What began as an international education issue has come to impact every aspect of higher education and daily life. While international education remains at the center of the current crisis, there is an opportunity for it to lead the way forward as colleges and universities pivot from emergency management to planning for longer-term impact.
To help institutions in this effort, ACE’s internationalization team has developed a toolkit and resources for the higher education community. For more substantial and sustained support, ACE’s Internationalization Laboratory program, a selective learning community for strategic planning and advancing equitable global engagement, is at the forefront of transforming institutions through the crisis and beyond.
The new toolkit, “Internationalization beyond COVID-19: Seven Steps to Take Now,” is available on ACE Engage®, a virtual community for institutional leaders and resources. Members of the higher education community can create a complimentary account to access a range of toolkits, microcourses, and webinars, as well as participate in topic-based discussion groups and connect with their peers in the field.
The COVID-19 internationalization toolkit introduces a Future Positive Conceptual Framework that focuses on resilience, recovery, adaptation, innovation, and most importantly, action, to advance international education and to help institutions as a whole emerge stronger and more effective. For each of the seven recommended steps, the toolkit provides links to a number of ACE resources to get started.
Now in its 18th year, the Internationalization Laboratory has helped over 150 institutions within and outside the United States advance their strategic mission through global engagement. To learn more about the Lab, how it is adapting to the post-COVID-19 landscape, and how it benefits participating institutions, be sure to attend the virtual Internationalization Lab Information Session & Provost Interview taking place June 4, 2-3 p.m. ET, on ACE Engage. ACE’s Director of Internationalization Kara Godwin will speak with University of Kansas Provost Barbara Bichelmeyer about why her institution decided to join the Lab and why now. There will be an opportunity for audience questions and information about flexible payment strategies. Click here to register.
The Internationalization Lab creates lasting change at participating institutions and is particularly suited to promote agility, resilience, and equity during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. West Chester University (WCU) in Pennsylvania participated in the 2017-19 cohort. Faculty member Peter Loedel said, “On behalf of WCU, we greatly enjoyed the opportunity to participate in the ACE Internationalization Lab. Now two years later, I feel that this exercise of self-study and strategic goal setting was very much needed in terms of WCU’s internationalization efforts.”
Gil Latz, who is now a Lab advisor, was associate vice chancellor for International Affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) when they participated in the 2004-05 cohort. Of that experience, he said, “ACE's expertise, experience, and research-based analysis were essential to IUPUI's positive experience in the Internationalization Laboratory, as measured by the University's current strategic plan which prioritizes international education, broadly defined, as one of 10 campus priorities.”
The 2020 cohort of the Internationalization Lab is currently accepting applications. Click here to learn more.