U.S. prospecting for Guyanese students

United States Ambassador to Guyana, D Brent Hardt has disclosed that the U.S. government is pushing an agenda which encourages young academically-inclined Guyanese to study overseas.
The ambassador was speaking at the launch of an “American Spot” in the library of the University of Guyana’s Turkeyen Campus.  He noted that the “Education USA” programme has become one of the embassy’s main priorities and is on the U.S. government’s agenda for the western hemisphere.
In March 2011, President Barack Obama launched “100,000 Strong in the Americas”, an initiative to increase international students from Latin America and the Caribbean. Ambassador Hardt revealed that the embassy is offering the necessary resources to assist young people in pursuing university studies in the U.S.
Some of these resources include guide books on selecting a college or university, the process of applying to universities, how to apply for scholarships, how to write college application essays, and degree options available. The U.S. ambassador stated that such information was previously available only within the embassy, and as such, was not easily accessible.
“Now, prospective students can come here and browse the collection on their own time,” the ambassador said.   He mentioned that the embassy plans to host the Education USA advising sessions to provide prospective students with additional guidance on how to utilise the resources and materials available and to share strategies on furthering their education and development.
The purpose of President Obama’s 100,000 Strong programme is to foster region-wide prosperity through greater international exchange of students, deemed to be the future leaders and innovators.
“Increasing mutual understanding within the western hemisphere and building closer people-to-people ties, the president believes, will help the people of the hemisphere to work together more closely to address common challenges, including citizen security, economic opportunity, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability,” the ambassador commented.
Open to Guyanese students
The U.S. ambassador stressed that the American government is eager to welcome Guyanese students to its many universities. He explained that the importance of an international educational exchange in promoting understanding across national, cultural, religious, and racial borders must never be underestimated.
According to Hardt, thousands of students who study overseas each year help to create a global citizenry that is culturally aware and respectful of people from different backgrounds, and can help to build the close, interpersonal connections that will solve scientific problems, meet social challenges, and develop new forms of creative, artistic expression. He related that students who participate in international study draw lifetime benefits from the opportunity to learn a discipline in a different cultural context, to be immersed in another culture, and to share their unique culture with others.
The ambassador is of the opinion that overseas academic development also delivers a high rate of return for sending countries, since university graduates are ultimately able to use their newly-gained skills to make valuable contributions to the development of their own societies.
The ambassador added that the U.S. through its embassy in Guyana already shares a special relationship with the University of Guyana.
“We have collaborated on a number of mutually beneficial projects.  USAID has supported a higher education for development partnership from 2009 to 2011 between Ohio University and the University of Guyana for media development in Guyana,” Ambassador Hardt mentioned.
He remarked that the partnership has placed focus on enhancing and upgrading the delivery of mass communication and journalism education at UG, upgrading the education, skills and experience of the UG faculty as well as Guyanese journalists and other media professionals.
The U.S. ambassador disclosed that the a team from the Ohio University Medical School will visit the UG to explore and establish relations between the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Guyana’s Health Ministry. Last month, the embassy, through the U.S. Centre for Disease Control, ventured into an important partnership with the launch of the master’s in internal medicine and infectious disease residency programme.
The course will be conducted as a collaborative venture between the University of Maryland, UG, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, and the Health Ministry.