations we did with our partners in higher education include an African American studies program in Paris with the University of Florida and a Biomedicine program in Barcelona with San Diego State University. We also collaborated with the NMSU School of Business for an 8-week custom internship program in Dublin. Students took a course on the Irish business environment before being placed in a 6-week internship.
These are just a few examples of the programs & courses API can help professors/universities around the world plan. Are you a faculty member of one of our affiliated partners? Submit your requests for 2019 or 2020 programs to [email protected] so we can get your program onto the calendar for next year!
Looking ahead to 2019
Next year is already looking like a busy one for API! We’re adding internships in new cities, considering new programs and working to expand existing programs. All of this is good news for you! When you choose to go abroad with API, whether that be through studying abroad, teaching, volunteering or working, you can expect a quality experience from the moment you begin your application to the day you return home.
We wish you a happy & prosperous new year!
