In his latest column in the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof hails Utah for being one of the "most cosmopolitan states in America," crediting the accumulation of international experience gained by Mormon missionaries. "More than 130 languages are spoken daily in commerce in Utah, and that’s one reason it sometimes tops the Forbes list of best states to do business," writes Kristof. He notes, however, that "American universities ... are still quite insular. Fewer than 10 percent of college students study overseas during undergraduate years." 

We at IIE agree that this percentage is too low in today’s global economy. That’s why IIE has launched Generation Study Abroad. This five-year initiative brings leaders in education, business, and government together to double the number of U.S. students studying abroad by the end of the decade. We are inviting leaders from all sectors to join the more than 160 partners who have already committed to specific, measurable actions to reach this ambitious goal.

The deadline to complete the survey for the upcoming Open Doors Report is Friday, March 21, 2014. The International Student Census Survey, which captures fall 2013 data on international students in the U.S., is part of the Institute of International Education’s annual Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. The Open Doors Report, supported by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, has long been regarded as the authoritative source for statistical data on international student flows to the U.S. IIE’s research team relies on the efforts of dedicated individuals from each U.S. institution to help keep these statistics as current and accurate as possible. 

If you have any questions about the survey, need to update your institution’s contact, or require an extension, please send an email to iieresearch@iie.org or call (212) 984-5554.

"The beautiful reconstructed plazas, pervasive tranquility throughout the city, and friendly people were just a few of the wonderful surprises that greeted us last week," writes Clare Banks from IIE’s Center for International Partnerships in her latest post about her visit to Havana for the Congreso Universidad 2014 conference, a bi-annual event hosted by the Cuban Ministry of Higher Education. The visit included meetings with Cuban higher education institutions and Ministry of Higher Education officials to gauge their interest in a potential IIE International Academic Partnership Program (IAPP).

An article in University World News reports on the new strategy adopted by Arab states at the 14th Congress of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the Arab World held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, "to harness science, technology and innovation for development by improving science education, upgrading and reforming universities, building research capacity and encouraging international cooperation." 

Karen MacGregor discusses in a University World News article "The World Beyond 2015," a campaign of the Association of Commonwealth Universities to raise awareness of why and how higher education should respond to global challenges. "Reconciling the wish to prioritise societal and development goals with growing pressures to perform on other core missions has emerged as a major dilemma for universities," writes MacGregor.

The Report of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda proposes 12 major development goals divided into 54 sub-goals, none of which mention higher education. "The importance of higher education to achieving the old and new Millennium Development Goals is evident," writes Ad Boeren for University World News. "As such higher education should feature in post-2015 development agendas and be integrated in programmes that aim to achieve the goals."

This event is sponsored by the Coalition for International Education and the College of William & Mary. Join leaders in academia, K-12 education, business, government, and the NGO sectors for timely research and discussion of national human resource needs and strategies for enabling U.S. educational institutions to address the broad national policy goals to:

• Ensure a globally competent citizenry and workforce
• Strengthen the U.S. ability to solve global problems
• Produce international experts and knowledge for national needs

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

• Governor Jon Huntsman, American politician, businessman, former Governor of Utah and former U.S. Ambassador to China and Singapore
• Mark Rosenberg, President, Florida International University
• Thomas Fingar, Distinguished Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University
• Anthony Jackson, Vice President, Asia Society
• Robert Keohane, Professor of International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University

The AIEA Forum, "Developing Institutional Strategies for Growing Global Research," will bring together Senior International Officers (SIOs), Vice Presidents for Research (VPRs), Graduate Deans, other university administrators and key faculty to identify best practices for developing institutional strategies for globalizing the research mission of the university. 

Participants can expect to learn from one another about successful efforts to facilitate and promote global research and to contribute to a common values statement concerning the value of international research engagement to the university mission. Expert panels and interactive break-out sessions will identify examples and case studies of successful practices within and across the university setting that are essential for facilitating globalized research. Participants will also have multiple opportunities to network with funding organizations within the U.S. and abroad.

Registrations are now open for the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA) Annual Conference 2014. The conference will be co-organized by the Agence Europe-Education-Formation France and is expected to draw an audience of 300+ participants from Europe and beyond. 

The 2014 Annual Conference bears the title "Europe in the World: Higher Education Trends Across the Globe. It will:

• Assess the relative attractiveness of European higher education on a global scale. 
• Address present and future key issues of European and global higher education. 
• Analyze recent trends in major non-European countries and regions around the world and present state-of-the-art partnerships between universities in these regions and countries and in Europe.

The Global Learning Programs division is proud to announce the call for nominations on behalf of the 2014 JB Fernandes Award for NGO Excellence in Trinidad and Tobago. Established in 2012, the JB Fernandes Award seeks to recognize and reward nonprofit organizations that are national models of excellence, improving communities and utilizing best practices in nonprofit management. The Award also aims to communicate the positive impact of these organizations in their communities and the country.

