Dear CLS advisors,

We hope you are doing well this summer and staying cool. You may have seen the exciting news already on social media or our website, but we are pleased to offer a new overseas opportunity for CLS alumni for the very first time – the CLS International Alumni Seminar series! Alumni will choose between two seminars: Media Literacy and Democracy in South Korea and STEM Entrepreneurship in Brazil. 

Each overseas seminar will host up to 25 CLS alumni for a hands-on and interactive week featuring topic experts, site visits, cultural activities, and opportunities to foster professional networks of alumni engaged in key U.S./Department of State foreign policy goals. We hope our advisor community can help us share the word about this exceptional opportunity to alumni, particularly those interested or pursuing careers in the seminar topics. 

This new initiative is funded and open to CLS alumni of all years and languages. Students must have completed their CLS Program or CLS Spark prior to this summer to qualify as an alumni. If you are still in contact with CLS alumni from your institution, we hope you will consider sharing the text below:

Hello,
I hope you are doing well! As an alum of the CLS Program, I wanted to bring your attention to a new professional development opportunity CLS is offering – the International Alumni Seminar Series.

• Media Literacy and Democracy in South Korea
  Participants will examine the challenges facing democracy in complex geopolitical landscapes through engagement with the partner institute, Chonnam National University (CNU), and the larger community including meeting with local scholars and experts. In addition to learning about South Korea’s efforts to combat disinformation and to promote media literacy education, seminar participants will also further their professional networks both with Korean counterparts and among fellow seminar participants.
• STEM Entrepreneurship in Brazil 
  Participants will learn about STEM-focused entrepreneurship in Rio de Janeiro through engagement with the partner institute, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), and within the larger community. The seminar will focus on business and entrepreneurship in medical, environmental, and technical fields, and how these topics intersect with social issues.  PUC-Rio’s current institutional focus is on biodomes, including in the Amazon and PUC-Rio's leadership in the field of STEM Entrepreneurship is supported by the university’s Center for Science, Technology, and Innovation and an on-campus start-up incubator. 

The application is open now and will close on August 8th at 11:59 PM ET. Additional information and the link to apply can be found on the CLS website: https://clscholarship.org/news/2024/cls-international-alumni-seminars 

If you have any questions on the seminars or how to apply, please contact: clsalumni@americancouncils.org.

Sincerely,
Caitlin Ting
Assistant Manager, Outreach and Selection