2018 AIEA Conference

Byaelzaim

2018 AIEA Conference

2018 AIEA Conference

I attended the 2018 AIEA conference in Washington DC from 19 to 22 of February. As usual, this event is the best venue to meet Senior International Officers from more than 40 countries and to meet with a few number of selected providers on international education services in the world.

Hot topic thematic this year: The Internationalization Imperative in Turbulent Times.

I facilitated the AIEA workshop on the role of the the University and the SIO in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs, and presented with my colleagues from University of Toronto and McGill University a Canadian perspective on Internationalizing in turbulent times. We shared some examples of initiatives taken by Canadian universities and organizations to help refugees and students and scholars at risk. A second presentation with my colleagues from Harvard University and National Taiwan University about the University Leadership in turbulent times allowed us to interact with a group of more than 40 participants about the responsibility of the University in communicating, helping and supporting students and faculty in this era of clash of globalization. Our presentations will be added soon to the Conference web page.

Few Highlights from the Conference:

• The AIEA is currently in a Strategic planning phase. A new strategy will be developed and published early 2019. I am glad to participate in the Strategic Planning Task Force.
• The closing Plenary was the bouquet  with the 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian peace activist, trained social worker and women’s rights advocate. She is an inspiration and living example of the dedication for human development.
• The Canadian sector of Internationalization of Higher Education was very well represented by colleagues from Universities of Alberta,  British Columbia, Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, McGill, Waterloo, Simon Fraser, Langara, Ryerson, Western, McMaster, Carleton, Sherbrooke, Thompson Rivers, BCCIE, Global Affairs Canada.
• The Innovation Award this year goes to the Université de Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, for a project on Internationalization of the curriculum in a Global Health Program.
• The Klasek Award goes to Dr. Susan Sutton for her contributions to the field of International Education.

Conference material is being made available here and pictures here.