October 13, 2011
Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

The U.S.-India Higher Education Summit will be held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, October 13, 2011. The Summit will be jointly hosted by the Government of the United States and the Government of India, and attended by 300 higher education leaders and government officials from the U.S. and India, as well as private sector leaders.

The objective of the Summit is to further strengthen higher education collaboration and exchange between institutions in the United States and India through exploration of topics of mutual interest, such as joint degrees, research partnerships, accreditation, and quality assurance. In addition, the Summit will highlight the importance of education as a pillar of the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue and set forth goals for deepening this aspect of our bilateral relationship in cooperation with the many excellent institutions of higher education in both countries.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Indian Minister of Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal will deliver remarks at the opening of the Summit. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Minister Sibal will deliver closing remarks. Prominent higher education and thought leaders will speak at a plenary session and in breakout sessions on topics crucial to expanding and strengthening higher education collaboration between our two countries.

Allan Goodman, President and CEO of the Institute of International Education, will chair a session on "Faculty Collaboration and Scholarship."

Virtual participants can participate in the live interactive webcast at https://statedept.connectsolutions.com/us-india and follow the hashtag #USIndiaEd on Twitter.

For more information and the complete agenda, please go to: www.state.gov/p/sca/ci/in/education/174904.htm

 

The Institute of International Education hosted a roundtable discussion on the U.S. Department of State’s Passport to India Initiative. Hosted by IIE President and CEO Allan E. Goodman, the event featured remarks by two speakers from the U.S. Department of State: Robert O. Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, and Molly Maguire Teas, Senior Advisor for Education, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. The Passport to India Initiative promotes internships for American high school and college students in India, allowing them to gain an understanding of the country’s people, history, culture, and rapidly developing infrastructure. With private funding, the effort encourages businesses to partner with U.S. schools, colleges, foundations, or international organizations to commit to sponsoring American students to intern in their India-based offices and factories.

During the event, IIE announced a new internship program in support of the Passport to India Initiative. The new IIE program, BRITE India – IIE Business and Research Internships for Technology and Education – is a private sector effort that is aligned with the Obama administration goals to improve U.S. students and young professionals' understanding of India. Currently, fewer than 3,000 U.S. students study in India annually. In contrast, more than 100,000 students from India study in the United States each year, helping to foster knowledge of U.S. cities, culture and business among young people in India.

BRITE India will help to provide international opportunities for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students in India. Given India’s political and economic role in the global market, and its multitude of cultures and languages, U.S. students must have more exposure to India in both educational and business contexts. As a host to numerous rapidly growing businesses and research centers, India is an ideal location for internship programs focusing on business, entrepreneurship and technology, with myriad internship opportunities in India’s booming private sector. IIE will secure private support from corporations with an interest in promoting economic cooperation with India and developing a generation of Americans with the skills to think, work, and act globally.

IIE's BRITE India aims to achieve the following goals:

• Strengthen ties between the U.S. and Indian business communities and future leaders in the two countries; 
•  Enable participating students to gain new skills to become more competitive in the global economy and expose them to the opportunities of working with one of the world’s key emerging markets; 
•  Promote international understanding and develop the next generation of global innovators, leaders, researchers, and entrepreneurs.

IIE is currently seeking sponsorship between $25K-$100K from potential partners for BRITE India. To learn more and become a sponsor of BRITE India, contact Jonah Kokodyniak, Deputy Vice President, Strategic Development, at jkokodyniak@iie.org.

For more information about the BRITE India program, please visit www.iie.org/Who-We-Are/News-and-Events/Press-Center/Press-Releases/2011/2011-10-11-IIE-BRITE-India-Initiative

 

How do you build a world-class research university from scratch? In today's ever-faster, global economy, many countries are reflecting on the merits of building elite global universities to make their mark in world research. Recognizing that such universities are emerging as the central institutions of the 21st century's knowledge economies, a new book, The Road to Academic Excellence: The Making of World-Class Research Universities, edited by Philip G. Altbach and Jamil Salmi, examines the recent experience of 11 universities in 9 countries on 4 continents that have grappled with the challenges of building successful research institutions under difficult circumstances, and synthesizes the lessons learned. This book will be essential reading for governments, tertiary education leaders, employers, and citizens, considering reforms and innovations to improve their country's position in the global scene.

For more information, please visit: http://go.worldbank.org/V16GL227I0

 

Clemson University is recruiting candidates for the position of Vice Provost for International Affairs. The University seeks an innovative leader with administrative experience in serving international students and faculty and developing international programs, program sites, and exchange programs for students and faculty. Reporting to the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Vice Provost for International Affairs provides campus-wide leadership in the development of all international programs and services in compliance with university, state, and federal regulations.

