NEW YORK, April 18, 2024 – IIE today announced the winners of the 2024 IIE Andrew Heiskell Awards for Innovation in International Education. The award was created in 2001 to promote and honor outstanding international higher education initiatives conducted by IIENetwork members. By recognizing excellence and innovation, IIE supports IIENetwork members in their endeavors, encourages the expansion and creation of initiatives based on these successful models, and amplifies the important role of international higher education on campuses and communities. Each winning initiative receives $1,000 to contribute to their ongoing success.
“For nearly twenty-five years, IIE has had the distinct honor of bearing witness to the trailblazers of international education,” said Allan E. Goodman, CEO of IIE. “From engineering to community college programs, the Andrew Heiskell Awards have amplified some of the earliest study abroad and internationalization innovations. We hope that the awards have been a source of inspiration and learning to practitioners over the years.”
The award was named in honor of Andrew Heiskell, a former Executive Committee member of IIE’s Board of Trustees; he was a renowned international and cultural philanthropist and long-time supporter of international education. For more than 20 years, IIE has granted 90 IIE Heiskell Awards to institutions and organizations around the world.
IIE thanks the IIENetwork members that submitted nominations and the selection committee for their time and effort.
Congratulations to the 2024 IIE Heiskell Awardees!
Widening Access for International Education
- Winner: Northern Arizona University’s Global Citizen Project Scholars
To expand access to study abroad for students who have never traveled abroad and demonstrate high financial need, Northern Arizona University designed the Global Citizen Project Scholars (GCPS) program, which uses campus partnerships to build a network of study abroad supporters who pool financial and human resources to offer the program. The goals of GCPS are to make credit-bearing international education economically accessible to all students through a replicable model and provide multidisciplinary learning experiences for students of all majors to practice global citizenship and apply it to their fields. - Honorable Mention: Florida International University’s COIL Capacity Building Program
Florida International University’s Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Capacity Building Program provides comprehensive, accessible, actionable professional development to individuals, institutions, and networks worldwide seeking to start, sustain, and expand equitable and inclusive virtual exchange initiatives. 1,169 educators have participated in FIU COIL Design Workshops and Leadership Institutes alone, yielding hundreds of COIL program programs annually that engage tens of thousands of faculty and students in transformational global learning with diverse international peers.
Student Mobility & Exchange
- Winner: Iowa State University’s Virtual Exchange+ Transatlantic Summer School
To lower the barriers to international experience for students, Iowa State University created Virtual Exchange+ programs that embed international experiences in existing coursework. Students from the U.S. and German partner institutions meet virtually and work collaboratively during a course or module on a project-based learning experience. The faculty group who created the Virtual Exchange+ program then used their partnership and funding to create a Transatlantic Summer School on Sustainability which will be hosted in Germany and the U.S. on alternate years. - Honorable Mention: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Real-Life Learning for Unique and Federally Regulated Majors
Embry-Riddle recognized that federal aviation regulations tied to some aeronautics and aviation majors were preventing students from participating in study abroad. To fill this gap, they designed their own study abroad programs to provide these students with hands-on experiences that magnify the global breadth of their chosen major. Program activities range from embedding students within Aegean Airlines, using unmanned aerial systems to map historic sites, to obtaining a seaplane rating in Alaska.
Strategic Partnerships
- Winner: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill & Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen’s Data Science and Society Collaboration
Building on a strategic partnership that has existed since 1986, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen have established a joint seed fund to support multidisciplinary research collaborations that engage faculty and students in the topic of data science and society. Their aim is to generate sustained research collaborations that address the urgent and shared challenges of using emerging technologies for the benefit of democratic societies while protecting civil liberties and privacy. - Honorable Mention: Dickinson College & U.S. Army War College’s Cooperative Scholarship
Dickinson College and the U.S. Army War College (USAWC) both support significant international populations in Carlisle, Pennsylvania as USAWC international fellows often bring their families to the U.S. with them. Starting as a grassroots effort, the Cooperative Scholarship uses Dickinson’s existing resources and Multi-lingual Writing Center to fill the needs of the international fellows and their dependents. Through the program, Dickinson can both support the Carlisle community and further internationalize their campus with an infusion of an entirely new international population.
Models of International Education Financial Support
- Winner: Loyola Marymount University’s Gilman Incentive Grant
Loyola Marymount University’s (LMU) Gilman Incentive Grant provides undergraduate students who receive Federal Pell grants a financial incentive to apply for the Gilman Scholarship. Students who complete and submit a polished Gilman Scholarship application will receive a $2,000 LMU grant, regardless of if they win funding from the Gilman Scholarship. To date, the program has awarded over $45,000 in grants to Pell-eligible students. - Honorable Mention: University of Denver’s Cherrington Global Scholars
The Cherrington Global Scholars (CGS) initiative is a University of Denver (DU) financial support program for study abroad expenses beyond the cost of home school tuition. Undergraduate students with CGS benefits may study abroad in any global destination at the same cost as studying on DU campus. Over the last two decades, the program has supported over 15,000 DU students on a term abroad experience representing over 70% participation in these globally recognized programs.
Learn more about the awards and honorees at iie.org/HeiskellAwards.