All the International Education literature I picked-up at #GenerationStudyAbroad #IIESummit2016 for Bury Book International Education Library & Archive

You can learn more about my Bury Book International Education Library & Archive via my International Higher Education Consulting website

Data-Driven Decision-Making to meet Institutional and Organizational Generation Study Abroad Goals

Earlier this week I was at the IIE Generation Study Abroad 2016 Summit in Washington, DC and I attended many great sessions.  For me, the most informative and valuable session was the Data-Driven Decision-Making: Documenting Study Abroad's Impact on Academic & Career Success session presented by Lisa Loberg of California Lutheran, Ann Hubbard of the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) and Gary Rhodes of California State University of Dominguez Hills.

To be sure, I have a strong interest in and respect for the research side of the field.  I firmly believe that making decisions to advance study abroad on your campus or in your organization should be informed by data and research results.  Some of the questions that guided the presentation and discussion follow:

• What are the most compelling findings?
• How do we make them common talking points?
• How can we use these data more effectively to show that study abroad is not only beneficial, but essential?
• How can the case for study abroad be more powerfully made to administrators, trustees, faculty, students and families?

Numerous research studies in the field have demonstrated that study abroad has a positive impact student academic and career success.  All three of my colleagues presented strong evidence on the positive impact of study abroad and were very engaging during their talks.  If you have a chance to attend a future conference session that Lisa, Ann or Gary are presenting at I highly recommend joining their session!


What study abroad data and research results have you found to be most useful in helping you advocate the benefits of study abroad to students or institutional leadership/decision makers?

Student Loan Forgiveness For Students Who Study Abroad - A #GenerationStudyAbroad #IIESummit2016 Idea By Sanford Ungar

The past three days I was at the IIE Generation Study Abroad Summit 2016 in Washington, DC and it was excellent!  I strongly encourage you and your colleagues to consider attending the 2017 Summit and if your institution or organization hasn't already done so please consider joining the 700+ Commitment Partners from across the globe who have joined the Generation Study Abroad initiative to double the number of U.S. students studying abroad.

There were too many great sessions at the Summit to choose from but the ones I attended were informative, engaging and thought provoking and I plan to post some thoughts I left with from the Summit.  One idea I found to be very interesting came from Sanford J. Ungar during the closing plenary.  Sanford Ungar is a leading proponent of study abroad and during his tenure as President of Goucher College he set forth a policy in 2006 requiring all undergraduate students at the school to study abroad before they graduated.  He also wrote a great essay in Foreign Affairs magazine entitled 'The Study-Abroad Solution: How to Open the American Mind' in March/April of this year and I encourage you to check it out.

During the closing plenary of the Generation Study Abroad Summit yesterday, Mr. Ungar suggested that there should be student loan forgiveness for students who study abroad!  While there are many variables that need to be sorted out should such a policy take hold but I fully support this idea.  Student loan forgiveness for students who study abroad would have broad reaching implications and this idea is certainly worth further exploration.

What are you thoughts on student loan forgiveness for students who study abroad?

Leave a comment below with your thoughts or, better yet, if you are on Twitter please tweet your thoughts using the following hashtags: #GenerationStudyAbroad  &  #IIESummit2016

Design Thinking and Increasing Study Abroad Participation #GenerationStudyAbroad

I'm here at the IIE Generation Study Abroad Summit and it's been great so far!

At the morning plenary I was reintroduced the the concept of Design Thinking but this time applied to the idea of increasing the number of U.S. students who study abroad.  It was fascinating to hear the speakers from The Design Gym talk about design thinking and study abroad.  Specifically, Generation Study Abroad Summit attendees were asked to participate in the Generation Study Abroad Design Thinking Challenge and answer the question "How do we rebrand and modernize study abroad to meet our goal [of doubling the number of U.S. students who study abroad]?

Throughout the Summit, attendees will be introduced to Design Thinking tools of:

• Empathy Building
• Idea Development
• Rapid Prototyping
• Storytelling

I really liked that The Design Gym and IIE had large cards that allowed attendees to add their ideas. This really added an interesting and collaborative environment to the Summit and one that added great value.  If you are attending the Summit and haven't yet added your thoughts please take a moment and contribute!

Follow the Twitter Backchannel from the 2016 IIE Summit on Generation Study Abroad in Washington, D.C. from October 23-25, 2016 #GenerationStudyAbroad @IIE_Summit

#GenerationStudyAbroad Tweets

IHEC Blog will be reporting from IIE Generation Study Abroad Summit in Washington DC, Oct. 23-25, 2016

I'll be attending the upcoming IIE Generation Study Abroad Summit as a member of the media (for IHEC Blog) and not as being from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. I'll be blogging, tweeting and posting to Facebook before, during and after the Summit!  I'm hoping to secure some great interviews with key people associated with Generation Study Abroad as well as other prominent stakeholders in the field.  I also plan to try out Facebook Live so stay tuned to IHEC Blog's Facebook page!

This Summit will be my first official press credentials for an international education event...although I had quasi-press credentials for my blog when the Fulbright Scholarship Board held their quarterly meeting at the University of Chicago back in May 2013.

Will you be there? It would be great to connect!

#GenerationStudyAbroad #IIESummit2016