MassChallenge 2012 is officially open!

Governor Deval Patrick at MassChallenge 2012

Photos courtesy of Bostontweetup.com

Happy Friday from Abroad101! This was an awesome week, especially because yesterday afternoon was the MassChallenge 2012 launch!  Abroad101 was a winner of the first ever MassChallenge in 2010 and we’ve been reaping the benefits ever since. Yesterday, over 200 CEOs, entreprenuers, investors, start-ups and local politicians gathered for the 3rd annual MassChallenge kickoff event and warmly welcomed in this year’s hopeful applicants. With a drumroll and a ring of the gong, MassChallenge 2012 officially opened! There was much excitement in the air and we felt lucky to have been a part of the enthusiasm.

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What can Boston do to keep start-ups in the area?

 

If you ask local entrepreneurs, the answer is lots of things! Last week, Abroad 101’s President and Co-Founder, Mike Stone, was featured alongside other local entrepreneurs in a Boston Globe article “Can Boston be the hub of the start-up universe?” Mike’s sentiments on the Boston start-up scene reflect the need for more angel investors. This would help retain strong start-ups in the early stages, rather than losing them to places like Silicon Valley. “Investors should create more angel groups to attract, grow, and retain early-stage companies, which can then benefit from VC funds. We need people to see Boston as a destination, not a stepping-stone. What starts in Boston should stay in Boston.”

Well said, Mike!

This editorial is just one piece of increased dialogue in Boston around supporting the investment infrastructure. This morning, Senator Scott Brown held an Access to Capital for Small Business Roundtable to facilitate thoughts on both lending and investing for small business.

What other ideas were mentioned in the article? Everything from enticing the media to focus more on the Boston start-up scene, to looking for more diverse investors, to providing better entertainment and practical resources for local entrepreneurs. Boston clearly holds a bubble of strong, smart entrepreneurs. Let’s do everything we can to keep them here!

Introducing Mia, Abroad101 Global Ambassador in Sydney, Spring 2012!

 

Abroad101 is pleased to introduce Mia Marino, Abroad101 Global Ambassador in Sydney Australia! While down under, she’ll be continuing her studies for her dual major in Communications and International Studies at the University of New South Wales. We are looking forward to hearing her stories about the outback and other adventures!

 

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Introducing Caitlin, Abroad101 Ambassador in Sorrento, Spring 2012

 

Abroad101 is pleased to introduce Caitlin Scalise, Global Ambassador in Sorrento, Italy this Spring semester! Cait will be studying International Business and Italian at Sant’Anna Language Institute. We look forward to reading about all of her “experiences, excursions and unexpected mishaps” as she shares them on Abroad101 blog.

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Introducing: Abroad101 Global Ambassadors!

Be the first of your friends to be an Abroad101 Global Ambassador for your semester abroad. We are now accepting applications for the Spring 2012 semester!

All your friends and family are stuck back here in the States, living vicariously through you, waiting for all your facebook updates, tweets and new pictures of your adventures… why not share your entire experience on the Abroad101 blog? This will not only make your friends and family very happy, but also give you an opportunity to get writing, photography and marketing experience!

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Abroad101 Featured Blog: The Traveling Writer

Abroad101 interviewed Alexis Grant from the Traveling Writer. She is also the author of Please Send Pants a story of her adventures through Africa. She has also written two e-guides: How to Build a Part-time Social Media Business and How to Take a Career Break to Travel (Released on Oct.17!)

Abroad101 Featured Blog 2011 – Go! Girl Guides!

Kelly Lewis and Go! Girl Guides

Abroad101′s Featured Blogs promotes leading blogs in the international education and travel space that showcase stories, news, or advice that help others to gain a global perspective. Here are some featured questions taken from an interview conducted with a blog that does just that!

1. Who are you, and what makes your blog unique?

My name is Kelly Lewis, and my blog, Go! Girl Guides, is dedicated to empowering women to travel the world. To do this, we have started the world’s first series of travel guidebooks made just for women. We focus on safety, affordability and being awesome.

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Abroad101 Featured Blog 2011 – The Study Abroad Blog!!

Nate Nault & The Study Abroad Blog

Abroad101’s Featured Blogs promotes leading blogs in the international education and travel space that showcase stories, news, or advice that help others to gain a global perspective. Here are some featured questions taken from an interview conducted with a blog that does just that!

1. Who are you, and what makes your blog unique?

My name is Nate Nault, and I’m a recent graduate of The College of The Holy Cross in
Worcester, MA. I studied abroad in St. Andrews, Scotland during my junior year of college and had the time of my life. In fact, I had such a great time that I decided to study abroad again during the Fall of 2011, this time through an intensive language program in Beijing, China. Continue reading

Top Study Abroad Destinations

Based on the Study Abroad reviews collected by Abroad101.com, we’ve put together some charts to illustrate the top destinations for study abroad.

In this first chart we can see that students are overwhelmingly choosing to study in Europe, hosting 62% of our students. For about 25% of students, studying abroad will be their first time out of the United States. So it’s no wonder most choose romantic destinations within Europe, knowing how easy it is to visit a new country every weekend.  Asia is a distant second with 11%. We’ll be keeping an eye on this growth, particularly in China over the next few years to track the impact of the 100,000 Strong initiative. Another region we should look out for is the Middle East. New Arabic programs are starting up at Universities like Tufts, and others are becoming stronger with the support of the government to send our students to be ambassadors around the world. Continue reading