Article .::. UCLA International Institute

By Peggy McInerny, Director of Communications

UCLA leaders recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Erasmus University Rotterdam for a diversity, equity and inclusion student exchange program. They also met with staff from the U.S. Embassy in The Hague, where they discussed the Netherlands-America Foundation's student internship program and other collaborative educational initiatives.

UCLA International Institute, October 30, 2024 — During a recent visit to Europe, Cindy Fan, vice provost for international studies and global engagement, joined a delegation of UCLA leaders to sign a memorandum of understanding with Erasmus University Rotterdamor EUR, for a visiting student program on diversity, equity and inclusion.

“With this partnership, we are strengthening cooperation between UCLA and EUR and creating international opportunities for traditionally underrepresented students,” Fan said. “International education is so important because the world is interconnected, because global challenges require global collaboration, and because international experience makes you more competitive in the job market.

“I believe that every student should have the opportunity to have an international experience,” she concluded.

The new visits program, scheduled to launch in June 2025, will allow students from diverse backgrounds – including first-generation and traditionally underrepresented students – from Erasmus and UCLA to travel to the abroad to participate in conferences and workshops on equity, diversity and inclusion. Over time, it is anticipated that the program will expand to include staff exchanges as well as collaborative academic research on these key elements of educational access.

UCLA was represented at the October 17, 2024 signing ceremony in Rotterdam by Fan, alongside Charles Alexander, associate vice provost for student diversity and director of UCLA Academic Advancement Programor AAP; Claudia Salcedo, director of UCLA Center for Community College Partnerships; and Ifeoma Amah, director of peer learning at the UCLA AAP.

EUR was represented by Professor Annelien Bredenoordpresident of the university executive council; Teacher Jane Murray Crammresponsible for diversity; a representative sample of students; and university staff and leadership Academic Outreach Program And International office.

“This wonderful partnership also crowns and recognizes the efforts of our IDEA Center and Academic Outreach Program,” Cramm said. “We will work with enthusiasm and energy on important issues with the leaders of tomorrow… and we [look] looking forward to welcoming the first group of UCLA students in June! »

“The student exchange with Erasmus University will give first-generation, low-income and underrepresented AAP students the opportunity to study social justice issues and experience the Netherlands from a cultural perspective ” said Alexander. “Students in this demographic rarely have the opportunity to participate in study abroad programs due to cost or family obligations. This will be a transformative experience for them and will hopefully lead them to explore more study abroad opportunities.

The MOU between UCLA and EUR grew out of a long history of collaborative programs and visits on issues of diversity, equity and educational access between UCLA and Dutch university leaders, led by Alexander and Abel Valenzueladean of social sciences at UCLA.

A 2016 visit to UCLA by the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science and a delegation of Dutch education specialists also helped advance collaboration between UCLA and the Netherlands. Down. Among other activities, the delegation met with students from a local community college that participates in UCLA's Center for Community College Partnerships, or CCCP; learned how the CCCP office works and how they train student mentors; and discussed diversity initiatives at UCLA with Bruin’s diversity leadership team.

At the U.S. Embassy in the Netherlands (left to right) — Front row: Charles Alexander, Cindy Fan,
Ms. LaTrina Reed Alexander. Second row: Claudia Salcedo, Mary Tupan-Wenno, Mary Rodeghier Martin
(Deputy Advisor for Public Diplomacy, U.S. Mission to the Netherlands). Back row: Ifeoma Amah,
Charles Hornstra (Regional Director, EducationUSA) and Anthony Richards (Videographer).

During their visit to the Netherlands in October 2024, Vice Provost Fan and the UCLA delegation also met with education specialists at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague to consider a number of initiatives aimed at strengthening research and education collaboration between the two countries. These initiatives include the new program with Erasmus University Rotterdam and an internship program The Netherlands-America Foundation.

THE USA2Holland Internship Scholarship funds high-achieving, low-income American students to complete a summer internship at a Dutch company. US competitive scholarship students receive direct financial support of US$10,000 (paid as a monthly stipend), travel reimbursement and visa assistance. The scholarship program is designed to give underrepresented students access to an international internship that can both enhance their professional qualifications and broaden their global perspective without financial worries.

Applications for the 2025 USA2Holland Summer Internship Scholarship are open until December 1, 2024. Applicants must be enrolled as a full-time student at a U.S. college or university (or be a recent graduate), have at least a 3.0 GPA and meet a few additional requirements detailed on the application site.

Published: Wednesday October 30, 2024