Minimum qualifications include a terminal degree and considerable academic experience in international programs. Desirable qualifications include extensive international experience, including study abroad and development of international programs on-site, as well as experience in academic administration.
Applicants should submit a letter of application stating interest in the position and previous experience relevant to the position, along with a résumé or C.V. and a list of four references to the attention of Brenda Smith, Office of the Provost, 206 Sikes Hall, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634. Application materials may be submitted by email to bjs@clemson.edu. Review of applications will begin on Sept. 15, 2011, and will continue until the position is filled. For more information, please visit: www.clemson.edu/hiring/vp-international-affairs.html

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is looking for a full-time managing director for its largest study abroad program, International Academic Programs (IAP). IAP currently offers 204 study abroad opportunities in 62 countries ranging from academic year programs to short-term programs. IAP’s mission is to ensure access for UW-Madison students to high quality study abroad programs that enrich and expand campus curricula and promote intercultural understanding. IAP study abroad program types include academic international experiences such as: directed study, exchanges, honors programs, internships, practicums, research and fieldwork, service-learning, and student teaching.

The application deadline for this position is November 1st. For more information, please visit www.ohr.wisc.edu/pvl/pv_071730.html or email kschutte@bascom.wisc.edu.

 

An article by Dr. Rahul Choudaha in University World News argues that international student mobility in the 21st century was affected primarily by two events: the 9/11 attacks and the recession of 2008. Both of these events led to slow growth in international student enrollment in the U.S. when compared to the UK and Australia. Nevertheless, Choudaha posits that the U.S. should continue its commitment to recruit international students for three reasons. First, Australia and the UK have recently tightened their visa requirements, which could affect their international enrollment numbers. Second, recent budget cuts in U.S. public colleges and universities have made these institutions rely more on international students as an additional revenue source. Finally, the U.S. government has expressed its commitment to attracting more international students to the United States.

To read the full article, please visit: www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20110930190559493

 

If you need quick references or data to inform your work in international higher education, Boston College's Center for International Education (CIHE) hosts an online virtual library with a broad spectrum of free resources to help you.

Included is a searchable archive of their quarterly journal, International Higher Education. Other sections are devoted specifically to higher education in Africa (INHEA) and the growing problem of academic corruption (HECM). The database includes relevant publications, reports, websites and blogs, research centers, experts, and scholars.

CIHE also maintains a newsfeed on Facebook and Twitter. News items relevant to professionals in international higher education are posted daily from the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, Times Higher Education, The Guardian Higher Education, The New York Times, and more.

To access CIHE, please visit: www.bc.edu/cihe

You can also follow CIHE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Center-for-International-Higher-Education-CIHE/197777476903716?ref=ts, and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/BC_CIHE

 

December 2, 2011
Club de la Fondation Universitaire
Brussels, Belgium

The international mobility of students has always been at the heart of internationalization efforts in higher education, not only in Europe but worldwide. Given the perceived importance of this phenomenon, student mobility has become in many regions of the globe not only an essential instrument for internationalization, but a policy objective in its own right. In the European context, the expectation that the ambitious mobility initiatives launched under the Bologna Process and the EU flags will be mirrored by similar developments at the national and institutional level has been particularly notable. But, are national-level mobility policies in Europe actually in tune with higher-rank policies and initiatives at the supranational level? Are national mobility approaches converging in a certain direction? Do they promote the same types of mobility? Do they target the same regions of the world? Do they use similar instruments and employ comparable resources? And ultimately, are mobility policies necessary to achieve growth in international student flows at all? Results from a soon to be completed ACA study on national mobility policies (under the acronym of ENPMOB) will shed some light on many of these crucial questions.

Learn more about these developments in Brussels on December 2nd, at the one-day ACA seminar, Internationalisation Revisited. The seminar will address the ways in which internationalization is understood and done today, in tandem with thorough reflections on a possible need to rethink this concept. For the agenda and registration information, please visit: www.aca-secretariat.be/index.php?id=539

 

Nomination Deadline: October 14, 2011

The Institute of International Education (IIE) invites IIE member institutions to nominate their program for the 2012 Andrew Heiskell Awards for Innovation in International Education.

The Heiskell Award Categories

Category 1: Internationalizing the Campus
Advancing curriculum development, fostering international opportunities, and creatively integrating international students into university life.

Category 2: Study Abroad
Providing innovative programs and services to make study abroad accessible to a broader student population.

Category 3: Best Practices in International Partnerships
Recognizing strategic, comprehensive, and innovative international partnership efforts.

Category 4: Internationalizing the Community College Campus
Creating innovative programs and services, including study abroad, to make international opportunities accessible to community college students. (IIE & AACC members are eligible to apply.)

Note: With the exception of Category 1, please submit nominations that focus on particular programs or initiatives, rather than including all campus programs in one nomination.

More Information

For more details on the Andrew Heiskell Awards, and to download the application, please go to: www.iie.org/HeiskellAwards or email HeiskellAwards@iie.org.

 

Application Deadline: October 14, 2011

IIE’s Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) is now accepting applications for the 2012 Fulbright German Studies Seminar. The topic is "Nation-State and European Identity" and the application deadline is October 14, 2011.

