This special edition of the IIE.Interactive newsletter focuses on a variety of resources that support higher education institutions in their efforts to develop and sustain global academic partnerships. 

For more information on IIE’s Center for International Partnerships in Higher Education, please visit: www.iie.org/cip.

The International Academic Partnership Program (IAPP), originally funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), is a major initiative of IIE’s Center for International Partnerships in Higher Education that seeks to increase the number of international partnerships between higher education institutions in the United States and those abroad.

Over the course of this yearlong program, institutions participate in a number of training activities focused on implementing and sustaining partnerships with higher education institutions in a focus country. They commit to forming a campus task force to work on prospective partnerships, conducting an institution-wide inventory of activities pertaining to these countries, and developing a strategic plan focused on partnerships.

If your institution is interested in developing or expanding partnerships with higher education institutions in India, please consider participating in the IAPP India Program for 2012-2013. 

For more information, please visit www.iie.org/iapp or contact Clare Banks at cbanks@iie.org.

Five Core IAPP Services:

1. Strategic planning process, including guidelines for assessing on-campus international partnership capacity and developing practical strategic plans for partnership activities in India. 
2. Expert advice and guidance on developing or expanding a strategic plan for partnerships with India by one of the members of the IAPP India Advisory Board and IIE staff in the United States and in India.
3. A study tour to the focus country that will include visits to select higher education institutions, the U.S. Embassy, EducationUSA Advising Centers, the Fulbright Commission, and other educational exchange organizations. All in-country expenses for one representative from each institution will be covered as part of the program fees. Participants are responsible for covering their international airfare. 
4. A series of training webinars, focused on topics such as implementing strategic partnerships, faculty engagement, developing a consolidated partnership strategy, and Indian higher education.
5. A suite of information resources on the higher education system in India, key IIE publications, and policy research reports.

• Eligibility: The IAPP Program is open to all accredited U.S. colleges and universities. IIE especially invites institutions that are relatively new to international activities or may have less installed capacity in international education. 
• Length of Program: The program lasts for one year and includes a one-week study tour to the focus country.
• Program Dates: August 2012-July 2013
• Program Fee: IIE member institutions: $11,500 per institution ($13,000 for non-members)
• Application submission deadline has been extended to June 30, 2012

IIE’s Center for International Partnerships in Higher Education will launch two special partnership initiatives to Libya and Burma, most likely in 2013. Similar to the Center’s flagship International Academic Partnership Program, these partnership-building programs will engage a small group of U.S. higher education institutions on an accelerated strategic planning process for partnering with Libyan and Burmese institutions. These programs will include informational webinars, a study tour to each focus country, and expert mentorship. 

Interested institutions are encouraged to submit an Interest Form or email Clare Banks directly. 

Core Components of the Special Partnership Initiative 

1. Accelerated strategic planning process, including guidelines for assessing on-campus international partnership capacity and developing practical strategic plans for partnership activities in the focus country. 
2. A study tour to the focus country that will include visits to select higher education institutions, the U.S. Embassy, EducationUSA Advising Centers, Ministry of Education officials, and other educational exchange organizations. All in-country expenses for one representative from each institution will be covered as part of the program fees. Participants are responsible for covering their international airfare. 
3. A series of training webinars, focused on topics such as implementing strategic partnerships, faculty engagement, developing a consolidated partnership strategy, and higher education in the focus country. 
4. A suite of information resources on the higher education system in the focus country, and IIE publications and policy research reports.

Is your campus seeking an academic partner in the United States? Are you wondering how to navigate the U.S. higher education system to find the right institutional partner? IIE’s Global Partnership Service (GPS) offers expertise to higher education institutions around the world seeking academic partnerships in the United States. 

GPS utilizes IIE’s 90+ years of experience working with the U.S. higher education community to identify potential partners according to your institution’s specifications. GPS also reaches out to the IIE membership network of over 1,100 institutions to convey your partnership interests and attract high-quality prospective partners. This is also a great opportunity for potential U.S. partners to determine which institutions around the world are seeking partners and understand what they are looking for in collaborations. GPS is designed to provide strategic guidance for more streamlined relationship-building and management, and ultimately more effective partnerships between institutions in the United States and those in other countries.

The Standard Global Partnership Service package includes the following five services:

1. IIE Global Partnership Toolkit: Comprehensive set of materials compiled by IIE outlining strategies for partnership building. Includes case studies, articles, best practices for partnership building, and practical tools, such as MOU templates.
2. IIE’s Strategic Planning Worksheet: Self-guided planning document to help determine institutional partnership priorities and strategies.
3. Strategy Meeting: Discussion with an IIE GPS staff member on partnership strategies. 
4. Partner Search Announcement: IIE will send a customized announcement via the IIE.Interactive, a weekly email newsletter reaching IIE’s membership network of over 1,100 institutions worldwide, to facilitate your partner search.
5. Shortlist of Potential Partner Institutions: IIE’s GPS staff will develop a list of up to eight potential U.S. partner institutions, including contact information, based on stated criteria.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. For more information, visit www.iie.org/gps or email IIE GPS at: gps@iie.org.

The new IIENetwork Handbook for International Educators is a practical tool for your campus to identify and find partners. The 200-page Handbook includes comprehensive listings and resources for networking and internationalizing your campus. For the first time, the IIENetwork Handbook is also available in electronic format for IIE members. To access this password-protected, member benefit, please visit: www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Publications-and-Reports/IIE-Bookstore/IIENetwork-Handbook-Educators-2012. 

