NAFSA 2013 Reflections
After attending my first ever NAFSA conference in St. Louis in May, I had a lot to process. The sheer size and scope of the event was impressive (around 8,000 people - a mini-city within a city!). Unquestionably, this was one of the most exciting, inspiring, overwhelming, and professionally invigorating experiences! I would recommend it to anyone looking to meet with global study abroad partners, plan a new program by negotiating with providers and partner institutions during the Expo, or learn of best practices in the field by attending some information-packed Knowledge Community meetings or general sessions. An added bonus for those of us relatively new to the field was an opportunity to conduct informational interviews, attend Career Center events, and learn firsthand of what it takes to move the field forward.
Some of the highlights for me included Kofi Annan's insightful speech of the value of intercultural understanding and respect; reconnecting with my former colleagues from the University of Wisconsin, and exploring the staggering number of excellent poster presentations and sessions related to research and practice in study abroad, - specifically on program outcome assessment and double degree programs in higher education. One of the meetings with my German colleagues from the Freie Universitaet of Berlin resulted in an agreement that I will contribute an article on US-Japanese dual degree program implementation this fall in a joint IIE/DAAD publication.
On the last day of the conference, I co-presented a session at the past NAFSA conference on engaging faculty in global competence outcome assessment. Our session was scheduled for the last time-slot of the conference, but the room was packed. People could finally relax and did not need to rush, so conversations flowed!
Some of the highlights for me included Kofi Annan's insightful speech of the value of intercultural understanding and respect; reconnecting with my former colleagues from the University of Wisconsin, and exploring the staggering number of excellent poster presentations and sessions related to research and practice in study abroad, - specifically on program outcome assessment and double degree programs in higher education. One of the meetings with my German colleagues from the Freie Universitaet of Berlin resulted in an agreement that I will contribute an article on US-Japanese dual degree program implementation this fall in a joint IIE/DAAD publication.
On the last day of the conference, I co-presented a session at the past NAFSA conference on engaging faculty in global competence outcome assessment. Our session was scheduled for the last time-slot of the conference, but the room was packed. People could finally relax and did not need to rush, so conversations flowed!