Conference: "Internationalizing the Campus, College and Classroom" at Penn State University

On September 27-28, 2013, Penn State University hosts a provocative conference as part of its Global Penn State challenge, "Internationalizing the Campus, College, and Classroom," which aims to explore innovative practices for internationalizing the classroom.

(DUS.PSU.EDU)

 Internationalizing the student experience involves a number of initiatives, such as student exchange, study abroad and embedded programs, initiatives that deepen their knowledge  and engagement in other cultures.  It also includes infusing global and intercultural topics into the classroom to equip domestic and international students with a range of skills to function competently in a multicultural environment. These goals can only be achieved with a sustained commitment of time and energy by faculty and staff.This conference aims to provide a forum to initiate a university-wide conversation on how to infuse global and intercultural dimensions into courses, and to share classroom successes and challenges, as we seek to transform our students into global citizens and enhance their ability to negotiate global challenges.  (Conference Introduction).

This post includes links to conference materials and to the PowerPoint of my own presentation: "Methodological Issues in Implementing an Internationalized Curriculum--Five Approaches to Internationalization." This presentation considers the difficulties of implementing thick internationalization (curriculum and educational cultures) beyond the traditional thin internationalization that focuses on the migration of students (and to some extent faculty) between home and host institutions worldwide.

The agenda may be accessed here.

The participant list may be accessed here. 

My presentation: "Methodological Issues in Implementing an Internationalized Curriculum--Five Approaches to Internationalization" may be accessed here.

The conference will kick-off Friday morning with keynote speaker Stanley Katz, who is director of the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies and professor in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Katz wrote a piece posted Feb. 16, 2010, on the Brainstorm Blog of The Chronicle of Higher Education titled “What Does It Mean to ‘Internationalize’ Higher Ed” that speaks to the purpose of the conference. 

“While most faculty agree that internationalization of curriculum is crucial to providing the best level of higher education for their students, for some, implementing the vision is the hard part,” said Michael Adewumi, vice provost for Global Programs. “With this conference, we plan to explore innovative practices for internationalizing the curriculum and discuss techniques for effective implementation of our global vision.”

The conference features three key parts, beginning with the University-wide goal of curriculum internationalization. The second part explores best practices using colleges/campuses that have successfully infused international themes into research, teaching and service. In the third section, panelists and workshop leaders examine innovative practices in a variety of classroom settings. (Penn State News, Global Programs to host conference on internationalizing higher education, July 2013).

This post includes the conference agenda and speaker list.