LAU’s Study Abroad program: a learning opportunity for all
The Office of International Services starts its enrollment in programs that will take students around Europe and further afield.
From Scandinavia to Southern Europe and the U.S., students enrolled in exchange programs discover new teaching methods, new landscapes, new cultures.
Study Abroad also offers a great opportunity to make friends from different horizons.
A life-changing experience, an eye-opener, a discovery of the world and of oneself. These are some of the words chosen by the students to describe the exchange programs they took part in. “Now I truly understand the quote: ‘Life begins at the end of your comfort zone,’” says LAU Political Science student, Tatiana Karam, who spent the fall of 2015 at Sciences Po, Paris.
Copenhagen, London, Porto, Berkeley, New York are also among a long list of host cities that LAU students have visited over the years through the different exchange programs offered at the university. Since 2010, when the study abroad program was launched, the number of institutional partners and agreements between LAU and international universities has been increasing steadily. So far, more than 200 students have benefited from this initiative which includes LAU students travelling abroad as well as foreign students spending a semester at LAU.
As highlighted by Dina Abdul Rahman, international associate program manager at the LAU Office of International Services, “although exchange programs have been a renowned academic practice for years in the West, they are relatively new in the MENA region.”
The student exchange program “changes students’ lives and broadens their world,” states Elise Salem, vice president of Student Development and Enrollment Management. “Our students return to LAU with a more committed sense of their education and a more engaged view of their future.”
To expand his horizons, marketing student Houssam Hamdan chose to attend the Institut Supérieur du Commerce -School of Management in Paris. “This was an opportunity to learn from professors from different cultures and with different teaching styles. I could also interact with local students and make new friends.”
For foreign students who spent time studying at LAU, the experience was equally life-changing. Sciences Po student Nacim Bouamama, describes his full year in Beirut as stimulating and unforgettable. “I recommend everybody to come to Lebanon and study at LAU,” he says. “I return to France with wonderful images and delightful memories.”
Abdul Rahman is keen to note that the most amazing thing for her is witnessing the transformation in the students. “Every time I bid farewell to students and welcome them back, four months later, as mature young individuals who have gained lots of self-confidence and independence. I am so impressed and proud of them all.”
The application process for LAU’s spring 2017 exchange programs is open (deadline September 20). Click here for more information.
Don’t miss the Study Abroad promotional days held on both campuses as follows:
Byblos campus: Tuesday September 6, 2016, Fountain area, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
Beirut campus: Wednesday September 7, 2016, Upper Gate area, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
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