Registration will open by July 31, 2014 | Summit Details

IIE’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) offers critical assistance to professors, senior researchers, and certain public intellectuals whose lives and work have been threatened during times of repression, crisis and conflict.  On Friday, October 24th, at its headquarters in New York, IIE will convene an inaugural summit to celebrate the scholars we work with and explore the collaborative nexus of higher education, human rights, and philanthropic resources that are available to protect threatened scholars. Featuring partners from diverse sectors, the summit will address the challenges to offering immediate and long-term assistance to scholars suffering from censorship, harassment, violence and other grave human rights abuses that silence intellectual voices and stunt the essential elements of a more peaceful and educated world.  

The summit will call upon universities, human rights organizations, NGOs, philanthropic groups, and government agencies to consider ways in which this diverse community can bridge emergency response services and longer-term support programs to raise awareness of and respond to the critical needs of individual scholars and entire academies under threat. Panel discussions will give participants the opportunity to share best practices, expand their networks and explore spaces of cross-sector collaboration. 

IIE-SRF fellowships support visiting appointments for threatened scholars to continue their work in safety at partnering academic institutions worldwide. Since IIE-SRF's founding in 2002, the program has provided academic fellowships to scholars from 50 countries, placing them at over 300 host partner institutions in 40 countries. Learn more.

The United States is the world’s leading destination for international students and immigrants. However, many countries are now competing for the same talent. While the United States remains attractive to many individuals, the pathways to education and employment are often complicated and difficult to navigate. The WES 40th Anniversary Forum will explore how policymakers, universities, businesses, nonprofit organizations and local communities can effectively respond to the competitive environment for global talent.

• Trends Shaping Global Talent Mobility and Policymakers Responses
• Implications of Immigration/Policy Reforms and Their Impact on International Student Recruitment and Immigrant Integration
• Addressing the Challenges and Creating Pathways and Advancement Opportunities for Global Talent