The Fulbright German Studies Seminar offers U.S. scholars the opportunity to meet in Germany to discuss current issues facing Germans, Europeans, and the broader international community. The 2012 seminar on "Nation-State and European Identity" will explore questions related to the evolving definition of identity within Germany and Europe. Throughout the seminar, scholars will examine the influence of the European Union on German identity, hear from experts about how concepts of national and regional identity are being challenged, and whether competing identities can be reconciled. The majority of the program will take place in Berlin, but visits to other regions will also be included.

Eligible candidates include scholars from U.S. universities, colleges, and community colleges who hold full-time teaching appointments and a Ph.D., or equivalent professional/terminal degree, in a field related to the seminar topic. Applicants must be U.S. citizens. The seminar will be held in English and will take place June 12–23, 2012.

For more information, please visit www.cies.org/GSS/ or contact Tanya Janes at tjanes@iie.org or (202) 686-6258.

 

Application Deadline: December 1, 2011

Through residencies and conferences, the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Northern Italy supports innovations that change the way we address complex global issues. Here, people of diverse expertise and backgrounds come together in a thought-provoking, creative, collegial environment that helps create change and have impact on a wide range of world issues.

The Residency Program allows for focused work, uninterrupted by the professional and personal demands of daily life, in a diverse and stimulating community of fellow residents. Residents include an international group of academics, writers, artists, scientists, journalists, nongovernmental organization practitioners, and policymakers. In addition to time for dedicated work on individual projects and for reflection during the day, building new connections and collegial interaction with other residents are defining characteristics of the Bellagio experience. Meals and informal presentations of residents' work afford an opportunity for dynamic discussion and engagement with each other. The combination of quiet time for individual, focused work and connections with such a diverse community is unparalleled.

Academic Writing as well as Arts & Literary Arts residencies typically last four weeks, and spouses/life partners may accompany residents. Practitioner residencies can last between two to four weeks. Joint applications from co-authors are also welcome.

Applications for Academic Writing as well as Arts & Literary Arts residencies are due by December 1, 2011, for a residency period between mid-August and mid-December 2012. Applications from practitioners and for conferences are accepted on a rolling basis.

To apply and for more information, please visit: www.rockefellerfoundation.org/bellagio-center

Or download a brochure at:
www.rockefellerfoundation.org/news/publications/rockefeller-foundation-bellagio-center

 

On September 30, the Institute of International Education (IIE) hosted a roundtable discussion with Dr. Kemal Kerkuki, Speaker of Parliament in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, and a number of his colleagues on the U.S.-Iraqi higher education relationship and academic exchanges. This discussion focused on the major new Human Capacity Development Program, recently launched by the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, which seeks to send thousands of students from Iraqi Kurdistan abroad for master’s and Ph.D. programs. IIE staff provided an overview of the U.S. higher education system, and discussed the process of applying to graduate school programs in the United States.

Dr. Kerkuki emphasized the importance of the continued collaboration between U.S. higher education institutions and those in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. For more information, please visit: www.iie.org/Who-We-Are/News-and-Events/Events/2011/Roundtable-Discussion-Kerkuki-2011

 

Application Deadline: February 6, 2012

The Whitaker International Program, administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE), is launching the Whitaker International Summer Grants Program for young U.S. citizen or permanent resident biomedical engineers. Applications are now available online for the first round of grants, which will be for July 1 to August 30, 2012.

With support from the former Whitaker Foundation, IIE will provide bioengineers and biomedical engineers funding for eight (8) weeks to pursue, in an international setting, a high-quality activity relevant to their field of focus in biomedical engineering (BME). Grants can support research, or course work in BME, or an internship in industry. By providing young bioengineers and biomedical engineers the opportunity to go abroad, the Whitaker Summer Grants Program will achieve the following objectives:

• Improve the expertise of the participants as scientists;
• Build individual and institutional partnerships; and
• Establish dialogues between the scientific community in the U.S. and rest of the world.

There will be one competition each year for the summer program. The awards will include a fellowship award, living costs, round-trip international airfare, and health insurance.

To be eligible for the award an applicant must:

• have U.S. citizenship or permanent residence in the U.S.;
• be a current master's or Ph.D. student at a U.S. university in bioengineering or biomedical engineering.

Any overseas academic institution, research lab, or corporation may host a grantee if it can offer an outstanding professional experience in biomedical engineering. Grant applicants must obtain their own placements, but the suitability of these placements will be reviewed as part of the application.

The competition is now open, with an application deadline of February 6, 2012. Award winners will be selected by a review committee, which will evaluate applications in spring of 2012 for awards to run from July 1, 2012, and end with a final program debriefing at the end of August, 2012. For more details and application guidelines, please visit www.whitaker.org.

 

Student Application Deadline: October 12, 2011
Adviser Endorsement Deadline: October 19, 2011

Freeman-ASIA provides scholarships for U.S. undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need to study abroad in East or Southeast Asia. Applicants should have a minimum 2.8 GPA. The program's goal is to increase the number of Americans with firsthand exposure to and understanding of Asia and its peoples and cultures. Awards of up to $5,000 are available for spring programs. Award recipients are required to share their experiences with their home campuses or communities to encourage study abroad by others.

For more information, eligibility requirements, and the online application, please visit: www.iie.org/freeman-asia