The USCP consolidates the formation of its Study Abroad program

The Catholic University of San Pablo, which looks to strengthen its international relationships, received 44 foreign-exchange students who will study in Arequipa during the second semester of this year at the university.

Arequipa, 21/08/13 (Sodalite News – Perú).  The majority of these students hail from Davidson and Calvin College, which are both located in the United States. Catholic University of San Pablo  (UCSP) has been cultivating a relationships with these two North-American academic institutions for three years now, and will also include this year 4 students from the universities Arturo Prat in Chile, Santo Tomas de Tunja in Colombia, and the Nacional de Catamarca in Argentina. This is thanks to the UCSP participation in the CRISCOS and UDUAL student-exchange program of South America.

The students were warmly received by the Dr. German Chavez, rector of UCSP, who, joined by various members of the university leadership, directed a few words to the newcomers: “I am pleased to offer you a warm welcome. Studying abroad is a very positive experience because it will help you to grow academically and socially, and also form friendships that will last a lifetime. In that itself is the anthropological value of these activities,” referring to the activities that the students will undertake in their time here.

The students that came through the CRISCOS and UDUAL exchange programs will be taking courses in the professional studies department in the areas of Business Administration, Education, and Law. The students from Calvin and Davidson Colleges will take classes from a variety of disciplines and will also participate in courses prepared especially for them which will include the History of Peru, Ethnic Studies and the Spanish language.

The coordinator of the exchange program as well as the coursework for the students, Dr. Maria Alejandra Maldonado, Director of International Relations and Projects at UCSP, has organized host-families for each of the students for the duration of their stay in Arequipa. The majority of these Arequipan families form part of the UCSP community which will allow the students a greater opportunity for immersion into the cultural and social life of Peru.

The Catholic University of San Pablo, part of the Sodalite education project, finds itself celebrating 16 years since its founding in the southern Peruvian city of Arequipa. In the last few years the university has worked to consolidate its integral formation model that unites a demanding academic rigor with professional and human formation; and this no little thanks to the student foreign-exchange programs.