Creating the Citizens of the Future: How Global Education is Critical to Success

By Liza Manoussis and Raymond Aaron

Creating the Citizens of the Future: How Global Education is Critical to Success is a tour guide for those individuals who want to study internationally but are unsure about the process and what to expect once they arrive in their host country. Liza Manoussis, the founder of Global Education, shares her journey of international travel and the value of studying internationally.

This guide walks you through applying for international study, what to expect, and ways to prepare before entering your host country. Liza also shares some of the challenges of studying internationally and tips to make the most of your experiences. Her honest approach gives you the tools to benefit from an international study, allowing it to shape you or your student into a leader for the future. Creating the Citizens of the Future is also full of practical tips for first-time international students and covers areas including handling homesickness and exploring your host country.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781772774191

Book preview

Author

Chapter 1

Expanding Your World Through International Education

1

Parents around the world are looking for the best way to educate their children and broaden their horizons. For some families, this includes looking outside of their home countries to colleges and universities abroad. The costs can be challenging, but for many families, making those sacrifices is critical to what they believe is their children’s future success and their communities.

For instance, more impoverished communities worldwide are looking for options to bring skills and knowledge into their area. They believe that educating their children, especially abroad, will bring skills and knowledge back to their hometowns, and the whole community will benefit. Why go abroad? There are so many benefits, including jumpstarting a career in your home country or the global marketplace, plus the experience of a different educational system from the one in which you grew up. The world has become a global village. Cross-cultural communication and international learning opportunities put students into the position of taking on leadership roles far beyond what you might have dreamed.

The old, established learning methods are no longer adequate to meet the international business community’s needs. Three main drivers are challenging educational institutions today: globalization, mobility of the population and demographic shifts, and the technology revolution. In both developed and developing countries, economies are looking for leaders with globalized knowledge skills, such as cross-culture interpersonal skills, creativity, innovation, and problem-solving, rather than those repetitive, focused skills of the past economies.

There is tremendous pressure on existing institutions, which cannot cope with the demands for education. In South Africa, for instance, there are ongoing shortages of openings in the universities. That shortage was highlighted in 2012 when prospective university applicants stampeded the University of Johannesburg’s gates. One applicant’s mother was killed, and dozens more were injured. The incident occurred during a late application period, highlighting the restricted access to higher education. Nearly 11,000 applicants arrived to vie for a limited number of available spots, just 800 to be precise.

To ensure their application was received, individuals camped out in line. For students in developed countries worldwide, higher education is not seen as a privilege but a right. Yet for countries whose higher education institutions are overwhelmed by demand, their whole educational system feels on the verge of collapse. South Africa’s universities often have double the applicants for the seats available, while vocational schools find themselves with vacancies. Families see a university education as a means to give their children an advantage, providing opportunities to climb the ladder out of poverty. The country also faces the challenge of increasing the number of educational opportunities for its black majority population, many of whom see little material change in their lives, despite apartheid coming to an end.

South Africa’s public education system also deals with multiple challenges and often fails to produce literate, skilled citizens consistently. With the high unemployment rates among young South Africans, the university is seen as more than just studying a particular curriculum. It is future employment and financial opportunity. However, the picture in South Africa is being repeated in countries around the world. Demand for viable economic opportunities has driven parents to educate their children, even sending them to school internationally.

Is a whole generation going to lose out because we are unwilling to grasp that education is transforming, like it or not? High-performance systems in Finland, South Korea, and Canada are turning to new ways of learning. Other nations, such as Brazil and India, have rapidly developing systems and find radical ways of learning that look to the future, rather than hanging onto the past. I am not putting down the local education systems because they face multiple challenges that can make it difficult for them to shift, but merely reflecting on the international community’s new demands.

As a global society, we need to realize that the existing educational systems are insufficient, and it is not a problem limited to just one or two countries. Addressing that issue, many families are seeking host countries and their university educational systems for their children. My team has provided a resource for these families, giving them guidance and tools throughout the application and work-study visa process. It brings tears to my eyes when I meet up with former students who have returned to their home countries and whose lives have changed by pursuing international education. It warms my heart to know that I played a part in their journey.

Ultimately, everyone has unlimited potential, and education releases that potential. International education closes the opportunity gap, and as I said before, you can jumpstart a career search (be it back home or abroad). With the internet providing multiple ways to access education, governments and universities are no longer the only way that people can tap into their potential through education. Global education is leveraging technology and other resources to provide education to anyone that wants it.

I have enjoyed the opportunities of traveling abroad, whether for education, business, or personally. I can appreciate the feelings of parents looking to give their children opportunities, even if it means sending them halfway around the world. Before I dive into why I spend my life helping students and their families navigate the challenges and exciting opportunities that come from choosing an education abroad, I want to share my journey and how education played a critical role in building my business.

From Sudan to Zimbabwe

I was born in Sudan. My parents were of Greek origin, which meant international travel was already in my blood. My father was born in Russia, and my mother in Sudan. Our family’s tie to Greece was such that we have only ever had Greek passports. Shortly after I was born, my father was given just 24 hours to leave the country. My parents went home to Greece, where they remained for two years before moving to Zimbabwe.

Growing up in Zimbabwe, my parents still infused the Greek culture into every aspect of our lives. I remember watching the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and laughing hysterically because of the similarity to my upbringing. By 18, I was married, and by 19, I was a mother. I had wanted to be a pharmacist, but my parents would not allow me to go back to school, so I ended up taking an executive secretarial course instead.

At 21, I had my second son. We had no means of paying private school fees since my husband earned a small salary and I was unemployed. Since we had received the best private school education possible, I wanted the same for my children. I was distressed and voiced my concerns to my parents. At the time, my father sat on the board of the Harare Hellenic Community. He informed me that a position was available as Executive Assistant to the Headmaster. I had just completed an IATA diploma in my spare time and was currently unemployed. My father encouraged me to apply, knowing that would give me the means to pay for my son’s’ tuition.

When I met with the headmaster, he admitted that he did not have a good reputation for keeping a PA, but said that he would give me a chance if I gave him one. I ended up being employed at the school for eleven years. That job provided free education for my children. Imagine how much stress that job took off my shoulders, allowing me to enjoy watching them grow and receiving the kind of education that would benefit them for years to come. While I was there, one of the school teachers wanted to send her son to Australia to continue his education.

I recall