Daniel Obst asks in IIE's Opening Minds blog, "What is the Next Big Thing in international Education?"

"Higher education institutions, educational organizations, and governments around the world are continuously looking for new ways to engage internationally and to keep their academic institutions relevant and competitive. Funding organizations and governments are investing substantial resources in international education, and are seeking to identify new areas to support. And everyone is trying figure out what it's all for," Obst writes. 

MOOCS, open badges, virtual exchanges, global network universities and new forms of international academic partnerships are some growing trends in international education that Obst mentions. 

IIE wants to know if you have other ideas. Comment on the blog, or if you have a lot to say about it, submit an article for the Fall 2013 issue of IIENetworker. The fall issue will be all about The Next Big Thing. Address all magazine inquiries to Madeline Friedman, Co-Editor, IIENetworker, at mfriedman@iie.org. 

The introductory chapter of the new publication, Latin America’s New Knowledge Economy: Higher Education, Government, and International Collaboration, is now available for free download. Written by Jorge Balán, senior research scholar and adjunct professor at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, and editor of the book, the chapter provides historical and comparative context and reflects on the major dilemmas that higher education policy in the region has faced. 

Latin America’s New Knowledge Economy: Higher Education, Government, and International Collaboration chronicles the rapid economic growth and social changes that have taken place across the region in recent years, and examines these developments through the lens of higher education. In the book, leading scholars from Latin America and the U.S. explore factors that have been catalysts for higher education reforms such as increased access and equity, emphasis on international study, and investment by foreign universities and corporations. 

Other chapters include: 

• Training the 21st Century Knowledge Workers: Higher Education and Workforce Development in Latin America
• Building Knowledge-based Economies in Latin America: The Role of National Study Abroad Scholarship Programs
• Trends in Student and Academic Mobility: From "Brain Drain" to "Brain Gain" in Latin America
• Toward 100,000 Strong: Western Hemisphere Academic Exchanges
• Academic Research and Advanced Training: Building up Research Universities in Brazil

Visit IIE’s research and publications page to download the free chapter. The book is available for purchase at the IIE Bookstore.  

Alternative lending options that are becoming increasingly popular among U.S. MBA students may soon be available to their international classmates, the Financial Times reports. The move could help to fill a gap in financing that has frustrated students and schools since the financial crisis. Read more here. 

Education Malaysia Global Services, or EMGS, an agency set up earlier this year to promote the country as a higher education hub, says it will concentrate on boosting foreign student numbers, particularly from South East Asian and Gulf countries. The agency’s main task is to help Malaysia reach its target of attracting 150,000 foreign students by 2015 and 200,000 by 2020, 70 percent of them in higher education, University World News reports. Read more here. 

Rutgers is initiating a national search for an Assistant Vice President (AVP) for its Centers for Global Advancement & International Affairs (GAIA). 

The new position will ensure the Centers advance the strategic and internationalization goals of Rutgers. The AVP will report to the Vice President for International and Global Affairs and will represent GAIA Centers internally and externally, under the direction of the Vice President. 

The AVP has responsibility for providing leadership and day-to-day coordination and facilitation of international educational, research, and outreach activities and programs. The AVP will play a key role in setting internationalization policy and planning across the University and facilitating the execution of GAIA and the University's strategic goals. The AVP will represent the Vice President when s/he is away or in specified initiatives, and at all times will be primarily responsible for the programmatic operations of the GAIA Centers. The ability to function in an executive capacity and show initiative is essential. The directors of Global Education, Global Services, Global Programs and Global Relations, and the Rutgers China Office will report to the AVP, who will be responsible for oversight of the daily operations and management of GAIA Centers’ four pillars and Rutgers China Office.

Other duties include working with the faculty committees, overseeing program assessment, identifying and coordinating potential grant opportunities, overseeing various grant programs offered by GAIA, coordinating data collection, analyses, and reports. The AVP will serve as a liaison to diverse units across the University including the schools, centers, and campuses, the Corporate and Foundation Relations Department of the Rutgers University Foundation, the office of the Enrollment Management, and the offices of Executive Deans of New Brunswick, Newark and Camden schools, Alumni Offices, and others.

Interested persons should visit the job web page for more information and to apply. 

