Engage with Virtual Exchange
Providing opportunities to get involved
Vision
The Stevens Initiative aims to give every young person the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to prosper in an increasingly interconnected world.
Approach
Virtual exchange uses online technology to connect young people around the world to learn and work together so they can build marketable global competencies and deepen their understanding of and ability to engage with people from other backgrounds.
Engage
There are several ways to get involved in virtual exchange through the Stevens Initiative. We encourage you to review the different pathways below to find the option that best fits your needs.
Join a Program
Schools, districts, postsecondary institutions, and nonprofit organizations can express interest in having young people participate in a virtual exchange program implemented by a Stevens Initiative grantee. Joining an existing program allows institutions and educators to benefit from the grantee’s content, partnership network, technology, facilitation training, and other forms of guidance and support and can be a great way to have a first experience with virtual exchange.
United States, Morocco, and United Arab Emirates: Design with a Partner
Educational institutions and nonprofit organizations in the United States, Morocco, or the United Arab Emirates can propose to design a virtual exchange program. The Stevens Initiative provides a matching and co-designing process to assist potential partners with co-creating quality virtual exchange programs that connect youth in Morocco or the United Arab Emirates with youth in the United States. It is important to note that the institutions in Morocco and the United Arab Emirates serve as the prime during the application and negotiation process. (The prime manages the grant funds and handles all associated administrative tasks.)
Download the Expanded ‘Design With a Partner’ Pathway Chart PDF
Apply for a Grant
The Stevens Initiative runs competitions to give grants to educational institutions and nonprofit organizations that administer virtual exchange programs connecting youth in the United States and the MENA region.
The Initiative will open its next grant competition in July 2020, and applications will be due in October 2020. There will not be a Letters of Interest portion of the application process. and virtual exchange activities will begin in fall 2021.
Sign up for our newsletter to receive the competition announcement and other grant-related information.
Attend an Event
Info Sessions
Info Sessions are half-day presentations (in-person or online) providing an introduction to virtual exchange, the Stevens Initiative, and basic steps for getting involved in a program or starting a new one.Workshops
Workshops are two-day in-depth trainings during which attendees learn about several critical aspects of successful virtual exchange programs, such as international partnerships, facilitation and facilitator training, and monitoring and evaluation.Webinars
Webinars are hour-long online, panels, interviews, or presentations on a range of topics such as different approaches to virtual exchange, evaluating virtual exchange programs, and using virtual exchange as part of campus internationalization.Upcoming Events
February 27, 2020
Stevens Initiative Info Session (U.S.)
Info Sessions are online presentations providing an introduction to virtual exchange, the Stevens Initiative, and basic steps for getting involved in a program or starting a new one. This session, open to anyone but designed with U.S. audience members in mind, will also briefly touch on the “Design with a…
March 19, 2020
Webinar: Join a Stevens Initiative Program
Virtual exchange is an innovative educational tool that advances learning goals and makes youth more globally aware. Representatives of four distinct virtual exchange programs will share about the daily implementation and impact of their programming. During this webinar, panelists will provide information and discuss opportunities to engage Stevens Initiative-funded virtual…
June 17, 2020
Stevens Initiative Info Session (MENA)
Info Sessions are online presentations providing an introduction to virtual exchange, the Stevens Initiative, and basic steps for getting involved in a program or starting a new one. This session, open to anyone but designed with MENA region audience members in mind, will address key virtual exchange elements, ways to…
Explore Resources
The Stevens Initiative has created and collected several tools and resources, including publications and presentation recordings, to help anyone interested in virtual exchange learn how to design and run their own virtual exchange program.