2020 Study of the U.S. Institute (SUSI) for Student Leaders on Social Entrepreneurship

Candidate applications now being accepted from first through third year undergraduate students from colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher education, who demonstrate leadership through academic work, community involvement, and extracurricular activities.

Program Overview:

The Fulbright Commission in Chile, on behalf of the U.S. Embassy in Santiago, is seeking outstanding Chilean university students to participate in a short-term academic exchange program to learn how entrepreneurial skills can address social issues.  Program dates are January 11 until February 15, 2020.  The Institute will host a group of up to 20 students from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay.  The Institute will be conducted in English and will be hosted at the Institute for Training and Development (ITD) in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Application forms must be completed online here.  Send supplemental documents (concentración de notas over your university program up until now, awards, and one letter of recommendation from a professor at a higher education institution) in ONE email to SUSI2020Chile@gmail.com. Deadline for applying is 11:59 PM on Sunday, September 22, 2019.  Applications received after this deadline will NOT be accepted.

Program Description:

Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSIs) for Student Leaders are intensive short-term academic programs whose purpose is to provide groups of undergraduate student leaders with a deeper understanding of the United States while simultaneously enhancing their leadership skills.  The five-week Institutes consist of a balanced series of seminar discussions, readings, group presentations, and lectures.  The coursework and classroom activities are complemented by educational travel, site visits, leadership activities, and volunteer opportunities within the local community. The Institutes include an academic residency component of approximately four weeks and a domestic study tour of approximately one week.  During the academic residency, participants also have the opportunity to engage in educational and cultural activities outside of the classroom.

The four-week academic residency will provide participants with an overview of how entrepreneurial skills can address social issues.  The Institute will review the development, history, challenges, and successes of social enterprises and community leaders, in the United States and globally.  The program will give participants a foundation in how to employ entrepreneurial skills to address social issues and will provide unique opportunities to meet with diverse community leaders and social entrepreneurs.  The Institute will address topics such as organizational development and management, business ethics, negotiations, emerging markets and risk analysis, microfinance, corporate social responsibility, strategic business planning and innovation, and women and minorities in entrepreneurship.  The academic residency will be complemented by an educational tour that will take participants to Arizona. Throughout the Institute, participants will meet with local, state, private, and not-for-profit organizations working in the field.  They will also be challenged to create follow up community projects to implement in their home communities upon returning to their countries of origin.

The program will conclude in Washington, DC, where participants will have the opportunity to meet with other peers from Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru who are participating in another Institute. To apply, please go to the Fulbright official website.