This year’s annual conference of NAFSA (Association of International Educators) took place in Houston, Texas, from 27 May to 01 June 2012 and featured almost 9,000 representatives of universities and exchange organizations from more than 100 countries. With nearly 10,000 members, NAFSA is the world’s largest nonprofit professional association dedicated to international education. The NAFSA 2012 conference featured hundreds of presentations, meetings, workshops and special events from a wide variety of international education topics presented in huge halls by exhibitors from all over the world. Among the participants was travel insurance expert Dr. Walter GmbH who presented its insurance solutions for studies and research abroad.

Fortunately, exchange between German and American universities is flourishing. Sebastian Fohrbeck, Head of the New York office of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), explained that Germany has become more and more interesting as a destination for American students. With almost 3,000 exchange students from the US, Germany ranks second only to the UK among American Masters students abroad.
The transatlantic exchange in the other direction looks a bit less promising: according to Fohrbeck, the most popular destinations among German students are by now the Netherlands, Austria, the UK and Switzerland, whereas the USA only ranks fifth on the list.

Being a member of NAFSA and participating in its annual conferences is not only a great opportunity for Dr. Walter to establish new and revive old business contacts but also to spot the trends in international educational exchange.

About NAFSA
With nearly 10,000 members, NAFSA is the world's largest nonprofit professional association dedicated to international education. Once a year, the Annual Conference & Expo is hosted – a meeting that provides an opportunity for international educational and exchange organizations for learning and networking.
www.nafsa.org