From November 14-18 the U.S Consulate General in Yekaterinburg and local partners celebrated the International Education Week – 2016 with a number of events including lectures and online presentations, discussions in English on educational issues and film showings. Chief of the Consular Section Rafael Gonzales spoke on U.S. student visas and the Summer Work and Travel program; IRC specialists conducted lectures for visitors of the Educational Center of the Yeltsin Center and for the Innovative Cultural Center in Pervouralsk, covering the advantages of mass open online courses (MOOCs), as well as opportunities for international students to study in U.S. colleges and universities. The International Education Week Yekaterinburg program also included a screening of the environmental blockbuster Racing Extinction, followed by a meeting with the film producer, Gina Papabeis. Furthermore, with members of the Yekaterinburg’s informal English Conversation Club Public Affairs Officer Peter Burba discussed the pros and cons of studying abroad and the practical value of foreign educational experience. The International Education Week-2016 program even spread to the city of Perm, where Vice Consul Todd Hughes made a presentation on the American educational system to high school students of School #50. In Perm Show U.S. participants and American film directors also had discussions with students of various Perm universities.
