Costa Rica promotes its higher education offer in NAFSA 2024

• The event brings more than 10,000 professionals together from more than 110 countries in a space dedicated to networking.
• Costa Rica is the first destination in Latin America for students from the "Study Abroad" program.

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, June 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- From May 28 to 31, 2024, a Costa Rican delegation participated in the NAFSA 2024 trade fair, which took place in New Orleans, United States. This event, targeting the higher education sector, focuses on the internationalization of educational services, providing a meeting platform for universities, lecturers, and professionals from academia.

The Costa Rican delegation is lead by the Trade and Investment Promotion Agency of Costa Rica (PROCOMER), together with Universidad LCI Veritas [LCI Veritas University], Universidad Internacional de las Américas (UIA) [Americas International University], Universidad Central (UC) [Central University], Universidad Hispanoamericana (UH) [Hispano-American University], Universidad Latinoamericana de Ciencia y Tecnología (ULACIT) [Latin American University of Science and Technology], Universidad Internacional San Isidro Labrador (UISIL) [San Isidro Labrador International University], Universidad Santa Paula (USP) [Santa Paula University], ILISA Language School, Texas Tech University (TTU), Universidad de Ciencias Médicas (UCIMED) [Medical Sciences University], and the globalEdu Consortium. These institutions presented their offer in the esencial Costa Rica stand under the "Study in Costa Rica" concept.

Mario Sáenz, Export Development Manager of PROCOMER, highlighted: "At PROCOMER, we recognize the importance of positioning Costa Rican universities in international markets. Costa Rica's participation in trade fairs like NAFSA 2024 is fundamental in order to create strategic partnerships and promote the internationalization of our educational services. This opens doors to the mobility of students and lecturers, double majors and collaborations in research, thus strengthening our academic offering."

The participation in NAFSA 2024 included a business agenda for each institution, with meetings planned with entities such as the University of Central Florida, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin and Bucharest University of Economic Studies, among others.

Alejandra Barahona, Director of LCI Education Study Abroad in Universidad LCI Veritas, commented: "Our objective is to position Costa Rica as the main destination for climate action discussions and initiatives during the NAFSA conference, highlighting our commitment to sustainability and innovative environmental practices."

NAFSA 2024 is the ideal event for those responsible for the internationalization of educational services to meet with existing and potential partners, and for promoting initiatives such as Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), programs lead by faculties, exchanges, and internships. With the assistance of more than 10,000 professionals from more than 110 countries, this event represents a unique opportunity for international collaboration and expansion.

Jean Carlo Monge, Director of International Affairs of Universidad Central, added: "We want to bring Ucentral and its students knowledge in global environments. Our focus as a higher education institution is to provide our students with the professional tools to deal with the adversities of the future. We thank PROCOMER for its help in this process. Over the last 3 years of working with them, we have been able to train students in global environments."

From the first time it participated in 2014, PROCOMER has been promoting Costa Rican educational excellence through these types of global events, reaffirming the country's commitment to quality and innovation in higher education.

During this participation in NAFSA 2024, more than 50 business appointments were set up between Costa Rican institutions and strategic actors from the sector.

SOURCE PROCOMER