New Grant Will Expand Study Abroad Opportunities

New Grant Will Expand Study Abroad Opportunities

FVTC chosen to receive grant from U.S. Department of State

| By: Daley-Hinkens, Carmelyn M

Fox Valley Technical College is one of 44 U.S. colleges and universities to be awarded a $35,000 grant through the 2022 Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students (IDEAS) Program grant competition. The grant program is part of a broader effort at the federal level to bolster international student mobility which includes increasing the number of American students who study abroad. Funding was awarded to institutions that created study abroad program proposals that are closely associated with U.S. foreign policy goals and provide international experiences for U.S. students.

FVTC will use its IDEAS Grant to create a faculty-led, short-term (two-week) program in The Bahamas designed for nontraditional study abroad students within the Agriculture and Natural Resources areas. This project, known as Program to Learn Agriculture and Natural Resources in The Bahamas (PLANT), will allow participating students to get firsthand knowledge of resource management, agricultural practices and sustainability in The Bahamas. Students in the program will also gather cultural components that impact agriculture and natural resource practices on the island and return to the college to educate their classmates.

The program will develop over the next three fiscal years and will be managed by faculty from Agriculture, Global Education and Services, and Natural Resources.