HISTORY
The Spanish-American Institute of International Education (SAIIE) was founded in Seville, Spain in 1984 by Dr. William Spofford (Former UW-Platteville Study Abroad Director) and Mr.Robert Chipres (Former SAIIE Director). SAIIE has more than 30 years of experience. More than 7,000 students from all over the United States have ventured to Seville to take part in our study abroad programs.
We offer study abroad programs to high school and college students, as well as faculty from all over the US.
SAIIE’s programs offer a personalized intercultural learning experience in a fully integrated Spanish-speaking environment. In all our programs we strive for academic excellence, cultural immersion and social integration. How? In addition to the classes themselves, we provide field trips, cultural and social activities with the locals, such as conversation partnerships with native speakers (intercambios), volunteering opportunities, internships, athletic programs with local teams and accommodation in Spanish homes.
WHY SAIIE?
Firstly, we are a family business. SAIIE is currently ran by Mr Chipres’s (Co-Founder of the SAIIE program) three children, Stuart, Sean and Samantha. Our staff and Faculty have been with us for many years and are passionate about their jobs. The core of our business is family. We care about our students, we want studying abroad to be a unique and unforgettable experience for every student.
Secondly, not only academically we want our students to learn as much as possible, but we also want this experience to become a personal journey for each student to gain confidence in becoming someone they desire to be in their future.
Third, because we want to offer a quality educational and cultural immersion program to our students we limit the amount of our students to 50 students per program.
Fourth, SAFETY AND COMMUNICATION. Unlike many other study abroad organizations we are solely located in Seville, Spain. All program directors and most of the staff and teachers are from Seville. Seville is our home and that is what we are offering. If you need to talk to someone you will talk directly to the SAIIE Directors, no intermediaries unlike programs that are all over the world.
We love our job and truly believe that studying abroad is a MUST for every student.
If you want to get to know us a bit more, don’t hesitate in contacting us. We are more than happy to talk to you and help you in any way we can!
The SAIIE Family.