International Student Recruitment 2023-2024

India

At the start of every Fall semester, while university campuses are filled with fun activities and excitement, college recruiters from all over the US traditionally travel to India and the South Asia subcontinent to engage with prospective students. This last year, our ISS Assistant Director Daing Nasir traveled to visit high schools and college fairs in Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Ahmedabad, Surat, Ajmer, Jaipur, and Bangalore. Per the annual Open Doors Report in the 2021–2022 academic year, 199,182 Indian students were studying in the United States contributing approximately 21 percent of the total foreign student population. Of this group, 13.8 percent are undergraduate students, 51.2 percent are graduate students, and 34.2 percent are classified as pursuing OPT (Optional Practical Training). During the 2021-2022 academic year, the number of Indian students in the United States increased by 19 percent (USCS Education & Training Resource Guide, 2023-2024).

We are committed to participate in engagement activities in the Indian subcontinent market, so students have access to top academic programs that the University of Wyoming has to offer.

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates has devised a “National Strategy for Higher Education 2030” that seeks to equip future generations of students with technical and practical skills to strengthen the labor market. In line with this mission, ISS visited American University Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) last September where UW collaboratively currently runs a 3+2 program where students from AURAK can graduate with a BS from AURAK and MS in Petroleum Engineering with us. In the past 2 years of visiting AURAK, we have received 5 students from this institution. While there, we also participated in a college fair with Wayne State University to meet with prospective students. Here, Daing is seen giving a talk to the campus community and meeting with AURAK’s latest President, Dr. David A. Schmidt.

In the summer of 2024, esteemed alumni and AURAK Petroleum Engineering faculty Assoc. Professor Dr. Saad Balhasan Aljazwe returned our visits by meeting with ISS Director Jill Johnson and Daing to talk about future collaborative efforts between AURAK and UW. To date, Dr. Saad has worked virtually with UW students and co-authored with other faculty including our very own Dr. Reza Taheri in a journal article entitled “A Novel Pedagogical Approach for Sustainable Green Education in Engineering Education: A Digital Global Classroom Using Collaborative Online International Learning.” With the support of both AURAK and UW leadership, we are excited for what the future holds for both institutions.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

As official representatives of US institutions abroad, EducationUSA are the frontliners that engage with key decision makers whether they are students, parents, or counselors in choosing the right US institution to attend. By participating in the EducationUSA South & Central Asia Forum in 2023, the University of Wyoming strategically placed itself in emerging markets and leaders in higher education across the region. During this time, Daing represented the University of Wyoming alongside the University of Tennessee and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a training workshop with EducationUSA advisors from across the region in a session entitled “Off the Beaten Path in the United States: Unveiling Hidden Gems.” The forum also executed a reverse fair where EducationUSA advisors displayed their home countries and provided information to university representatives on in-country recruiting and partnership opportunities.

During his time there, Daing also connected with UW Faculty Enrichment Program alums Mr. Murodullo Bazarov of Westminster International University Tashkent and Dr. Markhoba Saidova of Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers (TIIAME). They helped him run the UW booth at the EducationUSA college fair, meeting with prospective students and parents. The college fair was a huge success attended by over 1,000 students and parents from across Uzbekistan. Our alums played an important role in explaining about UW and our programs in the Uzbek language and Russian.

Jakarta, Indonesia

In Fall 2022, Global Engagement Office cultivated a partnership with Jakarta International College (JIC), Indonesia to bring undergraduate transfer students to UW in an array of disciplines. Through this partnership, we have received 27 transfer sponsored students from the Papuan Provincial Government that attended JIC.

In collaboration with JIC, ISS returned to coordinate a pre-departure orientation with five students that would arrive for the Spring and discussed about UW receiving more students for Summer 2024. While in Jakarta, we also visited Binus Simprug, Binus Serpong, Dyatmika School, SMA Semesta, AIS Jakarta, Jakarta Nanyang, and National High Jakarta School. During a high school counselor and Indonesian universities forum, we met with over 40 counselors and university officials from across the Indonesian archipelago.