The Director of International Education leads academic international initiatives at the University of South Alabama (USA) to include study abroad/exchange programs and immigration compliance and also does the following: 

• provides leadership for, and facilitation of, academic international experiences for students, faculty, and staff; assists faculty, deans, administrators, and staff to advance international travel and facilitate cross-collaborations in international education
• develops and implements a comprehensive recruitment and retention plan to grow the international student population
• collaborates with administrators and faculty to expand and support study abroad/exchange programs
• provides leadership to promote and strengthen international education through external grant and contract applications; chairs and facilitates activities of the USA International Education Committee
• serves as Protocol Officer for international visitors; serves as the Designated Official (DSO) for SEVIS; provides oversight of immigration compliance activities including immigration advising for international students and scholars
• coordinates the development of policy and procedures to ensure international education activities meet best practice standards
• assists colleges and schools with international scholarship management
• acts as liaison with federal and state agencies; ensures compliance with federal, state, and university regulations
• supervises staff to include assigning duties, checking work, approving time off, signing timesheets, preparing evaluations, and handling disciplinary issues; monitors departmental budget; travels to various meetings and conferences which will require overnight stays and include travel abroad; makes policy or personnel recommendations to the Dean, as needed; regular and prompt attendance; ability to work schedule as defined and additional hours as required; related duties as required. 

For more information or to apply, visit the University of South Alabama's Human Resources page.

A new report released by the Australian Government’s International Education Advisory Council outlines the Government’s development of a five-year national strategy to support the sustainability and quality of international education and provides advice on trends in international education and on current policies affecting the sector. 

Read the report at the Australia EAC website. 

 

The report mentions that, as part of its forward research collaboration agenda, Australia is a founding member of the Atlas working group, hosted by the Institute of International Education. The working group collaborates on producing the Atlas of Student Mobility, which aims to offer a richer data source on global student mobility than is currently available through OECD or UNESCO data collections. 

The colloquium, held in cooperation with the George Washington University’s Sigur Center for Asian Studies, is a three-day conference that aims to help Chinese graduate students understand the complex forces that shape American foreign policy. It consists of two main components:

1. Presentations, panels, and Q&A from the leading policymakers, academics, journalists, and business and NGO leaders who inform, develop, and implement U.S. foreign policy
2. A site visit at an organization involved in U.S. foreign policy, ranging from American government agencies to think tanks, from media to non-profit organizations

Applications can be completed using the online application. For more information, applicants can refer to the program brochure or event website.

Drawing upon recent research, this webinar provides an update on the status of international joint double/dual degree programs. The presenters will offer their perspectives on how these collaborative academic degree programs have evolved and reflect current trends in internationalization. Both benefits and risks will be discussed, along with what the future might bring. 

To register, visit: https://video.webcasts.com/events/aiea001/45736

Registration allows you one computer connection for unlimited participants. Site fee is $125 per computer. Refunds are not possible. If you have any difficulties registering, please contact tsc@talkpoint.com. Once your registration is approved, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the session.

The Embassy of Iraq’s Cultural Office, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Representation to the United States, and the U.S. Department of State will hold a one-day conference to strengthen relationships between U.S. universities and the three Iraqi scholarship programs that send thousands of students abroad for master’s and doctorate degrees each year.  The conference will include scholarship program updates, techniques to recruit and integrate Iraqi students and families to American campuses, faculty exchanges and PostDoc research funding, and opportunities to share Best Practices and Lessons Learned.  Be part of the discussion on how to transition the US-Iraqi relationship from transacting scholarship admissions to helping Iraq transform its higher education system.

For more information or to register, please go to:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2013US-IraqiHEConference

TechWomen is now accepting applications from women in the San Francisco Bay Area who are working in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to serve as Professional Mentors for the TechWomen program. TechWomen, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), is an international professional exchange that connects, inspires and empowers the next generation of women leaders in STEM from 16 countries in the Middle East and Africa. TechWomen mentorships will take place in October 2013. 

Candidates can learn more about serving as a TechWomen Mentor here: http://www.techwomen.org/get-involved/. 

