Page 10 - NJC Newsletter Spring 2016

Benefits of an International Education
Living, Learning and Leading in the 21st Century
What NJC’s Founder, Leonard Wilde, knew instinctively, and what everyone associated with NJC has come to know by experience, is now supported by scientific research: Living abroad actually changes your brain! A scientific correlation exists between living abroad and the development of creativity and innovative thinking in individuals.
When compared to peers who remain in their home country, students with foreign study experience show greater personal growth, increased intercultural understanding, better ability to manage intellectually complex tasks, enhanced creativity, greater flexibility and adaptability, superior leadership skills, and more long-term professional success.
It is a remarkable list! Extensive research in the worlds of education and social psychology supports all of those claims.
Education for the 21st Century
Schools everywhere are realizing that students require complex learning skills and sophisticated personal attitudes in order to successfully navigate an increasingly globalized environment. As a result, they
have been racing to restructure their programs to focus more on the competencies needed to participate fully in a fast-changing world. However, schools that offer an international academic program already provide that value and relevance. They have been educating for the 21st century since their inception.
International university preparatory programs such as that offered by Neuchâtel Junior College (NJC) were founded on the knowledge that students who study and live in a foreign culture are better prepared for life than those who remain in their original culture. In the simplest terms, international experience readies students for this new connected world. When you look closer, the benefits are staggering.
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Neuchâtel Junior College Magazine