We also participated in a 2-day college fair at the Pullman Hotel in Jakarta Central Park. We are grateful that our ISS team was assisted by Dr. Christy Wulandari from our YSEALI (Young South East Asian Leadership Initiative) 2023 cohort to talk to students about UW during both days at the college fair! At UW, Dr. Christy worked with Dean Dr. Kem Kruger and Dr. Reshmi Singh to expand her research in indigenous health and health equity causes. With this experience, coupled with her top notch academic credentials, Dr. Christy has received admission into a graduate program at Harvard University for fall 2024. We are proud and wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

Penang & Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

To kick off 2024, ISS visited our partners in Penang and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In Kuala Lumpur we visited Sunway University, INTI University, Methodist College Kuala Lumpur (MCKL), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), and Hibiscus International School. Sunway and INTI have had a long history in sending students to UW for decades. American Degree Transfer Programs are integral to US higher education in sending transfer students from not only Malaysia but also the Southeast Asia region. In Penang, Daing ran a scholarships workshop with EducationUSA Penang and visited INTI Penang, Chung Ling High School and Dalat International School. Small world—at Dalat, Daing met with an admitted student and her mother who are originally from Castle Rock, Colorado! It is wonderful to meet future Pokes across the globe. In events like these, Daing will meet with parents and counselors to go over the commitment that UW has towards a world-class education and our unwavering support for student success.

As it was during the holy month of Ramadan, Daing connected with alumni Adlynn (Communication ‘21 & ‘23) and Hairi (Petroleum Engineering ‘19) over a late-night coffee meet-up to reminisce their time here at UW. Adlynn now works for Petronas and Hairi is with LinkedIn.

Doha, Qatar & the UAE

ISS traveled back to the Middle East to regroup with counselors and educators from across the region at the IC3 regional Forum in Doha, Qatar hosted by the Academic Bridge Program, a member of the Qatar Foundation. College admissions counseling lies at the true crux of the IC3 Movement, which is to establish career and college counseling in every school. After the forum and high school visits in Doha, Daing headed to Dubai in the UAE and visited high schools across the city including Raffles International School, Raha International School, the Arbor School, Summit International School, and the GEMS schools in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. During this trip, we also hosted a lunch-and-learn in collaboration with Goucher College and UC Santa Cruz to high school counselors and administrators from all over the UAE.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

After Qatar and the UAE, ISS teamed up with WyoGlobal VP Isa Helfgott and Nick Robinson, and traveled back to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. During our time there we met with officials from the US Embassy in Tashkent, EducationUSA Tashkent, Oxus University, Tashkent International School, TIIAME, Tashkent University of Information Technologies (TUIT), Westminster International University Tashkent, Tashkent State Agrarian University, and the El-Yurt Umidi Foundation to build pathways for Uzbek and Central Asian students to study in Wyoming and the US. During that time, WyoGlobal signed an MOU with TUIT. We are currently preparing for a reciprocal visit from TUIT in fall 2024, initiated by FEP alum Dr. Charos Kihidirova.

Our meetings were fruitful, coupled with engagement with our first Faculty Enrichment Program cohort that was placed at UW in spring of 2023. The Faculty Enrichment Program is a semester-long faculty mentorship and professional development program funded by the US Embassy in Tashkent and administered by the American Councils for International Education. As a result of this trip, we have already seen undergraduate applications from Tashkent and Nukus for fall 2024.

Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Vietnam

After a long hiatus, ISS was excited to reconnect with students and counselors in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Vietnam this Spring. The schools that we visited were EMASI International, The Olympia Schools, International School Ho Chi Minh City (ISHMC), Saigon South International School, British International School Hanoi, British International School Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Australia School, and the Canadian International School. Vietnam has a growing international school sector, serving students and parents that seek diverse environments in American, IB (International Baccalaureate), IGCSE, Cambridge O Levels and national curriculums. In both cities, we also visited with independent counselors that were excited to meet with us to bring in more Vietnamese students to UW and, of course, with EducationUSA offices to discuss future collaborations in faculty partnerships and graduate research opportunities.

Here's to another year of successful recruiting! Connect with us at uwglobal@uwyo.edu for more information, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see our updates and events.