Shawn Patton, Program Manager of IIE’s Center for International Partnerships will be available at NAFSA to answer questions about the Mexico and Cuba partnership programs. Come visit the IIE booth #1212 on the exhibition floor or contact Shawn beforehand to setup a meeting.

The Mexico Partnership Program, a component within the larger IIE Mexico Higher Education Initiative, will explore the wealth of opportunities for academic partnership with higher education institutions in Mexico, while also confronting the challenges that have faced partnership building with the country in recent years. Participants of the program will also take part in an IIE-led delegation to Mexico City, Puebla, and Queretaro in September 2016 to meet with important stakeholders from universities, government, and organizations that deal with the Mexican higher education system.

As relations continue to improve between the US and Cuba, opportunities for increased academic partnership are growing. President Obama's historic visit to Cuba in March 2016 further signaled an easing of tensions between the two countries, which allows for greater international collaboration going forward. The Cuba Partnership Program will draw on IIE's relationship with key stakeholders in the Cuban Ministry of Higher Education and Cuban university system, experience leading high-level academic delegations, and expertise in international partnership building to provide expert guidance on U.S.-Cuba academic collaboration. The program will include a delegation to Cuba in October 2016.

IIE has just released a new report entitled HER Initiative to Lead Change: The Power of Education that presents the findings from a 2-year evaluation of the Higher Education Readiness (HER) pilot program in Ethiopia, which is an IIE Initiative. The HER pilot program provided secondary school scholarships to 100 female students from underserved populations in Ethiopia, with the ultimate goal of contributing to their success in secondary school and university enrollment. IIE’s Center for Academic Mobility Research and Impact measured the outcomes and impacts of the cohort of HER students against a comparison group of girls from the same schools who did not participate in HER. The report provides evidence of how a comprehensive pathway program like HER can increase high school graduation rates and matriculation to university, enhance female self-confidence and leadership abilities, and equip young women with skills necessary to succeed in life.

IIE’s President and CEO, Allan Goodman attended the British Council’s Annual "Going Global" conference in Cape Town, and offered his perspective on the role of higher education in today’s refugee crisis. Throughout the conference, many references were made to Shakespeare, in which Goodman said, "I note how ironic it is that the only surviving piece of paper that contains something written in Shakespeare's own hand is a scene about refugees. It is from a play (authored by someone else) about those fleeing continental sectarian violence [...] Shakespeare asks the audience to imagine what it would be like facing such conditions. Five centuries later, his words still have the capacity to remind us that we could all be refugees. Shakespeare indeed lives."

The annual EducationUSA forum brings together support services professionals from accredited U.S. colleges and universities to focus on international student recruitment and enrollment. Participants will gain practical skills and explore strategies for using EducationUSA resources to improve engagement with international students and ensure their success on campus. Concurrent sessions will provide insights into regional mobility trends and recruitment tips, outline models of good practice in campus internationalization, and facilitate conversations among attendees from various backgrounds.

IIE recently held a webinar entitled Careers with the United Nations, U.S. Department of State, and International NGOs. This webinar features speakers such as John Ericson, Chief of the Outreach at the UN; Usha Pitts, Diplomat in Residence for the U.S. Department of State; Alberto Cerda Silva, Program Officer at the Ford Foundation; and Julie Baer, Research Officer at IIE.

Many faculty are aware of Fulbright– but might not know what program is right for them. Below are several award categories to consider:

Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program - Over 800 grants are awarded annually through the Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. These opportunities, found in the Catalog of Awards, are open to faculty and lecturers, full- and part-time, early career and senior scholars. Short term and long term opportunities exist in all disciplines.

Distinguished Chairs - A group of awards within the Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program, Distinguished Chair awards are among the most prestigious appointments. From Australia to Austria, these high profile awards afford senior scholars opportunities to share their expertise at renowned institutions abroad. You are invited to join a webinar on May 26, 2016 - 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm EDT to learn more about the Distinguished Chair awards.

Postdoctoral Opportunities - This group of awards targets U.S. Scholars who have recently completed their doctoral degrees. Doctoral programs, dissertation advisors, and doctoral students should all be aware of the growing number postdoctoral Fulbright Scholar awards.

Application Deadline: August 1, 2016. 

Al-Fanar Media, the British Council, and SPARK co-sponsored a workshop in Istanbul on March 1-2, where more than 100 participants gathered to learn, network, and develop partnerships and programs to provide higher education to Syrian refugees. Sessions included "Emerging and Existing Scholarship Programs," "Building More Productive Partnerships," "Can Online and Blended Learning Rise to the Challenge of the Refugee Crisis?" and "What Should Be the Role of Syrian Academics in Educating Syrian Youth?" among others. Participants included large and small nonprofit organizations, government officials, donors, and initiatives large and small that share one common goal: to help as many Syrian youth as possible access opportunities for higher education.