Annual internationalizing curriculum and campuses conference attracts educators from across country, world

The sixth annual Institute for Curriculum and Campus Internationalization brought a capacity group of participants from far and wide to the four-day conference May 22-25 at IU Bloomington. More than 60 administrators and faculty from as far away as Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the Dominican Republic, as well as 18 states Puerto Rico came to the conference presented by the Center for the Study of Global Change at the IU School of Global and International Studies.

Future success might actually be an indicator of the achievements of this conference: just before the Sunday evening plenary session, Hilary Kahn, director of the Center for the Study of Global Change and the SGIS assistant dean for international education and global initiatives, said that the 2017 conference already has a waiting list.

The conference brings together faculty, staff, and administrators to examine ways to make an international experience an integral part of higher education in a variety of ways. Throughout the four days, participants worked in one of two tracks: the course track emphasized ways to integrate global perspectives into teaching and learning; the campus track examined ways administrators can more strategically internationalize an institution.

“We continue to be extremely proud of accomplishments of ICCI,” Kahn said. “People come from all over the country and world, from a variety of institutional types, to learn and engage in a dialogue about the internationalization of higher education. Our alums are evidence of our achievements, as they are now having remarkable and sustained impact on their campuses.”

The plenary speaker encouraged participants to create a global experience for all of their students. Mohamed Abdel-Kader, deputy assistant secretary in the International and Foreign Language Education Office at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education, said during his Sunday evening address that sometimes creating such experiences can be difficult these days. Parents and students are far more critical of money and time spent in college than in the past, he said. Nonetheless, Abdel-Kader said internationalization couldn’t be more important for a complete college education.

“Every issue that we tackle requires an understanding of the global and the local context,” Abdel-Kader said. He noted that because of the more critical nature of families committing to a higher education institution faculty and administrators must be cognizant of the “return on investment” for the students. While all in the room at the ICCI conference are convinced of the value of an international curriculum, students don’t always immediately understand it.

“Students need connection,” Abdel-Kader said. “Students need to understand why.”

Over the course of the workshops, participants reviewed best practices, undertook sample lesson plans, and made concrete strategies for their next steps in internationalizing their own colleges and universities. The tracks also met together for shared working sessions and presentations. One such session included innovative coursework that spans the regional anMohamed Abdel-Kaderd the global, including the experience of several IU faculty. International business faculty and director of the Center for International Business Education & Research at the IU Kelley School Roberto Garcia presented about Kelley international experiences along with Amy Horowitz, director of GALACTIC–Global Arts Local Arts Culture Technology International Citizenship–a project of Center for the Study of the Middle East and Center for the Study of Global Change. Kate Graber, assistant professor in the department of Central Eurasian Studies, spoke about her teaching through the Russian and East European Institute and Gardner Bovingdon, associate professor in CEUS, discussed classroom experiences as part of the Inner Asian & Uralic National Resource Center.

Sessions were held in the Kelley School’s Godfrey Graduate and Executive Education Center. National partners for ICCI with the Center for Global Change were the American Council on Education and the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Living Earth Television was a not-for-profit partner. There were numerous IU campus partners.