EducationUSA in Portugal, located within the Fulbright Commission in Lisbon, and the U.S. Embassy, partnered with American Corners from the universities of FCT-Nova, IST and FLUL, to participate in Futurália, the largest educational and job fair in the country that annually attracts up to 50,000 students, parents and teachers. Representatives from ten U.S. colleges and universities attended Futurália on March 19, spoke with potential Portuguese students and presented their programs. Approximately 1,000 students visited the EducationUSA booth at the fair and approximately 250 met directly with the U.S. university representatives.
On May 18, Deputy Chief of Mission John Olson held a reception in his residence for key senior university contacts, Fulbright and EducationUSA staff, EducationUSA’s Regional Education Advising Coordinator (REAC) Cheryl Francisconi, and the delegation from ten U.S. colleges and universities. In remarks to the visiting delegation and other guests, John Olson observed: “There is increasing amount of student exchanges between our countries. The most recent Open Doors report shows an increase of 4.3% in Portuguese studying in the U.S. and a 62% jump in the number of Americans studying in Portugal. Nevertheless, there are excellent opportunities for still more, and these numbers show that there is increased awareness and interest in bilateral educational exchanges.” Public Affairs Officer Mark Pannell also noted that “promoting educational exchanges is a top priority for the U.S. Embassy, and we are lucky to have such great partners here in Portugal to assist in that endeavor.”
REAC Francisconi led the U.S. delegation that visited Portugal to promote their educational institutions at both a mini-education fair at Oeiras International School and at Futurália. This is the third year in a row that the Embassy and EducationUSA jointly hosted an EducationUSA delegation of U.S. universities. The universities that comprised the delegation included:
- Diablo Valley College
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
- Hult International Business School
- Lewis–Clark State College
- Minerva Schools at KGI
- New York University Tandon School of Engineering
- Saint Louis University
- San José State University
- Shoreline Community College
- University of California, Irvine
EducationUSA assists students interested in studying in the United States identify universities that offer the programs of interest to the students, as well as potential scholarships, and facilitating the application process. More information about EducationUSA in Portugal can be found here.
