What is the Digital Exchange Program (DEP)?


The DEP is an online cultural exchange program designed to equip students with knowledge, skills, attitudes, and resources to design community-action projects that promote intercultural understanding and global collaboration. The DEP is 12-weeks long and hosted 4 times each year, and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

The DEP is an initiative of Project Exchange.

Who's involved in the DEP?


The DEP is powered by a community of students united by the belief that every student deserves a meaningful, multidisciplinary cross-cultural learning experience as part of their education. We envision a world where people understand each other, honor diverse cultures & communities, and leverage our differences to create progress towards global goals! Our team truly believes that making cultural exchange accessible is the first step towards this vision.

There are four key categories of members within the DEP community:

  1. Students: middle & high school students around the world who are interested in language & culture and connecting with peers around the world, and have the time to participate in a 12-week online exchange program.
  2. Facilitators: high school seniors & college students who provide guidance and mentorship to support the growth and impact of students. Facilitators help students question and process what they are learning and dig deeper into the exchange.
  3. Language guides: high school seniors & college students who organize intensive, 10-week language courses during the DEP to deepen students' exchange experience.
  4. DEP staff: Project Exchange team members who manage the back-end logistics of the program and cohort-wide notifications.

What are the core activities of the DEP?


Partner - 1:1 Exchange Experience

What most defines the DEP is the 1:1 exchange experience between DEP students. Each DEP student builds a relationship with their partner over the course of the program and support each other in not just the language & culture learning journey, but in realizing their community action projects.