Iona students longing for more study abroad opportunities just may get their wish.

Iona College signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Universitat Abat Oliba CEU, a large Catholic school consortium throughout Spain, in an effort to build relations with international universities as a way to internationalize the college and to strengthen its study abroad program.

“These efforts are part of our strategic plan with an end goal to internationalize the college by having more students studying abroad and having more students come to the United States by benefiting from all that is Iona,” said college President Joseph E. Nyre.

“We also have a university from China coming to campus, we have the Marino Institute from Ireland here and we’re looking to bolster those partnerships to internationalize the campus with more students studying abroad and more students coming to Iona.”

The MoU is not binding, Nyre explained, but rather allows both parties to explore how to work together with the hopes of taking the next step and entering into an Institutional Affiliation Agreement.

Students who have studied abroad in Spain through Iona’s four week summer program have expressed great interest in the possibilities of further study aboard opportunities, especially any potential for more semester long programs.

“I definitely think that Iona should start to offer more semester-long programs besides Australia and Ireland because we’re really limiting ourselves,” said junior Erika Lauraitis who participated in Iona’s Barcelona trip this past summer. “Studying abroad during the semester is the same cost as tuition and more students should get the opportunity to take advantage of it.”

Yet, if it is new summer programs that students are interested in, the office of study abroad has recently announced the creation of two programs scheduled to run during the summer 2013 session in China and the Isle of Iona off the coast of Scotland.

Students studying aboard in China will be able to partake in courses regarding Chinese culture and history as well as an optional Chinese language course, explained junior Ryan Bacci, assistant to the director of study abroad.

Those participating in the program on the Isle of Iona will take courses focusing on the legacy of the Iona monastery and St. Columba.

“We want all programs to be at full capacity,” Bacci said. “We are very close to accomplishing that this year which is exciting.”

It will continue to be and exciting time to look into studying abroad through Iona as the school continues to explore global learning opportunities for students.

Students who are interested in participating in study abroad opportunities or have any questions are encouraged to contact the study abroad office at [email protected]