IIE executives provided their expert perspectives on the benefits of studying abroad in several recently published news articles, including in The Chronicle of Higher Education and Alaska Beyond Magazine. 

 

In the Chronicle, Edie Cecil, Vice President of Professional Exchange and Community Outreach, discussed ways students and scholars from the Middle East and U.S. can benefit from increasing and enhancing academic exchanges, "universities in Arab countries, in cooperation with government ministries and academic associations, can better promote study in their countries that goes beyond the study of the Arabic language. There are many excellent universities in the Arab world that can offer U.S. students opportunities to not only expand their cultural horizons and language skills, but also to be exposed to professors, student colleagues and peers who are focused on similar academic pursuits." According to IIE’s latest Open Doors report, nearly 90,000 students from the Arab world are enrolled at U.S. higher education institutions, yet less than 3,500 U.S. students study in Arab countries. 

 

Allan Goodman, President, and Daniel Obst, Deputy Vice President of International Partnerships in Higher Education were quoted in a feature article, "Global Citizens" in Alaska Beyond Magazine for Alaska Airlines. The article cites the latest Open Doors report, credits IIE with proactively identifying the need for more U.S. students to go abroad and IIE’s work to double the number of students abroad. Allan Goodman explained why more students should go abroad, "Preparing to be a global citizen is important. We’re hoping that international study becomes a part of everybody’s education." Daniel Obst explained the competitive advantage study abroad gives to students after graduation, "We know that employers today are looking for graduates who are prepared to work in the global workforce, and for this they need to work on multinational teams; they need to be able to think and communicate across cultures; and sometimes [companies] need people who speak a foreign language. So study abroad is one of the best ways to gain all those skills."