Follow the Twitter Backchannel from the 2017 IIE Summit on Generation Study Abroad from October 1–3, 2017 in Washington, DC #IIESummit2017 #GenerationStudyAbroad

#IIESummit2017 Tweets #GenerationStudyAbroad Tweets

Still time to register for the 2017 IIE Summit on Generation Study Abroad being held in Washington, DC from October 1–3, 2017 #IIESummit2017 #GenerationStudyAbroad

There is still time to register for the 2017 IIE Summit on Generation Study Abroad and you can do so via the registration page here.

Last year I was invited to attend the 2016 IIE Summit on Generation Study Abroad on a press pass for IHEC Blog and it was an excellent experience.  There were many great sessions and the networking opportunities with both old and new friends and colleagues ere plentiful.  I would love to attend the Summit again this year but my work schedule prevents will prevent me from attending this year (more on this in a future IHEC Blog post).

I'm a huge supporter of IIE's Generation Study Abroad initiative.  I was honored to be invited by IIE to attend the Generation Study Abroad Think Tank with other leaders from the public, private and educational sectors at their New York headquarters on March 12, 2014 to discuss what it will take to double the number of students studying abroad and to launch the Generation Study Abroad initiative.

Disclaimer:  I make no profit or receive any other benefit for this post.

Photo Gallery from the #GenerationStudyAbroad #IIESummit2016

Following are some of the photos I took from the recent IIE Generation Study Abroad Summit held in Washington, DC held October 23-25, 2016.

Wagaye Johannes, Project Director, Generation Study Abroad, 

Institute of International Education (IIE)

Evan Ryan, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, 

United States Department of State speaking at the opening plenary

Allan Goodman, President and CEO, Institute of International Education

speaking at the opening plenary

Obligatory selfie with one of my GoAbroad.com hats!

Finally met Eduardo Contreras, Director of Studies Abroad, University of Portland and co-author of a book chapter we are writing, along with Lily Lopez-McGee who is lead on the chapter, on diversity in education abroad.

 Gary Rhodes of California State University of Dominguez Hills asking the panel a question during the U.S. Government Initiatives to Advance Study Abroad session

I wrote my dissertation on an aspect of the National Security Education Program!

Rajika Bhandari of IIE, Christine Farrugia of IIE, Brett Berquist of the University of Auckland and Steve Nerlich of the Australian Government Department of Education and Training at the start of their What are We Counting and Why: Trends in Non-Credit Education Abroad and Global Best Practices for Tracking Non-Credit Students session.

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 at the start of their the Data-Driven Decision-Making: Documenting Study Abroad's Impact on Academic & Career Success session

Allan Goodman, President and CEO, Institute of International Education

speaking at the closing plenary

Holly Hudson of the University of South Alabama accepting award from Allan Goodman for her institution meeting their institutional Generation Study Abroad goals within two years!

Mala Adiga, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Academic Programs, 

United States Department of State speaking at the closing plenary

My name badge

Updating one's resume before studying abroad, while abroad & after returning from abroad! Idea out of #GenerationStudyAbroad #IIESummit2016

A week ago, I was attending the 2nd annual IIE Generation Study Abroad Summit in Washington, DC and as I indicated in previous posts it was an excellent experience on many levels!

Last Friday, I posted about my favorite session at the Summit entitled Data-Driven Decision-Making: Documenting Study Abroad's Impact on Academic & Career Success 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.

While speaking during the session, Gary brought up a very interesting idea that I really like.  In short, he suggested that students update their resumes before studying abroad, while they are studying abroad and after they return from study abroad.  I think this is an excellent idea and valuable exercise for study abroad students should consider doing!

Have you done something similar with students you work with who are heading abroad?

Photo credit: @UC_Global

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

IIE #GenerationStudyAbroad Voices Video Challenge Winners Announced at #IIESummit2016

Last night at the IIE Generation Study Abroad Summit in Washington, DC the winners of the #GenerationStudyAbroad Voices Video Winners were announced/.  Great videos!  Congratulations to Colette Ghunim and Devin Sommer.  You can see their videos below:

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

New Generation Study Abroad video by IIE debuted today at the ‪#‎GenerationStudyAbroad ‪#‎IIESummit2015

Follow the Twitter Backchannel from the Generation Study Abroad IIE Summit 2015, October 1-2, 2015 Washington, DC #IIESummit2015 #GenerationStudyAbroad #StudyAbroadBecause

#IIESummit2015 Tweets

IIE's "Generation Study Abroad" Brings Together Educators, Businesses, Governments

The following press release is copied and pasted here to IHEC Blog with the permission of IIE.

