The Institute of International Education and the EducationUSA advising network invite you to participate in a special conference call with high-level U.S. and Libyan officials on establishing academic linkages between higher education institutions in the United States and Libya. This conference call will include updates on the U.S.-Libya Higher Education Task Force, Libya's education priorities and models for partnerships, and IIE’s International Academic Partnership Program with Libya and upcoming higher education delegation. 

The call will be moderated by Dr. Allan E. Goodman, President and CEO of IIE. The distinguished participants will include: 

• Ambassador Chris Stevens, U.S. Ambassador to Libya
• Dr. Medani, President of Tripoli University
• Dr. Nefati, Deputy President of Tripoli University and Liaison to the U.S.-Libya Higher Education Taskforce
• Mietek Boduszynski, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Libya
• Kristen Cammarata, Regional Educational Advising Coordinator, EducationUSA Middle East & North Africa

Participation is open especially to U.S. higher education institutions with a demonstrated interest in developing academic linkages with Libya. To express interest in participating in the call, please register online at: www.iie.org/Who-We-Are/News-and-Events/Events/2012/Second-National-Conference-Call-on-Libya.

An article in Surghar Daily reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to sign a decree that will establish "the Global Education program, which will allow qualified Russian students to study abroad at the government’s expense" by 2013.

For more information on the specifics of the program and to read the full article, please visit: http://surgar.net/english/-news-pg-World-NewS-2320.html.

An article in University World News argues that "Free Massive Open Online Courseware—MOOC—is less than a year old but it is already clear this will be the game changer in higher education worldwide. Right now it is reverberating through the world’s universities like a tectonic shock." The author goes on to explore the many opportunities and challenges that the MOOC system presents for higher education institutions.

To read the full article, please visit: www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=2012080915084470.

A report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation entitled, Reforming Immigration Law to Allow More Foreign Student Entrepreneurs to Launch Job-Creating Ventures in the United States, outlines specific measures to modify U.S. immigration law in an effort to attract and encourage talented international students to launch job-creating ventures in the United States. 

For more information and to download the report, please visit: www.kauffman.org/newsroom/improved-immigration-laws-would-help-foreign-student-entrepreneurs-launch-american-companies-create-american-jobs-says-kauffman-paper.aspx.

The new newsletter from the UK Higher Education International Unit focuses on the role that higher education plays in shaping the future, particularly in the context of societies in the throes of rapid change. Items in the newsletter address countries as diverse as Burma, Afghanistan, and Egypt. One particular item focuses on the British Universities’ Iraq Consortium, which is an independent organization of 38 British universities that supports the development of higher education in Iraq. The organization’s recently released report on their engagement with Iraq can be downloaded here: www.buic.ac.uk/downloads/IRAQ_FINAL_REPORT.pdf.

To read the full newsletter, please visit: www.international.ac.uk/media/1704785/International_Focus_83.pdf.

An article in The Globe and Mail highlights a new report commissioned by the Canadian federal government entitled, International Education: A Key Driver of Canada’s Future Prosperity. The report argues that "Canada must invest in attracting students to fuel innovation and drive economic prosperity...The task force also recommended creating 50,000 opportunities per year for Canadian students to go abroad for study and cultural exchanges."

To read the full article, please visit: www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canada-must-attract-foreign-students-to-fuel-innovation-drive-economy-report/article4480232/. To download the report commissioned by the Canadian federal government, please visit: www.international.gc.ca/education/report-rapport/strategy-strategie/index.aspx?lang=eng&view=d.

An article in Pacific Standard examines a recent report that offers evidence to support the claim that studying abroad boosts one’s creativity. Entitled "On the Cognitive Benefits of Cultural Experience: Exploring the Relationship between Studying Abroad and Creative Thinking" and published in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology, this report concludes that "cultural experiences from living abroad have wide-reaching benefits on students’ creativity, including the facilitation of complex cognitive processes that promote creative thinking." 

To read the full article, please visit: www.psmag.com/culture-society/to-boost-creativity-study-abroad-43897/#.UCLJ4ESY3e8.mailto. For more information on the report, please go to: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acp.2857/abstract.

The National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals (NAGAP) will hold its Annual Conference on April 24-27, 2013, at Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The Call for Proposals is now open, and the deadline to submit is September 30, 2012. NAGAP is especially interested in proposals on the following topics:

• Leadership 
• Student Services in a Graduate Enrollment Management Model
• Legal and Ethical Issues
• Career and Staff Development
• Graduate Student Support and Financial Aid
• Admissions Policies and Processes
• Marketing and Recruitment

For more information and to submit proposals, please visit: www.nagap.org/conferences/annual.asp.

The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) will hold its 93rd annual convention on April 20-23, 2013, in San Francisco, California. The AACC annual meeting attracts more than 2,000 community college presidents and senior administrators, as well as international educators, representatives of business/industry, and federal agencies. The theme for this year’s convention will be: "Bridging to Excellence: Reimagining the Community College." The deadline to submit proposals is September 24, 2012.

