IIE’s Emergency Student Fund (ESF) is issuing a call for nominations from U.S. colleges and universities who have Nepali students on campus with urgent financial need due to the devastating earthquake in Nepal. 

IIE’s Nepal-ESF will provide emergency grants of up to $2,000 each to Nepali students nominated by their U.S. host colleges and universities who are unable to continue or complete their degree program in the U.S. due to serious financial difficulties precipitated by the natural disaster in their home country.  

Accredited U. S. campuses are invited to nominate up to 5 percent or 3 (whichever is greater) of the Nepali students at their institutions for whom help is needed to complete their studies in the United States. International Student Advisers or other campus officials should complete the Nepal-ESF nomination form and e-mail it to ESF@iie.org by May 15, 2015, 5:00pm EDT. Awards will be announced by May 29th. Applications directly from students will NOT be accepted. U.S. host campuses nominating students for Nepal-ESF awards are expected to provide some emergency assistance to the nominated students, through tuition waivers, full or partial scholarships, housing, stipends, loans, work study, or other forms of support.

IIE’s Emergency Student Fund provides grants to post-secondary students matriculated at accredited educational institutions outside their home countries whose sources of support have been impacted by natural disaster or other crises. Since 2010, IIE’s ESF has provided over $1.5 million in emergency grants to over 450 students from Japan, Haiti, Libya, Thailand, the Philippines, Syria, and Iran whose home sources of financial support were impacted by crisis or natural disaster.

 

In an Op-Ed published today in the Indianapolis Star, IIE's President Allan Goodman and IIE-SRF Chairman Mark Angelson argue that protecting threatened scholars can counter the lure of extremism. Scholars and professors uphold the educational foundation necessary for providing youth around the world with better alternatives. "Every professor, every department head, every dean and president whom we save is a potent weapon against the tyranny of the extremists," write Goodman and Angelson, "This rescue is essential in cutting off groups like ISIS and Al-Shabab at their very source." Thank you to those who are helping to support scholars through the IIE Scholar Rescue Fund.

IIE provides financial and academic support as well as mentorship and leadership training to Ethiopian girls in secondary school through our Higher Education (HER) Program. The first cohort of HER girls will graduate from high school this spring from two schools in Addis Ababa, ready to become leaders at universities and beyond.

By donating today, your gift will send a HER student to university, and will give her the supplies and support she needs to succeed. Your investment in girls’ higher education is an investment in future female leaders with the power to transform their communities.

The Institute of International Education, on behalf of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ EducationUSA Advising Network, invites accredited U.S. post-secondary educational institutions (non-profit and for-profit), U.S. higher education associations, university systems, consortia, and qualified entities that meet provisions in IRS section 26 USC 501(c)(3) to submit proposals to be a Partner Organization for the second round of EducationUSA Leadership Institutes. Partner Organizations will develop and manage one or more EducationUSA Leadership Institute(s) for approximately 15 mid- to upper-level foreign college or university administrators, Ministry of Education or other government officials, or other qualified participants from select countries and world regions. The Institutes consist of intensive, short-term academic programs that provide participants with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of U.S. higher education, develop the tools necessary to build capacity within their own systems, and engage with the U.S. higher education sector in effective, sustained ways. 

Applicants are invited to submit proposals to host one or more of the following Institutes (each proposed Institute must address only one of the following three topics):

1. Campus Internationalization: U.S. Graduate Education
2. Industry-Private Sector Linkages and Innovation: Energy Sector Partnerships
3. Campus Internationalization: Institutional Structures to Support Inbound and Outbound Student Mobility

Julia Hendrickson, WES Program Director at IIE’s Center for Women’s Leadership Initiatives, shares about Chadleya Idriss’s new toy company, launched in Tunisia after winning seed funds through IIE’s WES Center for Women’s Business Development. "Girls represent 60 percent of all university students in Tunisia and graduate at higher rates than their male counterparts," writes Hendrickson, "Yet in 2012, only one in four women was active in the national labor market." Fulfilling promise of revolution, she points out, requires assuring opportunities for Tunisian women as well as men.

The National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange (NCDE), a project sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and administered by Mobility International USA (MIUSA), announced its #BlindAbroad campaign, aiming to increase awareness to the blind and low vision community on the benefits of international exchange. See the various ways your office can join and promote the campaign.

What does the United States gain after foreign students return home? Markos Kounalakis argues that, "beyond the dollars and cents that foreign students generate for the United States is the immeasurable value they bring to the social and political sphere in their home countries and globally." — The Korea Times

Arizona State University is joining with edX to offer an online freshman year that will be available worldwide with no admissions process and full university credit—a new experiment in online learning. — New York Times

John Traxler asks what the technology revolution means for the higher education system and whether attempts to adapt are likely to catch up, before it is overthrown. — University World News

Articles published on April 13–27 highlight the career benefits of study abroad, the importance of high quality study abroad programs, the pros and cons of U.S. students pursuing undergraduate degrees in Europe and, discussions of bilateral collaboration with Morocco.

QS unisolution is facilitating and funding a free event to provide a meeting place for Higher Education Management and leadership to come together to discuss the important role of international partnerships. Industry experts will share experience and best practice to highlight the impact forging and maintaining strategic partnerships has on the institution, the pursuit for internationalization, the student, and beyond.

