IDEAS Capacity Building Initiatives

The IDEAS Program offers a variety of in-person and virtual trainings for faculty and staff at U.S. colleges and universities with the goal of helping to increase their institutions’ capacity to administer study abroad programs. As the field continues to adapt and evolve in response to the global pandemic, the IDEAS Program is committed to offering initiatives and activities that address the most pressing needs of our country’s diverse higher education institutions and key U.S. foreign policy goals.

IDEAS Workshops

Upcoming IDEAS Workshops

IDEAS workshops are open to study abroad stakeholders from accredited U.S. colleges and universities, including but not limited to study abroad advisors, faculty, and other staff involved with or interested in creating, expanding, and/or diversifying study abroad for U.S. students at their institution. Workshops will take place either virtually or in-person on Fridays. Registration will open one to two months before each event. See below for more information on workshop topics and registration details.

Objectives of the IDEAS workshops are to:

Share best practices on study abroad capacity building topics as identified by the U.S. study abroad community;
Share USA Study Abroad information and other U.S. Department of State and U.S. Government resources; and
Build and strengthen the U.S. study abroad community networks for future sharing of resources and best practices.

Workshop Descriptions and Schedule

Disturbing Stereotypes and Single-Story Narratives: Expanding Inclusivity & Belonging in Global Programming

Date: Friday, September 29, 2023 8:00AM-5:00PM Eastern Time

Location: Miami, Florida (IN-PERSON)

Description:

Miami Dade College (MDC) will host a full day in-person workshop focused on tools and best practices for increasing the participation of underrepresented student populations in study abroad. This workshop will bring together a diverse team of facilitators with expertise in addressing issues of ingraining inclusive excellence and belonging in global education. Participants will identify processes and skills needed to achieve desired results, apply their newly acquired knowledge, evaluate their actions and approach, and brainstorm about the sustainability of their new goals. The workshop will include interactive sessions with opportunities for reflection and networking throughout the day.

Registration is now closed; event is at capacity. Please email [email protected] to be added to the waitlist and/or receive resources after the event.

For more details on the event, including travel, hotel, and schedule, please click here.

IDEAS Webinars

IDEAS Webinars are hosted virtually and open to study abroad stakeholders from accredited U.S. colleges and universities and other organizations who are involved with or interested in creating, expanding, and/or diversifying study abroad for U.S. students at their institution. See below for more information on webinar topics and registration details.

Campus Engagement in Refugee Resettlement: Perspectives from the SHERR Program

Date: Wednesday, October 4, 2023 2:00-3:00PM Eastern Time

Registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lYHi5GoFT4iwpg__NIZ_fQ

Webinar Moderator: Matt Brown, World Learning / SHERR

Speakers:

Holly Herrera, Section Chief, Domestic Resettlement, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration
Miriam Feldblum, Executive Director, Presidents’ Alliance for Higher Education and Immigration
Manal Sidi, Program Manager, Welcome.US/Welcome Campus Network
Mariam Iskajyan, SHERR Program Coordinator, Ethiopian Community Development Council
John Sunnygard, Associate Provost, Global Learning and International Affairs, Western Kentucky University (IDEAS grantee)
Matt Brown, Director of Global Programs, SHERR Program Manager, World Learning (moderator)

The SHERR program aims to strengthen “pathways of engagement” for U.S. colleges and universities to participate in refugee resettlement by offering a suite of resources, tools, trainings, and innovation incentive grants. With funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, SHERR is a collaboration led by World Learning, a Washington, DC-based education and exchange nonprofit, in partnership with the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and advocacy organization, Welcome.US, a national initiative to mobilize Americans to welcome those seeking refuge in the U.S., and the Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC), one of ten nationally recognized refugee resettlement agencies. During this webinar, attendees will hear from experts in higher education, immigration and refugee resettlement, and consider options and benefits of college and university engagement with refugee populations.

Past Initiatives

See below to explore past IDEAS Initiatives and recordings. Check out the Library of Resources for resources from these events and more.

2023

Webinar: Preparing a Globally Competent STEM Workforce through Study Abroad (Recording)
Webinar: Transcripts, Translations, and Transfers, Oh My! A Registrar’s Perspective on Study Abroad (Recording)
Workshop: Fighting Climate Change Through Connection Between Study Abroad and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Resource Hyperdoc)

2022

Webinar: Rural Students Across the Globe: Recruiting and Supporting Rural U.S. Students Abroad (Recording)
Workshop: Developing More Impactful Experiential Learning: Best Practices for Faculty-led Study Abroad (Resource Hyperdoc)
Workshop: (Re)creating a Campus Culture of Study Abroad After a Global Programming Pause (Resource Hyperdoc)
Workshop: Jumpstarting Education Abroad at Community Colleges in a COVID-19 World (Resource Hyperdoc)
Webinar: Expanding Access and Inclusion: Developing Holistic Strategies for Recruiting and Supporting Students from Underrepresented Groups (Part I, II, III, IV)
Webinar: What do institutions need to know about the updated U.S. Department of State Travel Advisories? (Recording)
Webinar: Priorities for a Return to Student Mobility: IDEAS Resources for Supporting Underrepresented Students (Recording)
Webinar: Incubator Session: When One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Analyzing Data for Diverse Student Populations (Recording)
Webinar: When One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Analyzing Data for Diverse Student Populations (Recording)
Webinar: Priorities for a Return to Student Mobility: Financial Strategies to Maximize Your Office’s Budget (Recording)

2021

Webinar: Assessing Student Growth and Development Abroad (Recording)
Webinar: Theory of Change: Translating Study Abroad Program Goals and Priorities into Assessments (Recording)
Webinar: Priorities for a Return to Student Mobility: Working with Partners to Assess and Manage Risk (Recording)
Webinar: Building Diverse Programs to Support Diverse Students: Best Practices from St. Cloud State’s Cultural Heritage Programs (Part I, Part II)
Workshop: Best Practices in Study Abroad Program Assessment and Evaluation – A 2-part workshop with Mount Holyoke College
Webinar: What the State Department and U.S. embassies can and can’t do in a crisis (Recording)
Webinar: Virtually Abroad: Expanding our idea of what study abroad looks like (Recording)
Webinar: What do institutions need to know about U.S. Department of State Travel Advisories? (Recording)

2020

Webinar: The Future of Study Abroad: Risk mitigation in a COVID world (Recording)
Webinar: The Future of Study Abroad: How to decide when it is safe and ethical to begin again (Recording)
Webinar: Maximizing your study abroad resources: Faculty-led best practices for program flexibility (Recording)
Webinar: Maximizing your study abroad resources: Supporting underrepresented students in study abroad (Recording)
Workshop: Faculty-led Study Abroad Best Practices: Addressing Grand Challenges in Faculty-led Study Abroad at UGA
Workshop: Faculty-led Study Abroad Best Practices at UNC, Charlotte
Workshop: Study Abroad Campus Outreach and Recruitment at CSU, Bakersfield

If you have questions about any of these IDEAS Initiatives, please email IDEAS@worldlearning.org