By Clare Overmann, Head of Higher Education Initiatives
November 13, 2017
I’d like to invite you to join IIE as we celebrate International Education Week, November 13-17, 2017.
Since 2001, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of State have led this campaign to show the lasting impacts of educational exchange. Each day this week, IIE will share content to inform, to educate, and to inspire people about the power of international education.
We’ll kick off the week by releasing the 2017 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. Supported by the U.S. Department State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), Open Doors is the go-to report on academic mobility in U.S. higher education. Despite some early predictions, U.S. colleges and universities hosted more than one million international students for the second year in a row.And American students continue to study abroad as well; U.S. study abroad has more than tripled in the past two decades.
We will air the Open Doors Briefing live on Facebook from the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The broadcast begins at 9:30 a.m. EST at Facebook.com/IIEglobal. If you are unable to join live, you may view the video on IIE’s Facebook page and at IIE on YouTube later in the day. Take a look at the new data at iie.org/opendoors, and follow @IIEglobal and @ECAatState for infographics and live tweets from the briefing.
For the rest of the week, follow along at IEW2017, here on the IIE Opening Minds Blog, and on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to learn more about the diverse initiatives and services that IIE provides.
Tuesday will be all about the benefits of and opportunities to study abroad for American students. Through the IIE Generation Study Abroad initiative, we give U.S. students the opportunity to develop the skills they need for success in today’s global workforce and support 800 Commitment Partners around the world that are aiming to increase study abroad participation through awareness, opportunities, and innovative approaches. You’ll hear from our 2017 IIE Summit Voices,
who will tell us why they chose to study abroad, and the benefits of doing so. We also will celebrate the achievements of Commitment Partners and share some of their strategies and perspectives. Follow Generation Study Abroad on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more content throughout the entire week and learn more about the initiative at Generation Study Abroad’s page.
On Wednesday, learn about IIE’s critical work to protect scholars and students from violence and emergencies throughout the world. Through the IIE Emergency Student Fund, we will award our latest round of grants to university students in the U.S. whose families have been affected by recent hurricanes in the Caribbean. The IIE Emergency Student Fund has saved the lives, work, and voices of nearly 700 students from more than 50 countries where on-going crises have placed urgent financial burdens on them and their families. You’ll also learn more about IIE’s international partners who help to make the IIE Scholar Rescue Fund possible. Since its founding in 2002, the IIE Scholar Rescue Fund has provided life-saving support to more than 700 scholars from more than 58 countries. Thanks to our partnerships with higher education and other institutions, the scholars have been able to continue their work in safety at more than 375 host institutions in 43 countries around the world.
Hear how scholarships can affect positive, lasting change on Thursday, our “impact of international education” day. The IIE Center for Academic Mobility Research and Impact will release a new report in our 10-year study to capture the impact of the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program, one of the largest global fellowships in higher education. Our colleagues in Mexico City will host a report briefing, which will air live at 4:30 p.m. EST (3:30 p.m. CST) on IIE Latin America on Facebook.
And finally, on Friday, learn how your organization or institution can work with us. IIE is powered by a global team of more than 700 experts in 18 offices worldwide. For 98 years, we have worked with hundreds of American colleges and universities and foreign governments to administer some of the most prestigious and innovative international exchange programs in higher education. See how your organization can leverage one of our areas of expertise to help build a brighter future.
Last, but not least, we want to hear from you this week. Tell us about the power of international education in your life. Has it broadened your career opportunities? Have you made lifelong friends through an exchange?
Chime in online. Use hashtags #IEW2017 and #PowerofIE, and tag @IIEglobal.
You can find all of this and more by following IIEGlobal on social media and by visiting IEW2017. Thank you for your support of international education today and every day.