Tatiana Mackliff, IIE Director of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Programs Division, writes in IIE’s Blog about a recently-released interactive online mapping tool called Mapping the Nation: Linking Local to Global. The tool "pulls together demographic, economic and education indicators—nearly one million data points—to show that the United States is a truly global nation." This map, Mackliff argues, confirms the importance of global competency among U.S. students and the important role educators play in this process.

In a recent Gulfnews.com article, Jumana Al Tamimi discusses recent data released last month by IIE’s Open Doors on student mobility trends in the Gulf. He highlights that "Today, Iran ranks number 15 on the list with nearly 8,744 students studying in the U.S. out of 819,644 foreign students...Saudi Arabia came fourth in the list after China, India and South Korea." IIE President Allan Goodman notes in an interview for the article that "In the 1970s, the largest number of international students in America were from Iran."

Miriam Wells reports on the Conference of Alfa PUENTES held in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, in a recent University World News article. "An international higher education conference has underlined major progress made in building links between universities in neighbouring countries in Latin America. But it also highlighted significant remaining challenges facing Latin American higher education if it wants to be truly integrated with tertiary institutions worldwide."

IIE’s higher education fairs provide a unique opportunity for U.S. colleges and universities to expand and widen their international presence and for students to learn about their myriad of opportunities. Registration is now open for universities; IIENetwork member institutions receive a discount. 

Fairs in Vietnam are specially designed for colleges and universities interested in recruiting students for all majors.

• February 18: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• February 20: Hanoi, Vietnam

Fairs in Latin America are specially designed for colleges and universities interested in recruiting students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields.

• February 27: Mexico City, Mexico
• March 1: Monterrey, Mexico
• March 4: Guadalajara, Mexico
• March 6: San Jose, Costa Rica
• March 8: Bogota, Colombia
• March 10: Sao Paulo, Brazil
• March 12: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• March 14: Santiago, Chile

iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) is currently inviting educators, high schools, and youth organizations in the United States to apply for participation in its Photojournalism 2.014 program. The program will engage educators and youth in Pakistan, Tajikistan, and the United States in cross-cultural collaboration to help them develop photojournalism and media skills through the lens of Heritage, Hunger, and Food Security. 

The program includes:

• Webinars and an online course for educators.
• Photojournalistic education and fieldwork for students.
• The opportunity for educators and students to potentially participate in a regional workshop and exhibition in Tajikistan at the conclusion of the program. 

iEARN’s Photojournalism 2.014 program is made possible through funding from the U.S. Department of State and sponsorship from the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.

The International Association of Universities (IAU) 2014 International Conference will focus on the theme: Blending Higher Education and Traditional Knowledge for Sustainable Development.

Main topics of the Conference discussions:

• What Kind of Future Do We Want?
• The Role of Higher Education Institutions in Sustainable Development
• The Post 2015 Development Agenda: as a Framework for IAU and higher education institutions

The International Higher Education Forum 2014 will focus on "Recruiting and retaining students: fundamental tools for international strategy."

Attend as a delegate and:

• Be better able to lead or support the delivery of an international strategy.
• Be aware of the opportunities and sector-wide initiatives available to support your international activities.
• Have a better understanding of current global trends and issues.
• Understand best practice and tactics that can realise recruitment and retention; and be in a position to bench mark your institution.

Who should attend: 

• Deputy and pro vice chancellors
• Directors of international offices, communications, and marketing staff
• University registrars and those leading on international student recruitment and support

The event is being organised by Universities UK and the UK HE International Unit in partnership with Hobsons.

Going Global delivers a global forum for world leaders of international education to debate the role the international arena plays in global tertiary and further education policy. The British Council will host Going Global 2014 in the diverse city of Miami. The event takes place from April 29th to May 1st, 2014. Themes for 2014 are: inclusion, innovation, and impact. The call for proposals has now closed, however you can still participate by submitting a poster presentation. To add your perspective to the debate, submit a poster proposal by December 16, 2013.

The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) Awards identify and promote successful innovative projects in education around the world for their demonstrated impact and potential for scalability. The six winning projects benefit from the recognition of leading experts as well as significant international visibility and publicity. The Winners will be celebrated at a Gala Dinner at WISE 2014, November 4-6, in Doha. Each project receives $20,000.

WISE was inaugurated by Qatar Foundation in 2009 under the patronage of its Chairperson, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. WISE is an international, multi-sectoral platform for creative thinking, debate and purposeful action, and a global reference for new approaches in education. Learn more about WISE Awards.

U.S. Department of State-sponsored International Fulbright Science & Technology (S&T) Fellows announce the launch of their online magazine, The Global Scientist.

This monthly magazine, edited by two Fulbright S&T Alumni, currently includes 11 articles covering multiple STEM disciplines.  Articles are composed for a range of audiences including scientists, policy makers, and the general public and are written and edited by Fulbright S&T Fellows and program alumni. 

