ECEDHA Annual Meeting

1. ECEDHA Annual Meeting Plenary Panel Session: "International Strategies - What are They Doing in Europe, Asia, and The Americas? Session Organizer and Moderator: Ken Jenkins, Pennsylvania State University 3/19/2007 Victor DeBrunner, Professor and Chair, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering

2. Reasons from a Student: • For a long time tertiary education was not free in the Caribbean. Therefore, students who didn't receive national scholarships and could not afford to attend our local universities would pursue academic and athletic scholarships abroad. Due to the very open policy the U.S. has with many countries, especially Caribbean nations, it is easier to attend a college in the U.S. as opposed to, for instance, European countries. Another issue is that the U.S. is one of the few countries which offer funding to international students. • Now that countries like Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados offer free tertiary education to its citizens, many of the students who come to the U.S. are those pursuing athletic careers in track and field, swimming, soccer, gymnastics and other sporting disciplines since there are more recognized competitions in the U.S. and around the world than in the Caribbean. • There are also many opportunities for research and development here in the U.S. as opposed to the Caribbean. The infrastructure here is already in place for persons to make ground breaking advances in technology and science. The framework for this to be done in the Caribbean is in its fetal stage and therefore good talent from the Caribbean tend to come to other countries to develop their ideas and contribute to the body of information that is out there.

3. Latin American – Caribbean (LAC) Scholarship at FSU Pursuant to Florida Statute 1009.21, graduate students who are citizens from Latin America and Caribbean (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) who have been awarded a non-duty scholarship, from the U.S. federal government or the State of Florida government, of a minimum of $500 per academic year (fall and spring semesters) may be eligible to be designated as Latin American Caribbean Scholarship recipients. FSU Foundation funds may NOT be used for a Latin American Caribbean (LAC) Scholarship. A Latin American – Caribbean Scholarship recipient will be classified a Florida resident for tuition purposes only. LAC Scholarship recipients must be awarded an additional $500 scholarship in order to retain Florida resident status for the summer terms. Students who, for any reason, lose their LAC scholarship status will revert to out-of-state tuition classification. Citizens from the following countries are eligible: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao & Bonaire, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Granada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turk & Caicos Islands, Uruguay, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Venezuela.

4. Latin American – Caribbean (LAC) Scholarship at FSU LAC Scholarship recipients must be registered graduate students in good academic standing at The Florida State University or a prospective graduate student who has been admitted to the university. Each awarding unit may set additional criteria for new and renewal scholarships. Full time enrollment status hours per semester for graduate students) must be maintained. Under-enrollment must be approved the academic dean and meet immigration requirements. Note: Graduate or research assistantships do not fulfill the definition of scholarship. Recipients who change majors graduate and begin a second degree program must reapply for the LAC scholarship. LAC Scholarships may be granted for the student’s full academic program ($500 minimum per academic year; $500 minimum for the summer terms). If a LAC recipient withdraws from the university, scholarship is cancelled.

5. How is it obtained? To receive the LAC Scholarship status, the qualified student must obtain a memo from the student’s academic dean, written to the University Registrar, indicating the student is from Latin America or Caribbean (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), receiving a minimum scholarship of $500 per academic year, and noting that the student is eligible for classification as a Florida resident for tuition purposes only. This memo should be copied to the Office of Graduate Admissions, the Dean of Graduate Studies, the International Center, the Office of Financial Aid and the Office of the Registrar. For more information, please contact the Office of Graduate Studies at 850.644.3500, the International Center at 850.644.1702, the Office of Graduate Admissions at 850.644.3420, or the Office of Registrar at 850.644.1050. Florida Statute 1009.21 can be viewed at: http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch1009/ch1009.htm

6. Students in the CoE from Caribbean and South America

7. Additional Opportunities • Engineering in Brazil • One month summer program, joint with University of Nebraska • At Fortaleza • Global Experiences in Engineering 3cr, Portuguese Language and Brazilian Culture, + a selection of basic engineering courses (e.g. numerical methods, statistics, and finite elements)