 

In 2013, The Roxborough Police Youth Club received the Award for its tireless efforts to provide meaningful educational and leisure opportunities for young people in the community. The Tobago-based club has been instrumental in creating a safe haven for local youth.

 

The Award is funded by the JB Fernandes Memorial Trust through Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. The Trust supports initiatives to increase access to education, improve health conditions, and alleviate poverty. Since 1998, the Trust has distributed nearly 1000 grants totaling more than US$40 million. A one-time Award of $5,000 US will be offered.

With this new program, and funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the European Union, DAAD provides support for international mobility for postdoctoral researchers. Researchers of all nationalities, who see their long-term career unfolding in Germany, will be given the opportunity to combine the association with a German university with a research stay abroad. There are no restrictions as to the country of destination as long as the applicant has not stayed in the respective country for more than 12 months in total during the three years up to March 31, 2014.

Partners of the Americas, NAFSA Association of International Educators, and the U.S. Department of State are requesting proposals for the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund grant competition for higher education institutions. The Innovation Fund is President Obama’s education initiative for the Western Hemisphere. It is designed to foster region-wide prosperity through increased higher education, study abroad, and collaboration. The competition is open to all higher education institutions in the Western Hemisphere and is funded by the generous contributions of Santander Universities, a division of Banco Santander.

Experienced international decision-makers from higher educational institutions (HEIs) in Latin America and North America will present strategy, nuts-and-bolts advice, elements to success, and new funding and collaboration models.

The Fulbright Regional Network for Applied Research (NEXUS) provides opportunities to build collaborative networks dedicated to addressing critical social and environmental issues in the Western Hemisphere. Fulbright NEXUS will bring together a network of junior scholars, professionals and mid-career applied researchers from the United States, Brazil and other Western Hemisphere nations for a series of three seminar meetings and a Fulbright exchange experience. At its core, the Fulbright NEXUS Program fosters collaborative and multidisciplinary research to address challenging regional issues and produce tangible results.

 

A recorded Q&A Webinar with the 2014 Lead Scholars for the Fulbright NEXUS Program is available here. Learn more about the program from former NEXUS Scholars in a new blog post and video. 

The Institute of International Education seeks experienced EFL/ESL professionals to design and facilitate workshops on teaching English overseas for participants of the Fulbright U.S. English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) Program. The workshops are part of world region-specific Pre-Departure Orientations (PDOs) that will be held in in Washington, D.C. during the months of June and July. Detailed proposal guidelines, instructions, and deadlines available at: www.cies.org/eta-facilitator.

Fulbright student from Russia, Georgiy Molodtsov, and two of his fellow students at the American University School of Communication have produced a series of professionally crafted short films to support the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ (COG) TapIt Metro DC Water Campaign – "Ten reasons to drink tap water." A thank you note the Fulbright student received from COG says that professionals are in awe of "how good the animated video is" and that the Council is "extremely grateful for the creativity, professionalism, and countless hours of work the three students committed to the TapIt project."

Watch TapIt video

A recent article in the New York Times discusses a shortfall in higher education in Myanmar after decades of isolation and repression. Daniel Obst, IIE Deputy Vice President for International Partnerships, is quoted speaking on the importance of higher education in the economic development of the country, "You have all these companies swooping in and investing, but if you do not have the courses that can teach the right things—and professors who do not have the knowledge to teach them—it is very challenging." To help fill this gap, IIE piloted a 20-week course in November aimed at helping universities in Myanmar set up links with schools around the globe.

An article in Inside Higher Ed discusses the University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute—an engineering college within SJTU. "To make a long-lasting partnership, it’s critical that both sides understand their own goals and articulate them to the partners," said James Paul Holloway, Michigan’s vice provost for global and engaged education. "It’s not critical that they be the same; it is critical that they be consistent." 

The University of Michigan - Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute was awarded IIE’s 2014 Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education in the International Partnerships category. 

The deadline to complete the U.S. Study Abroad survey for the upcoming Open Doors Report is March 28, 2014. The U.S. Study Abroad Survey captures data on U.S. students traveling abroad for academic credit and is part of our annual Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. The Open Doors Report, supported by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, has long been regarded as the authoritative source for statistical data on international student flows to the U.S. IIE’s research team relies on the efforts of dedicated individuals from each U.S. institution to help keep these statistics as current and accurate as possible. 

If you have any questions about the survey, need to update your institution’s contact, or require an extension, please send an email to iieresearch@iie.org or call (212) 984-5554.

"Once you give them motivation, they need support," says Gloria Carter, co-founder and CEO of the Shawn Carter (Jay Z) Foundation. The foundation is a partner of the Benjamin Gilman International Scholarship Program of IIE and was featured in a recent USA Today article. Allan Goodman, IIE's president and CEO, is quoted noting that most of the young adults studying abroad as a result of supplemental funds provided to that program by the foundation "do volunteer or social community service, which sets a very powerful example in other countries."