NEW YORK, March 3, 2014—The Institute of International Education (IIE) officially launched Generation Study Abroad, a five-year initiative that brings leaders in education, business and governments together to double the number of U.S. college students studying abroad. IIE has already identified more than 150 lead partners who have committed to specific, measurable actions that will help reach this ambitious goal; the result will be thousands more American students graduating with the international experience necessary for success in a globalized world. Organizations can learn more and sign on at generationstudyabroad.com.

Generation Study AbroadLeading up to IIE’s centennial celebration in 2019, Generation Study Abroad will engage educators at all levels and stakeholders in the public and private sectors to drive meaningful, innovative action to increase the number of U.S. students who have the opportunity to gain international experience through academic study abroad programs, as well as internships, service learning and non-credit educational experiences.

Building on its nearly 100-year commitment to study abroad, IIE has committed $2 million of its own funds to this initiative over the next five years. IIE is also actively raising funds for a Study Abroad Fund to provide scholarships to college and high school students and grants to institutions. Thanks to lead gifts by IIE Chairman Thomas S. Johnson and IIE Treasurer Mark A. Angelson, IIE will launch a new scholarship program, the IIE Passport Awards for Study Abroad, to provide supplemental grants for students from inner-city high schools to study abroad when they are in college.

Gilman Scholar Alumni Ashley BlackmonMore than 150 higher education institutions from 41 U.S. states have already signed the Generation Study Abroad Commitment, including large state and private universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, and historically black colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and several foreign governments, as well as key higher education associations and study abroad provider organizations, have also pledged to support the goals of the initiative. Recognizing the importance of an internationally focused workforce, IIE is also actively seeking the participation of corporations and the business community.

IIE is seeking at least 500 U.S. colleges and universities willing to either double the number of their students studying abroad, or significantly increase the participation rate of students who study abroad at some point during their undergraduate career. Later phases include mobilizing 1,000 high school teachers and engaging 10,000 alumni and students. IIE welcomes others to join this important initiative.

IIE is launching Generation Study Abroad because the number and proportion of today’s students who graduate with an educational experience abroad is far too low. Currently, fewer than 10 percent of all U.S. college students study abroad at some point in their academic career. According to the Open Doors Report on International and Educational Exchange released by IIE last November with support from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, 295,000 students studied abroad in 2011/12 in credit-bearing and non-credit programs. Generation Study Abroad aims to grow participation in study abroad so that the annual total reported will reach 600,000 by the end of the decade.

IIE recognizes that it will take time, resources and a perceptual shift to overcome barriers and bring about such change.

"Globalization has changed the way the world works, and employers are increasingly looking for workers who have international skills and expertise," says Dr. Allan Goodman, President of IIE. "Studying abroad must be viewed as an essential component of a college degree and critical to preparing future leaders."

With 2.6 million students graduating with associates or baccalaureate degrees each year, it is clear that major segments of America's young people are not getting the international experience they will need to advance their careers and participate in the global economy, or to work together across borders to address global issues.

Every institution faces its own unique set of challenges in getting more students to study abroad. Private liberal arts colleges in particular have historically been successful in making study abroad a part of their academic experience. But institutions of varying sizes and types with different missions and capabilities are developing innovative efforts to make study abroad more accessible to their students. By sharing best practices, campuses can learn from each other to extend international opportunities to a broader group of students from diverse backgrounds and fields.

IIE will lead the Generation Study Abroad coalition in creating an ongoing dialogue about the need for students to gain international experience. This will include research to identify and break down barriers hindering students from studying abroad, communications to share strategies and best practices to increase study abroad, and fundraising to mobilize additional financial resources. In addition to significantly expanding study abroad, the campaign will track campus activities that expand diversity in race and ethnicity, academic disciplines and gender.

As the first step in bringing stakeholders from different sectors together to achieve large-scale change, IIE will convene a one-day Think Tank (which I was invited to attend and will participate in) on what it will take to double study abroad, gathering invited leaders from the public, private and educational sectors at its New York headquarters on March 12.