The Fulbright S&T Fellows include 206 Ph.D.-level scientists from 77 different countries, who have pursued ground-breaking study and research at top scientific programs at 70 different universities across the United States since 2007.  The Fulbright Program, sponsored by the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 325,000 participants from over 155 countries with the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the 2014 Fulbright Regional Network for Applied Research (NEXUS) Program. This third iteration of Fulbright NEXUS is possible through a special partnership between the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright Commission for Educational Exchange between the U.S. and Brazil, and the Brazilian Ministry of Education, Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Studies (CAPES).

 

Up to 20 individuals will be chosen from the Western Hemisphere region, of which five participants will be selected from the United States, five from Brazil, and the remaining ten will originate from other countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada. Participants will spend two years engaged in collaborative thinking, analysis, problem-solving, and multi-disciplinary project-oriented research in one of five areas:

• Renewable Energy, including Micro-Grid Innovations
• Social and Behavioral Adaptation to Climate Change
• Measuring Climate Change and Its Impact (Metrics and Standards)
• Climate Change and Biodiversity
• Climate Change and Food and Water Security

A continued emphasis will be placed on climate change adaptation strategies and public policy focused research ventures that examine strategies to cope with climate variability. Fulbright NEXUS Scholars will participate in team-based research projects to generate knowledge-based, policy oriented solutions with immediate and practical implementation potential at the local, national or regional levels.

 

Lead Scholars Dr. Daniel M. Kammen of the University of California, Berkeley and Dr. Sergio Pacca of the University of São Paulo will co-lead this third NEXUS experience, providing intellectual leadership to the 2014 cohort.

 

The program will begin in June 2014 and end in May 2016. Scholars will be expected to participate in three multi-day plenary meetings, including an orientation meeting in August 2014 in Brasilia, a mid-term meeting in June 2015, and a final meeting in Washington, DC in May 2016. These full-group meetings will be structured to define and share collaborative team-based research, seek new synergies, discuss the local, national and/or regional implications of findings, and explore the possible practical outcomes to be implemented with local stakeholders.

 

For questions, please contact Katrin DeWindt at kdewindt@iie.org.

This is a final call for proposals to the Global Innovation Initiative, a new higher education grant competition launched this fall by the United States and the United Kingdom to strengthen higher education research partnerships between the United States, the UK, and four other countries: Brazil, China, India, and Indonesia. This initiative will provide exciting grant opportunities for post-secondary educational partnerships on topics of global significance in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the following four areas: energy, climate change and the environment; agriculture, food security and water; public health and wellbeing; and urbanization. Accredited U.S. post-secondary educational institutions are invited to apply for one of approximately ten grants of up to $250,000 each and must apply together with at least one higher education partner in the UK and one in Brazil, China, India, and/or Indonesia. 

Two parallel, but separate grant competitions are offered in the United States and UK, and an institution from either country will be required to take the lead on the partnership. Partnership proposals with a U.S. lead institution must apply through the U.S. competition and those with a UK lead institution must apply through the UK competition. 

The IIE Syria Consortium for Higher Education in Crisis, in partnership with Jusoor, the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), and the U.S. State Department’s EducationUSA-Syria advising office, convened nearly 40 universities last year to commit scholarships for threatened Syrian students.  

As the crisis in Syria persists, IIE hopes to build upon the Consortium’s year one success which provided $2.3 million in scholarships to 70 Syrian students at 13 U.S. universities. Still, ongoing support is vital for Syrian students and scholars wishing to continue their education and academic work.

As a reminder, the Institute is actively seeking current Consortium members to renew or expand scholarships, as well as additional universities to join the Consortium and offer scholarships for 2014. 

All Consortium members will also be eligible to apply for top-up grants of $5,000 - $10,000.  Moreover, in an effort to simplify and support the scholarship process, IIE and EducationUSA-Syria will provide basic pre-screening of Syrian student candidates.

Please email questions to SyriaSupport@iie.org.

The IIE Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) is seeking academic positions at colleges, universities, and research centers around the world for 16 threatened IIE-SRF scholars from Colombia, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Uzbekistan in order that they may continue their academic work in safety.

The IIE-Scholar Rescue Fund awards yearlong academic fellowships to scholars who are facing threats to their lives and academic work in their home countries. With matching funds and/or in-kind support, partner academic institutions offer visiting positions to these professors, researchers, and public intellectuals to allow them to continue to teach, write, or research, pending improved conditions that would permit their safe return home. Fellowships may be renewed for a second year.

The scholars below have been awarded grants of up to $25,000 for a visiting position. IIE-SRF seeks interested host partners able to invite the scholars with matching support (financial, direct and in-kind) that is equal to or greater than the fellowship award:

• A Colombian historian / sociologist researching armed conflict
• An Ethiopian agricultural entomologist
• Two Iranians specializing in: philosophy and sexuality / queer studies; sociology and development
• Ten Syrian scholars specializing in: aerospace engineering; agricultural economics; applied linguistics and French; computer engineering and artificial intelligence; computer science and applied mathematics; database and information systems; ecology and forestry; economics (2); theoretical physics and quantum mechanics
• An Uzbek art historian

In addition, an Iraqi scholar specializing in accounting has been awarded a grant of up to $32,500 for a visiting position. Matching and in-kind support is encouraged.

Email questions to srf@iie.org or call SRF General: +1-212-205-6486 / SRF Iraq Project: +1-202-326-7772.