This year, the Stevens Initiative celebrates 10 years of preparing rising generations of leaders. This milestone would not be possible without the education and exchange leaders who share the Initiative’s belief that building a more prosperous future starts with the necessary skills young people develop through virtual exchange. Among these educators and leaders are over 300 graduates of the Virtual Exchange Academy. As the Initiative enters its second decade, we’re excited to prepare even more practitioners to bring transformative virtual exchange opportunities to their communities with the sixth iteration of the Academy.
The Virtual Exchange Academy is a six-week training that teaches foundational elements of virtual exchange planning and implementation. Participants get a comprehensive introduction from leaders in the field through pre-session readings and coursework, and during live sessions that include presentations, small group activities, and more. After the training, graduates will be prepared to adopt this powerful tool for skill-building and workforce development.
The 2025 Virtual Exchange Academy will take place once a week from the week of April 7th through the week of May 12, 2025 and will include six live sessions via Zoom. Each two-hour session will occur at one of the following times:
- Wednesday, 10am-12pm U.S. Eastern Time
- Thursday, 10am-12pm U.S. Eastern Time
Applications are due at 5pm U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday, February 26, 2025. Questions can be submitted to stevenspartnerships@aspeninstitute.org.
Following a competitive application process, participants will be placed in a small cohort with peers from around the world. Graduates of the Virtual Exchange Academy will:
- Receive recognition of their participation in the Virtual Exchange Academy through a digital certificate and badge.
- Have access to a community of practice of Virtual Exchange Academy alumni, including reunions and a LinkedIn group where participants can engage with each other to seek advice and connections as they bring virtual exchange to their communities.
- Have access to further mentorship opportunities following their participation in the Virtual Exchange Academy.
- Receive individualized support with identifying and matching with existing virtual exchange programs.
Eligibility Requirements: In order to be considered for this training, applicants must be:
- Education and exchange leaders who work at the K-12 or higher education levels, and/or serve youth across multiple age levels (the Stevens Initiative defines youth as populations under 35).
- Fluent in English.
Prioritization will be given to applicants:
- With little knowledge of or experience with virtual exchange.
- Who oversee a large youth community, such as a school, school district, higher education institution, or nonprofit network.
- Interested in increasing virtual exchange opportunities as part of programming at their entire school, district, institution, or organization, not just a single classroom.
Time Commitment and Expectations: Space is limited, and participants will be selected carefully. The Stevens Initiative expects full and active participation throughout the training. Participants should expect to spend around three and a half hours per week on this training, including the two-hour weekly live session and up to an hour and a half of pre-session preparation. This pre-session preparation will include the review of provided resources, videos, activities, publications, and other materials, and a weekly journal to reinforce learning and reflection for each topic covered.
The success of this cohort-model training relies on engaged and attentive participants during live sessions and any other group activities. Live sessions emphasize interaction rather than passive learning. Participants are expected to do all pre-session preparation thoroughly and on time and arrive ready to engage in activities and discussions.
AI Policy: Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Grammarly, can be invaluable for generating ideas, synthesizing text, and copyediting drafts. Applicants are welcome to use these tools to organize thoughts and begin formulating answers to the questions in this application. However, responses to all questions must be primarily applicant-authored, meaning that answers are original to the applicant, background experience, and the context the applicant works in. These responses are invaluable in helping the Initiative understand more about an applicant's unique interest in the Academy, as well as whether an applicant possesses the English language proficiency required to be successful in the training. Applications suspected of being AI-generated outside the scope of acceptable use defined here may be disqualified.
The Virtual Exchange Academy is supported by the Bezos Family Foundation.
Application for 2025 Virtual Exchange Academy
This year, the Stevens Initiative celebrates 10 years of preparing rising generations of leaders. This milestone would not be possible without the education and exchange leaders who share the Initiative’s belief that building a more prosperous future starts with the necessary skills young people develop through virtual exchange. Among these educators and leaders are over 300 graduates of the Virtual Exchange Academy. As the Initiative enters its second decade, we’re excited to prepare even more practitioners to bring transformative virtual exchange opportunities to their communities with the sixth iteration of the Academy.
The Virtual Exchange Academy is a six-week training that teaches foundational elements of virtual exchange planning and implementation. Participants get a comprehensive introduction from leaders in the field through pre-session readings and coursework, and during live sessions that include presentations, small group activities, and more. After the training, graduates will be prepared to adopt this powerful tool for skill-building and workforce development.
The 2025 Virtual Exchange Academy will take place once a week from the week of April 7th through the week of May 12, 2025 and will include six live sessions via Zoom. Each two-hour session will occur at one of the following times:
- Wednesday, 10am-12pm U.S. Eastern Time
- Thursday, 10am-12pm U.S. Eastern Time
Applications are due at 5pm U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday, February 26, 2025. Questions can be submitted to stevenspartnerships@aspeninstitute.org.
Following a competitive application process, participants will be placed in a small cohort with peers from around the world. Graduates of the Virtual Exchange Academy will:
- Receive recognition of their participation in the Virtual Exchange Academy through a digital certificate and badge.
- Have access to a community of practice of Virtual Exchange Academy alumni, including reunions and a LinkedIn group where participants can engage with each other to seek advice and connections as they bring virtual exchange to their communities.
- Have access to further mentorship opportunities following their participation in the Virtual Exchange Academy.
- Receive individualized support with identifying and matching with existing virtual exchange programs.
Eligibility Requirements: In order to be considered for this training, applicants must be:
- Education and exchange leaders who work at the K-12 or higher education levels, and/or serve youth across multiple age levels (the Stevens Initiative defines youth as populations under 35).
- Fluent in English.
Prioritization will be given to applicants:
- With little knowledge of or experience with virtual exchange.
- Who oversee a large youth community, such as a school, school district, higher education institution, or nonprofit network.
- Interested in increasing virtual exchange opportunities as part of programming at their entire school, district, institution, or organization, not just a single classroom.
Time Commitment and Expectations: Space is limited, and participants will be selected carefully. The Stevens Initiative expects full and active participation throughout the training. Participants should expect to spend around three and a half hours per week on this training, including the two-hour weekly live session and up to an hour and a half of pre-session preparation. This pre-session preparation will include the review of provided resources, videos, activities, publications, and other materials, and a weekly journal to reinforce learning and reflection for each topic covered.
The success of this cohort-model training relies on engaged and attentive participants during live sessions and any other group activities. Live sessions emphasize interaction rather than passive learning. Participants are expected to do all pre-session preparation thoroughly and on time and arrive ready to engage in activities and discussions.
AI Policy: Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Grammarly, can be invaluable for generating ideas, synthesizing text, and copyediting drafts. Applicants are welcome to use these tools to organize thoughts and begin formulating answers to the questions in this application. However, responses to all questions must be primarily applicant-authored, meaning that answers are original to the applicant, background experience, and the context the applicant works in. These responses are invaluable in helping the Initiative understand more about an applicant's unique interest in the Academy, as well as whether an applicant possesses the English language proficiency required to be successful in the training. Applications suspected of being AI-generated outside the scope of acceptable use defined here may be disqualified.
The Virtual Exchange Academy is supported by the Bezos Family Foundation.