- published: 10 Feb 2015
- views: 7531
Student exchange programs are the most common form of intercultural exchange. Student exchange programs are educational and cultural opportunities for high school and university students to live, study and work abroad. Most exchange programs are either conducted through governmental organizations, such as the German Academic Exchange Service or Fulbright, or private organizations, such as the Experiment in International Living. But exchanges may also occur on a partner institution basis between universities or sister city relationships. During such exchange programs students live in host families or on college campuses where they are exposed to the host country’s culture and language. Most governments encourage student exchange programs as a form of public diplomacy. Not only the academic and social development of the individual student plays a significant role in exchange programs, but also the foreign policy interest of each country that sends or receives exchange students.Cultural diplomacy, of which student exchanges form a subcategory, is closely connected with the concept of ‘branding.’ “It may be assumed that the basic principles in building the brand of a country are the same as the commercial sphere of identity building.” Exchange programs present an excellent opportunity for students to visit and live in different countries and gain crucial experiences and skills for their later careers. However, the ‘branding’process during the exchange experience is linked with a country’s long-term economic progress, exports, tourism and direct investments.Moreover, student exchange programs have also served as political tools to foster new relations and as in the case of Germany after 1945, develop a new political culture through “reorientation.”