As part of its new advocacy for the increase and diversification of U.S. study abroad, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) is seeking an innovative and dynamic staff member to join its dedicated U.S. study abroad team. This position is ideally suited for an effective communicator who is passionate increasing and diversifying U.S. student mobility—in terms of student profile, institutional type, and destinations. ECA is interested in applicants who are skilled in the use of digital tools and platforms, including social media, to reach today’s U.S. college/university students, but also family members, U.S. and foreign higher education institutions and associations, and other U.S. study abroad stakeholders.

The Global Competence Certification Program is a graduate-level certification program with field work experience in global competence education. The 15-month program provides K-12 educators with the resources to lead their schools and districts through shifting global realities, as communities, classrooms, and workplaces become increasingly interconnected and interdependent. Participants earn a graduate-level certificate from Teachers College, Columbia University, plus 48 Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) or 12 graduate credits.

The British Council has recently issued an Invitation to Tender (ITT) and seeks to recruit up to three international universities to partner with three Ethiopian Institute of Technologies (IoTs) and Science and Technology (STUs) clusters. International universities, including university consortiums, providing they have the expertise required for the assignment, are invited to bid for any or all of the three opportunities. ITT is therefore issued to international universities who would like to implement this ambitious plan to expand and improve Ethiopia’s provision of engineering education. The program envisages the development of new postgraduate study programs in selected Engineering disciplines with the help of international university partnerships with Ethiopian IoTs/STUs. 

In order to increase mutual understanding and expand people-to-people connections between the United States and India, the U.S. State Department is re-launching its Passport to India initiative through a partnership between The Ohio State University and IndoGenius. This survey will form the basis of a forthcoming study on barriers and best practices in U.S. student mobility to India. The survey is also key to creating a new directory of opportunities in India to be hosted on the Passport to India website. You are invited to share information about your institution’s India-based programs (and indicate whether you would like to list them on the upcoming Passport to India Directory).

The Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence (S-I-R) program is now accepting institutional applications to host a visiting scholar on your campus to teach and advise on curriculum development. Preference for the program is given to minority serving institutions, small liberal arts colleges, community colleges and any institution that is looking to broaden international exchange. Applications are due on October 15th.

Your institution is invited to learn how S-I-R can help advance its international presence, assist in faculty and curriculum development, and diversify the educational experiences of its students, scholars and surrounding community. To learn more and view scholar stories, visit our website.  

December 17, 2014, marked a historic moment for U.S.–Cuba relations. In response, IIE is pleased to announce the International Academic Partnership Program, focusing on increasing academic engagement between U.S. and Cuban higher education institutions. IAPP Cuba is the main component of the IIE Cuba Higher Education Initiative that was launched in February 2015. 

If your institution is seeking to develop strategic institutional partnerships with higher education institutions in Cuba, please consider applying for IIE’s International Academic Partnership Program. 

Over the course of 6 months, the IAPP Cuba Program will engage a select group of U.S. higher education institutions in a number of training activities focused on understanding the Cuban higher education system and exploring the potential for new academic partnerships. Since 2009, IAPP has engaged more than 80 U.S. higher education institutions in comprehensive programs aimed at increasing the number of partnerships between U.S. higher education institutions and their counterparts abroad. Past participants have increased their faculty exchanges, implemented institutional strategic plans, and expanded study abroad offerings. If you are interested in participating in this program, please contact Morgan Clark at mclark@iie.org or visit www.iie.org/iapp.

1. Strategic planning process 
2. Expert advice and guidance 
3. A study tour to Cuba 
4. A series of training webinars 
5. A suite of information resources

IIE is pleased to announce several exciting speakers, who will participate in plenary sessions and debates at the inaugural IIE Summit on Generation Study Abroad. We will announce many more speakers in the next few weeks and months.   

• Ángel Cabrera, President, George Mason University
• Peter D. Hancock, President and Chief Executive Officer, AIG
• Eduardo Padron, President, Miami Dade College
• Evan Ryan, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State

On October 1-2, 2015, the inaugural IIE Summit will bring together Generation Study Abroad commitment partners in Washington, DC, to highlight their progress and create positive new solutions. It will feature high‐level plenary debates, solution‐oriented sessions, think tanks and networking opportunities to mobilize commitments and inspire new actions. The IIE Summit represents a unique opportunity for leaders from the academic community, government and private sector to engage in a meaningful debate and will discuss how to integrate study abroad into every American's college experience.

The U.S. Department of State's Gilman International Scholarship Program is pleased to announce the awards offered to U.S. undergraduates who applied for the summer 2015 term. Notifications have been sent via email to all applicants. The Gilman Scholarship Program received more than 3,400 applications for the summer 2015 term, and over 1,000 outstanding students were offered awards to participation in credit-bearing study abroad programs and in career-oriented internships in countries all around the world this summer. 

We extend a special thank you to the selection panelists who came to IIE’s Houston office to review the applications and to all the educators who continue to promote the Gilman Scholarship and support their students in education abroad and international exchange experiences.  

Visit the Gilman website at www.iie.org/gilman to view a list of selected recipients. Login to the Gilman Advisor Portal at gilmanapplication.iie.org/Advisor to view award amounts offered to students and the status of all applicants at your institution.

In the recent IIENetworker magazine, IIE’s Sarah Ilchman and Megan Spillman provide guidance to host institutions in the United States for navigating emergencies involving sponsored students. "While many crisis scenarios can be planned for or named, any others have no map," write the authors. "Every crisis builds one’s ability to manage and resolve the next one."