International education opens doors

Education opens doors to everyone. Education provides us with the opportunity to learn new skills and to meet new people in order to share ideas and discover and develop new concepts. International education opens doors exponentially; it opens those limitless numbers of doors to possibilities perhaps never before dreamed of or imagined by those who walk through those doors.

What is international education? It encompasses many things and takes many forms but it’s really all about studying abroad—going to another country to live, work, and learn. It’s about entering into a culture and social and professional milieu different than our own, and it’s about stepping out of our every day routine or our comfort zone to learn about others, and by so doing, to learn more about ourselves and our communities. International education can range from a two-week training program or event abroad to a multi-year PhD degree program. 

Each year millions of individuals travel to countries abroad to learn another language, to pursue education, to exchange ideas, to receive specialized training, or to do all of these. Other individuals don’t leave their homes, schools, or communities, but are able to reap some of the rewards of international education by taking advantage of the Internet, books, stories of travelers from their communities, and lecturers and others to bring the outside world into their homes. They all share in being a part of international education, or the global school—planet école. 

Many famous and successful people from around the world have reaped the benefits of international education. The famous historian Ibn Khaldun and the famous traveler Ibn Battuta are just two examples of Arabs who were reaping the benefits of learning, studying, traveling, and writing abroad. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton earned a prestigious  Rhodes Scholarship  to study at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Former UN secretary general and 2001 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Kofi Annan, has described in presentations his experiences in both undergraduate and graduate studies in the U.S.  Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis in all walks of life have also lived and studied abroad, and many are now influential in their chosen professions here in Yemen and abroad. 

So how have these and others been able to reap the rewards from international education? The path isn’t always easy or short, but fortunately, many of them have a lot to share about the process and experience, and many can describe how the first door that opened to them led to more doors both at home and abroad. As a professional working in international education for almost twenty years, I’ve met thousands of international exchange participants from all walks of life and received hundreds of e-mails from them as they travel abroad for education and exchange, whether high school, university, or other higher and professional opportunities. The universal feeling among those who traveled abroad has been, and continues to be, “It was the best experience of my life.” 

Why is that? What made that international experience so special? In what ways could it have been better? What are the qualities that one needs to embark upon the path of international education? What can we distill from others’ experiences? In upcoming articles, we’ll look in depth at real-life examples of doors that have opened, how they have opened, and perhaps, most importantly, how you can open your own doors, too. 

*Sabrina Faber is an international education professional who has managed a number of international exchange programs including the prestigious U.S. Department of State  Fulbright Foreign Student program for students from Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. She has also worked with Thomas Jefferson Fellows from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, and Yemen. Most recently Ms. Faber has worked with professionals from Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in exchanges to the U.S.  Visit http://planetecole.blogspot.com to embark upon the international education journey.

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