NEW YORK, N.Y., November 6, 2019—AFS released a large-scale research report on Tuesday, focused on the impact that AFS exchanges have on the lives and careers of participants.

The full-scale, global report—the first of its kind for the AFS network—incorporates survey feedback from more than 10,500 respondents from the international AFS alumni community across 80 countries. Responses were collected between November 2018 and March 2019 via an online survey.

Findings of the survey highlight the myriad ways in which an AFS experience can impact a participant’s career, interests, area(s) of academic study, and world outlook. In particular, the survey results showed that:

  1. According to 87% of alumni, their AFS program helped them become active global citizens.
  2. AFS alumni are highly likely to volunteer after their exchange program.
  3. AFS helps participants be prepared to work in a global environment.
  4. AFS alumni demonstrate fast progress in their professional lives.

The data results were presented publicly on Tuesday evening at The Competitive Edge: Global Experience for a Diverse Workplace event held at the Institute for International Education (IIE) in New York City, which was co-organized by AFS with the Institute of International Education, the European American Chamber of Commerce and the HR Certification Institute.

Read the report here