For more information and to submit a proposal, please visit: www.aacc.nche.edu/newsevents/Events/convention2/Pages/default.aspx.

The 15th annual Colloquium on International Engineering Education will take place on November 1-3, 2012, in Newport, Rhode Island. The theme for this year’s colloquium is "Globalizing across the Curriculum." The early-bird registration deadline is October 1, 2012.

Founded 15 years ago by the International Engineering Program (IEP) at the University of Rhode Island, the purpose of the Annual Colloquium on International Engineering Education is to provide a forum to discuss and share issues and ideas related to the field. The Colloquium provides engineering and language educators, international program administrators, deans, provosts, presidents, corporate leaders, public sector representatives, and students common ground to talk about educating engineers for today's global workplace.

For more information, please visit: www.uri.edu/iep/colloquia/2012/index.html.

Higher education institutions and professionals engaged in the development and implementation of international programs at their institutions are invited to participate in the 8th annual APAIE Conference and Exhibition to be held in Hong Kong on March 11-14, 2013. Hosted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the conference offers extensive opportunities for international educators to examine the impact of an emerging region on higher education under the theme: "An Ascendant Asia-Pacific: International Higher Education in the 21st Century."  

Over 1,000 delegates from around the world will take part in this conference to learn about opportunities and challenges facing international educators today, and to build regional and global networks. The conference will feature a large-scale exhibition, pre-conference workshops, parallel sessions, networking opportunities, visits to local universities, and a Hong Kong city tour. Parallel sessions will cover the following six strands:

• Region Reports: national plans, policies and trends; factors effecting higher education development.
• Student Mobility and Support Services: student learning and development, advising, and crisis management.
• Partnerships and Collaborations: Asia-Pacific alliances, international initiatives, and networks.
• Programs, Models, and Curriculum: internationalization at home, off-shore initiatives, and education for global citizenship.
• Managing the International Office: structures, inter-university relations, and professional development.
• Internationalization Strategies: institutional policies and practices in Asia and beyond.

Details about registration, exhibition, and sponsorship opportunities of APAIE 2013 are now available at www.apaie.org/conference/2013. For inquiries and to subscribe the e-newsletter of the APAIE 2013 Conference and Exhibition, please email apaie2013@cuhk.edu.hk.

The Institute of International Education is currently preparing the 2013 edition of its annual directory Funding for United States Study: A Guide for International Students and Professionals, the print companion to IIE's online search engine www.fundingusstudy.org. 

With more than 500 grant and scholarship listings, Funding for United States Study is the most comprehensive directory on finding funding for study in the United States. It features detailed descriptions of grants, fellowships, and scholarships for undergraduate and graduate study, and doctoral and postdoctoral research in the United States. All listings are free of charge and provide an excellent opportunity to publicize your institution's programs. 

For institutions whose listings appeared in the previous year's directory, we ask that you verify and update your listings and contact information or add new listings by visiting:   www.fundingusstudy.org/OVS/login0.asp.

Institutions whose listings did not appear in previous years' directories can add their scholarships or grants that are available for international students by visiting: www.fundingusstudy.org/OVS/EditInstitution.asp?AC=New.

With questions, please contact lepplin@iie.org.

The Iraq Scholars and Leaders Program (ISLP) is a competitive scholarship program that provides select graduate (master's or doctoral) and current or prospective undergraduate students from Iraq with a fully funded scholarship toward the completion of a degree at a higher education institution in the United States. Funded by a U.S. corporation and administered by the Institute of International Education, the goal of the program is to provide the Iraqi scholarship recipients with the opportunity to pursue study at a U.S. college or university, develop new leadership and cultural skills, and to build closer ties between the people of the United States and the future leaders of Iraq.

The ISLP scholarship deadline is September 15th. For more information, including eligibility requirements and application guidelines, please visit: www.iie.org/islp.

The Institute of International Education selected five U.S. colleges and universities to participate in the 2013 India initiative of the International Academic Partnership Program (IAPP). Over the next year, international education professionals at each of these institutions will participate in a series of training activities arranged by IIE to help them implement and sustain partnerships with institutions in India. The strategy-building program includes a study tour to India in early 2013 to learn about the Indian higher education system and meet with potential partner campuses.

The five U.S. campuses are: 

• Arizona State University
• Portland State University
• University of Colorado Colorado Springs
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• Washington & Jefferson College

This year IIE chose to accept a smaller cohort in order to offer a more tailored experience that directly addresses their specific partnership and capacity building goals and to add a faculty development component. This is the third group of campuses to take part in the program focused on India.

Each institution has made a commitment to form a campus-wide task force to work on prospective partnerships, conduct an institution-wide inventory of activities pertaining to India, and develop a strategic plan focused on partnering with Indian institutions. IIE’s goal in creating the IAPP program of webinars, workshops, and site visits is to empower institutions with a number of resources necessary for building partnerships with India and other countries. IIE’s Center for International Partnerships in Higher Education developed the IAPP program in 2009 with an initial two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). 

For more information on all previous IAPP programs, including participating institutions, see www.iie.org/iapp.