Turrialba: a high-value educational destination for people from all over the world

• For the second consecutive year Turrialba will host U.S. students in their first year of college who will live an academic experience surrounded by exotic nature and culture.

September 2, 2022. On Tuesday, August 30 of this year, 200 students from Verto Education program were welcomed to stay at the CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) campus and begin an academic journey that will broaden their knowledge and experiences during their first year of university.

Through the cultural exchange that means the stay of each of the students at CATIE, we seek to create social and environmental alliances with organizations in Turrialba for joint work and bilateral benefit. Currently, there are already projects with the University of Costa Rica, the Lions Club, CATIE, among other entities.

It is also expected that the initiative will have a positive impact on the local economy of Turrialba, as there will be a flow of people reactivating the demand for products and services offered in the canton.

"These students who are here at CATIE are going to carry out different projects that will help them integrate into the community of Turrialba. Verto Education program n is a program based on experiential learning, so we do different activities with various organizations (...) Each teacher of specific courses is responsible for finding projects in the community and so we are growing every day and what we want is for the students to be part of the community, to create intercultural ties and have the opportunity to learn about us and the Turrialba culture”, said Maria Fernanda Batista, Verto teacher.

Verto Education program is an overseas student exchange program working with U.S. universities that provides students with the opportunity for multidisciplinary learning where they can gain valuable skills and tools for personal and professional development while exploring new environments.

"From CATIE we believe that education and comprehensive training is the best tool to generate the positive changes that our society requires. This alliance with Verto Education program allows us to exceed half a thousand young North American students who come for a semester to learn about the environment, sustainability and climate change, among many other things, but also come to know Turrialba, live in Turrialba and take a little bit of its culture, its gastronomy, its landscapes and its people," emphasized Carlos Araya, director of Green Business Development, Resource Mobilization and Strategic Alliances of CATIE.

For almost 50 years, CATIE has established itself as one of the most experienced graduate universities in Latin America and the Caribbean, graduating more than 2,700 professionals from various countries around the world in areas of global importance such as climate change, sustainable development, responsible management of natural resources and biodiversity conservation. Through the alliance with Verto Education program, it is expected to strengthen the canton of Turrialba as an educational city of high value for future students from all regions.