The 2012 IIENetwork Handbook is a practical tool for higher education institutions that includes resources on:

• Study Abroad
• Internationalizing the campus
• Scholarship programs
• Developing international partnerships

The IIENetwork Handbook also includes comprehensive listings and contact information for:

• More than 6,000 professionals at over 1,100 higher education institutions who are members of IIE
• EducationUSA Regional Educational Advising Coordinators
• Fulbright Commissions worldwide
• IIE domestic and overseas offices

To order copies of the IIENetwork Handbook, please go to: www.iiebooks.org/iienmemdir.html.

EducationUSA is a global network of hundreds of advising centers supported by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. EducationUSA Advising Centers actively promote U.S. higher education around the world by offering accurate, comprehensive, and current information about educational institutions in the United States and guidance to qualified individuals on how best to access those opportunities.

Visit the EducationUSA website to find an Advising Center in the country that your institution is interested in, and to collaborate with EducationUSA’s Regional Educational Advising Coordinators: www.educationusa.info/highered.php.

IIE created the Andrew Heiskell Awards for Innovation in International Education in 2001 to promote and honor the most outstanding initiatives that are being conducted in international higher education by IIENetwork member universities and colleges. 

IIE's Heiskell Awards showcase the most innovative and successful models for internationalization of campuses, study abroad, and international partnership programs in practice today. 

The profiles of the winning institutions are available on IIE’s website and are intended to serve as a resource. You can view the best practices summaries from the "International Partnerships" category here: www.iie.org/Who-We-Are/IIENetwork-Membership/Heiskell-Awards/International-Exchange-Partnerships.

Developing Strategic International Partnerships features recommendations, models, and strategies for initiating, managing, and sustaining a range of international linkages. The book illustrates the numerous ways in which international partnerships enhance, and even transform, the institutions that participate in them. Some of the key topics addressed in the book include: approaching partnerships strategically, models for managing and sustaining international partnerships, community partnerships and capacity building, designing research partnerships, partnering through networks and consortia, and developing partnerships with U.S. institutions. The book also includes appendices with numerous templates of Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) and Letters of Intent for establishing international partnerships, along with sample activities for identifying partners and developing linkages. 

For more information and to download the Introduction chapter, please visit: www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Publications-and-Reports/IIE-Bookstore/Developing-Strategic-International-Partnerships. To purchase a copy, please visit: www.iiebooks.org/destinpamofo.html.

This IIE white paper addresses ways that U.S. and Ethiopian higher learning institutions can expand capacity to develop partnerships, and how these institutions can build on their respective strengths. Some key recommendations on facilitating sustainable U.S.-Ethiopian institutional partnerships include the importance of reflecting on areas of common interest; developing a clear institutional strategy; and holding discussions about how partnership activities can be mutually beneficial. Building U.S.-Ethiopian University Partnerships also includes an appendix with extensive information about each participating Ethiopian institution. The appendix includes descriptions of each institution, their areas of interest for U.S. partnerships, and contact information.

To download the white paper, visit: 

www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Publications-and-Reports/IIE-Bookstore/Building-Sustainable-Ethiopia-Partnerships.

This briefing paper, produced by IIE and the Freie Universität Berlin and based on a survey conducted in spring 2011, assesses the current landscape of joint and double degree programs and identifies the challenges, opportunities, motivations, and impact of developing such programs. The study presents findings from a global perspective, as well as country-specific trends for the six countries with the highest number of institutions responding to the survey: Australia, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, and the United States.

To download the briefing paper, visit: 

www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Publications-and-Reports/IIE-Bookstore/Joint-Degree-Survey-Report-2011.

The Fulbright International Education Administrators (IEA) seminars are designed for U.S. higher education administrators who are interested in spending an intensive two-week seminar in one of five countries: India, Japan, South Korea, Germany, or France. Each seminar offers participants an in-depth look at the higher education system, culture, and society of the host country, and provides an invigorating opportunity for networking with international and U.S. colleagues. Participants return to their home institutions empowered with firsthand knowledge, new professional connections, and an enhanced ability to build partnerships, encourage study abroad participation, and support international students. 

Please consider applying for one of these unique Fulbright seminars for U.S. higher education administrators. The application deadlines and more information about each program can be found at www.cies.org/IEA.   

• India: Application deadline is August 1, 2012. Seminar takes place in March/April 2013.
• Japan: Application deadline is November 1, 2012. Seminar takes place in June 2013.
• South Korea: Application deadline is November 1, 2012. Seminar takes place in June 2013.
• Germany: Application deadline is February 1, 2013. Seminar takes place in October 2013.
• France: Application deadline is February 1, 2013. Seminar takes place in October 2013.

Instructions for completing an IEA application can be found at www.cies.org/IEA/Application.htm.  

Please contact Tanya Janes, Senior Program Officer, at tjanes@iie.org or Anna Valiante, Program Associate, at avaliante@iie.org with any questions about the Fulbright IEA programs. A list of upcoming webinars can be found at www.cies.org/Webinar/.  

For more information on the Occasional Lecturer Fund, please visit: www.cies.org/olf/.

For more information on the Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Program, please visit: www.cies.org/sir/. 

A blog post on the European Association for International Education's website offers four practical steps for developing sustainable academic partnerships. These steps include: finding a suitable partner, developing a shared vision, gaining institutional commitment from all sides, and ensuring longevity. According to the post, "The establishment of an academic partnership can be compared with a marriage: one needs to know (more or less) what one wants and expects, to invest time to find and choose the right partner, to get to know the partner, and last but not least, to be prepared for challenges. Healthy academic partnerships operate on a basis of equality and mutual recognition. The parties should be both compatible (equal enough) and complementary (different enough). And throughout the partnership, all those involved need to be willing to work and make it last."

To read the full post, please visit: www.eaie.org/blog/4-steps-for-creating-sustainable-academic-partnerships/.