The University of The Bahamas (UB) is among 14 recipients of a 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund Grant.
UB, in partnership with Mississippi State University (MSU) and the University of The West Indies Open Campus, St. Kitts and Nevis, will develop a bilateral exchange study abroad program that advances coastal and climate sciences. The partnership will enhance existing MSU faculty-led study abroad programs, establish the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network -- a climate citizen science program -- and create pathways for students to gain a deeper understanding of global climate and marine environmental changes and how those processes affect coastal communities.
This is the first Innovation Fund grant competition sponsored by NAFSA: Association of International Educators and CAF Development Bank of Latin America and will facilitate 14 new higher education partnerships between the United States, Central America and the Caribbean.
The grants will provide new exchange and training opportunities for students in agriculture and food security, business, education, environment, language and culture, media communications, public health, technology and tourism.
The 14 Innovation Fund grants between higher education institutions in the United States, Central America and the Caribbean will provide groundbreaking exchange programs that allow students to work in teams, gain technical skills and become more competent for the 21st century workforce.
Innovation Fund grants are up to $25,000 each, and grant-winning teams contribute additional resources to leverage and implement sustainable, short-term study abroad programs in the Western Hemisphere.
The U.S. Department of State, Partners of the Americas and NAFSA: Association of International Educators announced the latest 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund grant winners sponsored by NAFSA and CAF Development Bank of Latin America in honor of NAFSA's retired executive director and CEO, Marlene Johnson. Johnson's public policy leadership resulted in NAFSA becoming a founding partner in the initiative. This donation recognizes Johnson's leadership in increasing and diversifying study abroad and her commitment to strengthening relations within the Americas through international education.
The goal of 100,000 Strong in the Americas -- the leading education initiative in the Western Hemisphere -- is to increase the annual number of U.S. students studying in Latin America and the Caribbean to 100,000 and to bring 100,000 students to the United States by 2020.
Innovation Fund grants fuel partnerships between higher education institutions in the United States and the rest of the Western Hemisphere to create new student exchange and training programs. Innovation Fund grants build institutional capacity, increase student mobility, provide more student exchange opportunities and enhance regional education cooperation in the Americas.

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