What are enhancements?

The FLEX Program is a unique student exchange program, because the goals of the initiative go beyond the academic portion of the program. FLEX students are expected to be involved in “enhancement” activities that will help them fulfill the mission of the program when you return to your home country. Enhancement activities are activities that you will become involved in outside of the classroom and outside of normal school hours. These activities are designed to provide you with experiences and skills that will help you make a positive change in your home community through your alumni groups.

FLEX has four phases.

The FLEX Scholarship Program has four distinct phases. Enhancements are a part of Phase II, The Training Component. It is important for you to know why we are pushing enhancement activities and how these skills and experiences will be used later in the program. Your FLEX Program does not end when you return to your home country. The most successful FLEX participants are those that stay involved with alumni activities and continue to participate in events at Embassies and hub offices. Here are the four phases of the FLEX Program:

What are the FLEX goals?

1. FLEX students will acquire an understanding of the important elements of a civil society. This will include concepts such as volunteerism, the idea that American citizens can and do act on their own to deal with societal problems, and an awareness of and respect for the rule of law.
2. FLEX students will show a willingness and commitment to serve as agents for change in their countries after they return home.
3. FLEX students will develop an appreciation for American culture.
4. FLEX students will interact with Americans and generate enduring ties.
5. FLEX students will teach Americans about the cultures of their home countries and teach citizens of their home countries about the United States.

How do enhancement activities accomplish these goals?

Each one of these goals will have activities throughout the year that you will be required to do. The FLEX Program is a scholarship, meaning that someone is paying for the program and with that comes expectations that you will achieve the goals of the program and return home to carry out the mission. Therefore, the benefits of your exchange program are directly tied to your active participation in these enhancement activities. There will be activities that we will strongly encourage you to participate in and there will be opportunities for you to select your own activities. Enhancement activities are training exercises for you. While the accomplishment of the enhancement activity is important, what is more important is for you to learn how these activities can affect change and how to organize activities that you find valuable in your own country.

When do I participate in these enhancement activities?

These activities are available to you all throughout the year. However, we find that the following schedule is a normal situation for FLEX students:

What’s in it for me?

Of course, the main reason that you should be involved in enhancement activities is because you are committed to the achievement of the goals of the FLEX Program. However, if you need some more encouragement, World Link will have motivational awards for various categories of enhancement activities. Listed below are a list of the motivational awards and categories that will be awarded this year.

In addition to the World Link awards for involvement in enhancement activities, the US State Department also provides funding for selected FLEX students to travel to two training events during the year. World Link will make you aware of these opportunities when they are announced. Participants are selected on the basis of an application. The two events are:

Civic Education Workshop in Washington, DC, in March
Computer Training Workshop in March

You will be notified by letter when these competitions will be held and you will be provided with application forms. The competitions usually involves the development of a plan on how you will use the information presented in the workshop and an essay on some topic provided by the evaluators. World Link encourages all of our students to apply for these programs. The award includes an all expenses paid trip to the event from your home airport. From the forty participants that we have in World Link, usually 3-4 participants are selected from our group for each of these activities.

Most awards will be presented in June. The International Education Week award will be presented in December. Awards are based on the following point system:

Scoring will take place after the final reports are submitted in early June. Consideration will be given to both qualitative and quantitative levels in the reports and activities. Approximately 50 percent of the score will be based on the amount of activities that you have in the area under consideration (quantitative). The other 50 percent will be based on the quality of the project that you completed and what evidence you show of learning from this activity (qualitative). Information on each of these activities will be collected during the normal reporting system. Questions in the reports will be designed to measure your participation in these key areas. Following major events, you may receive a special request to submit an essay on what you have learned along with a photo from that activity.

Summary

Your FLEX scholarship provides you with an opportunity to experience a lot of different things. With the scholarship, there is also a responsibility. With it, comes the responsibility to train yourself and experience activities that will affect change for the better in your home country communities. You achieve this though participation in enhancement activities. Enhancements will also provide you with new friends, new experiences and travel opportunities. Each participant has a $300 fund to be used for your enhancement activities. World Link will work with you and your local coordinator to make sure that we use these funds wisely and completely during your year here.