American Councils for International Education is proud to partner with the Rise. Rise is a joint initiative of Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust at the University of Oxford. Founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative that finds and connects talented people across fields, generations and geographies to harness their collective skills for public benefit. Rise is the anchor program of their $1 billion commitment to identify and support global talent.

Rise is a program that finds promising young people and provides them with opportunities that allow them to work together to serve others over their lifetimes. The program seeks young people ages 15 to 17 and encourages a lifetime of service and learning by providing support that may include need-based scholarships, mentorship, networking, access to career development opportunities, and the potential for additional funding as Rise Global Winners work toward solving humanity’s most pressing problems.

Rise looks for talent in whatever form it takes, wherever it is in the world, from high school classrooms to refugee camps, to science fairs. Rise believes that talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not. Rise is on a mission to change the odds for the world’s most exceptional people from a young age and throughout their lives.

Rise is a global community. If one person alone can change the world, imagine what a network of promising young people can do together in the service of others. That is the vision of Rise.

Rise selects up to 100 Winners each year to whom they offer an extensive list of benefits that may include a Residential Summit for Winners to meet peers in their cohort, needs-based higher-education scholarships, opportunities for funding on a competitive basis, access to the Rise global network, and starter technology packages.

Benefits offered to Rise Global Winners may include the following; specific benefits will vary from year to year as new opportunities become available:

· RESIDENTIAL SUMMIT: One fully funded in-person residential summit with other members of the Rise Global Winner cohort.

· HIGHER EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS: A four-year, post-secondary education scholarship, including tuition and a living stipend, based on need and where not already covered by financial aid.

· FUNDING FOR IDEAS ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS: Opportunity to apply for funding to experiment with innovative ideas to address major problems in local communities or around the world—ranging, for example, from seed money to start a social enterprise to a grant for a non-profit.

· NETWORK MATCHING: Access to a network of other Global Winners, community members, and partner organizations, and career development programming, delivered primarily through technology.

· STARTER TECHNOLOGY PACKAGES: A technology package, such as a laptop or tablet, to be determined and issued immediately before or during the first semester/term of post-secondary education.

To learn more about joining the global Rise community, click here.