November 17, 2017
By Jonah Kokodyniak, Chief, Institutional Development
As this International Education Week draws to a close, it is an opportune moment for all stakeholders in the field – colleges and universities, governments, the private sector, and students and professionals – to take stock of what we have learned this week and, more importantly, to take action to find new, sustainable ways to harness the power of international education.
I spent this International Education Week in the Middle East and Gulf region, meeting with ministries of education throughout the Middle East and Gulf region that are funding large scholarship programs, foundations looking to develop an entrepreneurial mindset among the region’s youth, employers searching for talent, and – most importantly – students and alumni who are benefitting from an international educational experience.
What I heard from all of them was that despite the challenges facing the higher education community – including the skills gap in today’s job market and inequitable access to opportunities and the increasing cost of higher education – there remains no better investment in our future leaders.
This was reinforced by the students and alumni I met. Nothing gives one more hope than meeting the people who have benefited from international education programs. Among the current and former scholars I met this week was an alumna of a U.S. design school now managing digital media strategy with a ministry of health, an aviation student hoping to land a summer internship with Boeing, and a recently-minted MBA graduate working at a fund that invests in new entrepreneurial ventures.
We hope that you will seek our guidance and expertise as you develop new international initiatives that develop students like these. Here are five ways we can help:
1. Launch and scale up scholarship programs. With a focus on innovation, student success, and operational excellence, IIE is a leader in understanding our clients’ needs and translating them into high-impact scholarship programs that achieve measurable and sustainable results.
2. Develop a skilled workforce. IIE implements professional development and training programs that foster innovation and growth and promote economic and social development. We partner with local businesses, global corporations, and government donors to find and develop talent.
3. Internationalize your institution. IIE works closely with public and private higher education institutions to develop and sustain institutional partnerships with counterparts around the world.
4. Leverage our consulting services and research insights. Our extensive history and experience in international education position IIE as an unparalleled consultant in program design, internationalization, scholarship and training management, and research and evaluation. We provide an in-depth awareness of current and emerging global trends in international education and help organizations better understand and meet their goals.
5. Current Opportunity. If your institution is interested in meeting and working with universities in Cuba or other educational institutions in Latin America, join us for an IIE-led delegation of U.S. colleges and universities to the 2018 Cuban International Education Conference. To join the delegation in February, contact Program Manager Shawn Patton at spatton@iie.org.
At IIE, we believe that stories like these – as well as those of the more than 27,000 people in 185 countries who participated in IIE-managed programs last year – are the best solutions to the world’s challenges. Join us to build a brighter future.