The Afghan Higher Education Exchange Program meets with Ambassador Hakimi

Washington, D.C. (May 11, 2012) — Thirteen participants of the Afghan Higher Education Exchange Program visited the Embassy while in Washington, D.C. and spoke with Ambassador Hakimi and other diplomats about opportunities and challenges facing the university system in Afghanistan. The 18-day, three city exchange program was sponsored by the Bureau of South and Central Asian affairs at the Department of State and designed and implemented by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

The group discussed Afghan student studies in the U.S. and ways to encourage US academic institutions to provide more scholarships for Afghan students, as well as develop affiliations between Afghan and American Universities.

According to the IIE, the trip enables “Afghan higher education officials to travel to the U.S. to learn best practices for facilitating university growth, build professional networks and strengthen leadership skills.” Once the officials return to Afghanistan after visiting higher education institutions in Washington, D.C.; Denver, Colorado; and San Francisco, California, they will impart the lessons learned on the trip to their home institutions and help them prosper in Afghanistan’s quickly changing education sector.

Participants included high ranking members of the Ministry of Higher Education and chancellors from different Afghan Universities.

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