The Institute of International Education is pleased to announce that the new IIENetwork Handbook for International Educators has just been published. The 200-page Handbook includes comprehensive listings and resources for networking and internationalizing your campus. The IIENetwork Handbook is also available in electronic format for IIE members.

The 2015 IIENetwork Handbook is a practical tool for higher education institutions that includes resources on:

• IIE Research and Publications
• Support for Study Abroad
• Resources for Internationalizing the Campus
• Scholarship Programs Overview
• Developing Strategic International Partnerships

The Handbook also includes comprehensive listings and contact information for:

• More than 7,000 professionals at over 1,300 higher education institutions who are IIE members
• EducationUSA Regional Educational Advising Coordinators
• Fulbright Commissions worldwide
• IIE domestic and overseas offices

The membership contact at each IIENetwork member institution will receive one complimentary copy of the publication, and all member designees can access the password-protected online version. To order additional copies of the IIENetwork Handbook, please go to: iiebooks.org/iihaforined1.html. For more information, contact membership@iie.org.

The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program (CADFP) has now selected and approved a total of 110 Fellows since its inception two years ago. The most recently selected follows are traveling to Africa beginning this month to conduct joint projects with colleagues at host universities in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. The advisory council, comprised of academic leaders from Africa and prominent African diaspora academics, has remarked on the quick growth, high quality, and impact of the program, which allows African universities to take the lead in hosting African diaspora scholars at their institutions. 

IIE and the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU) led a delegation of high-level officials representing 12 U.S. higher education institutions to Norway in mid-April to meet with potential partner campuses and learn about Norwegian higher education and explore collaborative opportunities. The study tour to Oslo, Tromsø, Trondheim, and Bergen was part of IIE's International Academic Partnership Program (IAPP) for Norway, which seeks to help universities in the U.S. formulate a plan for strategic and sustainable partnerships with institutions in Norway. The delegation identified important issues and opportunities that will guide potential new partnerships and collaboration.

In recognition of the 75th anniversary of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) managed by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, IIE President and CEO Allan Goodman describes the impact of the program observed during his involvement at IIE and at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. "Many visitors went on to become sheikhs, presidents, and prime ministers," writes Dr. Goodman. "But thanks to IVLP and a few evenings in American homes, they became neighbors and friends." IIE is honored to have played a role in programing and welcoming groups of international visitors since 1972, and to help celebrate the anniversary this year.

Egypt and the United States have launched a three-year initiative to enhance university partnerships and provide nearly 2,000 scholarships and exchanges for high-achieving Egyptians in fields strategic for Egypt’s economic prosperity. — University World News

The Russian government plans to increase the number of state-funded university placements allocated to foreign students, meeting a steadily growing global demand for education at Russia’s top universities. — University World News

Alessia Lefébure, Director of the Alliance at Columbia University and Adjunct Professor at the university's School of International and Public Affairs, joins New Books in Education to discuss IIE’s new book published in collaboration with the AIFS Foundation. — New Books in Education

Jackson State University, in Mississippi, is crowdfunding to support 140 students who are planning to study abroad later this spring. — studyinternational.com

CAPA International Education shares "some of the blogs that we turn to time and again—touching on study abroad specially and travel more generally." — CAPA

This year’s Academic Cooperation Association (ACA) Annual Conference is dedicated to the theme of institutional internationalization strategies and their (successful) implementation. The Conference is expected to draw an audience of some 300, including central actors and decision-makers from universities and colleges as well as policy-makers and practitioners from government departments, international institutions, NGOs and think tanks.

EducationUSA will host a pavilion at the European Association for International Education Conference (EAIE) and will provide space for accredited U.S. higher education institutions. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase your institution and especially to build partnerships with institutions in Europe and other world regions. With Erasmus+ funding available for short-term exchange programs, meeting colleagues from European institutions is easiest at EAIE which reaches more than 5,000 higher education professionals from over 90 countries, including 600 exhibitors. You can choose from more than 200 sessions and workshops and about 20 networking events. There is a registration fee for both full and part-time participation. Spaces fill up quickly.

The ISANA 2015 Program Committee is seeking presentation submissions for consideration for the conference program. The theme of this year's conference is "Collaborations in providing services to international students." The aim of the conference is to explore different models of collaborations between education providers and other service providers. Final papers will be included in the post-conference ISANA Online Proceedings unless the author indicates otherwise.

How relevant is international education today? 

This "show me" issue of IIENetworker magazine will collect and examine available evidence to shed new light on the relevance and impact of international education. We hope this process will also raise new questions about the role international education plays, can play, and should play in today's world.

Articles can either: 

1. Focus on a central aim of international education and present concrete evidence showing precisely how international education does or does not achieve this aim; we welcome macro- or micro-level discussions, either based on research, a case study, or a compelling story
2. Or present a critical argument about why we do this work; articles can interrogate assumptions about core aims or how impact is evaluated

If you are interested in submitting a 1200-word article for the fall 2015 issue of IIENetworker, please notify Jon Grosh at jgrosh@iie.org. Final submissions are due by May 15, 2015. For more information on IIENetworker, please visit: www.iie.org/iienetworker.

December 17, 2014, marked a historic moment for U.S.–Cuba relations. In response, IIE is pleased to announce the International Academic Partnership Program (IAPP), 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.

Five Core IAPP Services:

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

In the recent IIENetworker magazine, Paul E. McNamara shares about university partnerships in Sierra Leone, which have produced valuable research, teaching, and service opportunities in both directions and have helped prevent a decline in the food security situation due to Ebola. "The Illinois/Njala model illustrates a relatively low-cost academic partnership model delivering benefits to an institution in a post-conflict country as well as a U.S. university," writes McNamara.

 

IIE invites you to attend a Generation Study Abroad Advisor Workshop on May 27th in Boston. This workshop will provide program overviews and advising recommendations for education abroad programs, including the U.S. Department of State's Fulbright U.S. Student Program and Gilman International Scholarship Program, the National Security Education Program's Boren Scholarships & Fellowships, the Whitaker International Program, Global E3 Program, the China Confucius Studies Program, and Schwarzman Scholars. The workshop will also provide information about Generation Study Abroad, a five-year initiative launched by IIE in March 2014 to double the number of U.S. students studying abroad by the end of the decade.