The USIP Public Education for Peacebuilding Support (PEPS) initiative will provide $2,000 each to 250 U.S. institutions and public libraries. Funding may be used for a variety of activities, including educational or training workshops, lectures, speaker programs, library forums or web-based forums. The activity must address issues of international conflict and its resolution and be held between August and December of 2013. The application deadline is May 3, 2013 and recipients will be announced in July 2013.  

For more information or to download the application, please go to www.iie.org/usipsupport or email usipsupport@iie.org. 

The program, organized by the Fund for Reconciliation and Development, will take place from June 14-24, 2014.  Participants will meet with counterparts in regional universities in Matanzas, Santa Clara, Sancti Spiritus and Cienfuegos as well as with the University of Havana and specialized schools in the Havana area.  (Abbreviated schedule ends June 20 in Santa Clara.) 

The program is designed for academic and administrative staff planning short term faculty led programs, service learning projects and/or interested in developing collaborative partnerships.  Cuba's liberalization of travel in January enables undergraduate and graduate students to attend U.S. schools and return home. (U.S. visas may be easier to obtain for applicants sponsored by a Cuban counterpart.) The people to people license of the trip organizer, the Fund for Reconciliation and Development (FfRD), permits inclusion of trustees, spouses and representatives of third party providers.  FfRD is a long time NGO collaborator of IIE and NAFSA.  Holbrook Travel of Gainesville, Florida is responsible for bookings of travel and hotels.   

For more information or to see the itinerary, please visit the People to People website. 

The Fulbright Regional Network for Applied Research Program (NEXUS) mid-term meeting is underway in Medellin, Colombia this week. The Fulbright NEXUS Program is a network of 20 scholars and practitioners from the United States and other Western Hemisphere nations engaged in collaborative thinking, problem solving, and multidisciplinary research on climate-change adaptation strategies, with a public policy focus.

Hosted by Fulbright Colombia, the four-day meeting will allow Fulbright NEXUS Scholars to meet with influential stakeholders from a variety of sectors to discuss the challenges associated with environmental problem-solving. In addition to thematic group sessions, panel discussions, and individual consultations, scholars will share updates on their individual research initiatives, address issues they are facing, and receive group input on their projects.      

The mid-term meeting will lay the groundwork for scholars to develop a clear plan of action for their individual and group projects, leading up to the final NEXUS meeting in September 2013, to be held in Washington, DC.  

For more information about the Fulbright NEXUS mid-term meeting, visit the Fulbright Scholar Blog.  

To learn about the outcomes of the first Fulbright NEXUS cohort, watch this video.  

The grant is a unique Fulbright opportunity in Norway for those who have teaching experience, are interested in secondary education and have a keen interest in American Studies (history, geography, literature, cultural studies, etc.) Roving Scholars are based in Oslo but spend up to 50 percent of their time traveling all over Norway visiting secondary schools. Roving scholars are primarily guest speakers who engage secondary students in English on a variety of self-determined topics related to American Studies. A portion of their time is also spent offering workshops for teachers-in-service and teachers-in-training.  The Fulbright grant includes a healthy stipend, on top of which all travel expenses, including a generous per diem, are paid for by the Fulbright Roving Scholars Program. This unique opportunity is currently only available for U.S. Scholars to Norway.

We are seeking scholars who are interested in the intersection of the theory, policy, and practicalities of education. As a Roving Scholar, one is offered an unparalleled opportunity to build teaching experience in a new educational setting while forging professional and personal ties through hands-on academic immersion. 

We are seeking applications from interested and qualified candidates, through the usual Fulbright process (deadline August 1 for the 2014-15 school year). Please note a Ph.D. is not required for this Fulbright grant. University faculty as well as field supervisors, adjuncts or lecturers, and experienced classroom teachers with master’s degrees are encouraged to apply.

Please see the web pages featuring last year’s Roving Scholars: http://www.fulbright.no/RovingScholars. For more information, contact Rena Levin at rena@fulbright.no. 

IIE’s Center for International Partnerships has extended the deadline of the application for the 2013 International Academic Partnership Program in Vietnam to April 29, 2013. If your institution is seeking to develop strategic institutional partnerships with higher education institutions in Vietnam, please consider applying for IIE's International Academic Partnership Program.

 For more information or to apply, please visit the website http://www.iie.org/Programs/International-Academic-Partnership-Program/How-to-Apply or contact Clare Banks at cbanks@iie.org.