The crowd at the event watch Drexel University’s Vice Provost of Global Engagement Rogelio Miñana, PhD, photographed standing on right at the event, and Vice Provost of Global Engagement at Temple University Emilia Zankina, PhD, standing on left. Photo credit: Young-Min Park, associate director of global partnerships in Drexel Global.
By Drexel Global’s Associate Director of Global Partnerships Young-Min Park
On Jan. 26, Drexel Global convened an annual meeting with approximately 50 representatives from universities, city government and other business, diplomatic and educational organizations with an international focus in the Greater Philadelphia area. The goal was to brainstorm creative and effective strategies to position Philadelphia as a premier destination for global education.
This year’s meeting, titled “Philadelphia: A Global Education Hub” and hosted by Drexel University, featured a robust discussion on how to maintain this momentum and promote Philadelphia as a top choice for international students in the coming years. The event was led by Drexel University’s Vice Provost of Global Engagement Rogelio Miñana, PhD, and Vice Provost of Global Engagement at Temple University Emilia Zankina, PhD.
As Drexel continues to expand its global outreach, collaboration across universities, government agencies and international organizations will be crucial in enhancing the University’s ability to attract students to Philadelphia.
Leading up to the meeting, Temple University marketing students took part in a class competition to create a new marketing campaign that could be adopted and utilized by the group to promote Philadelphia to future international students. The winning campaign, “Think Philly,” was presented at the gathering. Many participants expressed excitement about the potential of such collaborations among key institutions in the Greater Philadelphia area to promote the region as a premier international education destination.
The initiative aims to promote Philadelphia as a premier higher education destination for international students and thus increase the number of international students attending universities in Philadelphia and its surrounding areas. This increase would not only benefit Philly's universities but also the region and its businesses, thanks to the very significant economic and cultural contributions made by international students and their families. According to the Open Doors report, the number of international students attending U.S. higher education institutions is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels. According to the NAFSA: Association of International Educators report, in 2022-23 International Students contributed $40.1 billion and approximately 370,000 jobs to the U.S. economy, $2 billion of which was in Pennsylvania. Drexel University’s international students contributed approximately $154 million to Philadelphia’s economy during that time.
Last year, the same group of universities collaborated with the city of Philadelphia and Philadelphia International Airport to create a welcome ad campaign for international students. The campaign aimed to foster a welcoming environment for all international students arriving at various universities in the Philadelphia region. The campaign was supported by nine universities and three nonprofit organizations in the region, including Drexel, and reached thousands of international students flying into Philadelphia International Airport.