By Kevin J.F. Murphy, CEA Global Education Italy Academic Dean & Campus Director
Last week I was in the city of Dublin for the Joint Leadership Meeting of the European Association for International Education. Almost 100 executive members of the EAIE flew in to the Emerald Isle for a round of intense meetings and dialogues - the Board, General Council, Professional Sections and Special Interest Groups, Professional Development Committee, Editorial Committee, Conference Program Committee, as well as staff from the EAIE Office in Amsterdam.
The rather conspicuous Dublin Convention Center,
on the bank of the Liffey. This is the world's first
carbon neutral convention centre.
Céad Míle Fáilte!
We met in Dublin because this marvelous city will be the location of the EAIE 2012 conference, 11-14 September, and so we all had a chance to review the conference facilities including the spectacular Dublin Convention Center (above).
Copenhagen Broke Records!
At the first meeting the association took the opportunity to take stock of the achievements of the past year. Highlights included the 2011 Conference in Copenhagen, the largest European event of its kind, which saw more than 4,200 international higher education professionals from 87 countries meet in the Danish capital last September to exchange ideas and discover new trends and practices. The conference also held the largest EAIE exhibition to date, with 250 exhibition stands providing vast networking opportunities and truly innovative stand designs.
EAIE's Dynamic Working Groups getting down to
business in the colourful Global Lounge of
University College Dublin
The Future of International Education
As a board member of SAFSA (EAIE's Professional Section for Study Abroad and Foreign Student Advisors) my chief task in Dublin was to work with my board to select sessions and workshops for the next conference, where the focus will be 'Rethinking Education - Reshaping Economies'. We also developed an action plan for SAFSA activities, the role, objectives and future projects of the association, the EAIE's response to changing trends in international higher education, the needs of members, and collaboration with sister associations around the globe.
The Value of EAIE
The work of all attendees at these meetings demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to international education. In addition, our involvement allows us to network professionally, to bring back ideas and concrete developments to our home institutions, to develop institutional relationships, and to keep abreast of the changing landscape of study abroad in Europe. Here's an example - at two successive EAIE conferences I've been involved in two sessions focused on international education and graduate careers with Scott Blair from CEA, Cheryl Matherly (University of Tulsa) and Barbara Boldt (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland). As well as being featured by the Chronicle of Higher Education, these sessions have helped to fuel CEA initiatives such as career workshops for students, mock job interviews, and most recently CEA's own Global Career Development Certificate. At the next conference in September we hope to highlight and explore this theme further with a session dedicated to the challenges of translating international education to employable skills. That foreign study automatically helps a student land a job shouldn't be taken for granted - much evidence, including the results of the most recent QS Global Employer Survey, suggests that there is a wide variety of big company attitudes towards the value of intercultural experience and study.
Attendees at the EAIE's Joint Leadership Meeting assemble
in an orderly fashion for a group photo on the campus of
University College Dublin, our kind hosts.
Until September!
The scene has been set for another great EAIE conference, and we'll all be back on the banks of the Liffey in September. Registration Opens in May.
The EAIE is a non-profit organization whose main aim is the stimulation and facilitation of the internationalization of higher education in Europe and around the world, and to meet the professional needs of individuals active in international education. It has a committed membership of more than 2300 international education professionals - from rectors to professors to international exchange coordinators.