IUPUI was awarded the 2023 Innovation Award in Internationalization at the annual conference of the Association of International Education Administrators. The award, established in 2015, highlights exceptional programs, projects or initiatives that advance internationalization and are directed by senior international officers on their respective campuses.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the faculty and staff who have contributed to this work, and especially the Office of International Affairs for its leadership,” said Kathy Johnson, IUPUI executive vice chancellor. “Global learning is so critically important for our students’ preparedness for life after graduation, and to know that our first-year students are able to begin developing their knowledge and skills during the first-year experience is truly gratifying.”
IUPUI was nominated for its multifaceted partnership with Ivy Tech Community College that introduces new students to global learning in the curriculum immediately upon matriculation. Leslie Bozeman, IUPUI’s director of curriculum internationalization and the project’s managing director, said IUPUI defines global learning as, “How learners at IUPUI attain the knowledge, skills and dispositions they need to negotiate and contribute to the complex and interconnected world in which they learn, work and live.”
The project also integrates globally focused high-impact practices and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals across the first-year experience at both campuses.
These experiences are supported by a three-year, $310,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program. In the classes, students are introduced to four pathways to achieve global, intercultural and multilingual skills for academic and career success: international/global studies, study abroad, world languages and global careers.
Internationalizing the student experience on multiple Indiana campuses provides greater access to global learning for students who may not traditionally have the opportunity to engage with international education, such as transfer and historically underrepresented students.
The program is not limited to the classroom but takes a holistic approach to the student support network on campus. Annual professional development workshops are facilitated by experts in the field of global education for first-year experience instructors, academic advisors, career service professionals and world language faculty. Through these workshops, faculty and staff gain depth of understanding on global learning and why it is important for students to graduate with the global competencies needed to succeed in our interconnected world.
IUPUI developed an online global learning module for instructors to integrate into their existing First-Year Seminar courses that introduces new students to global learning, shows the importance of global skills and shares the resources available to them to achieve those goals. First-year language courses at both institutions are also being enhanced to better engage new students and encourage them to continue to intermediate and advanced levels of proficiency.
By the end of the grant period, nearly all of the IUPUI and Ivy Tech freshman cohorts will encounter global learning foundations during their first year.
This project also strengthens global learning foundations for students who transfer from Ivy Tech to IUPUI, as well as provides these students with scholarships for study abroad. To help achieve this, the grant empowers transfer advisors at IUPUI and Ivy Tech with the knowledge and skills to convey the importance of a global mindset and how to encourage students from diverse backgrounds to follow global pathways.
IUPUI uses the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals as well as the IUPUI Dimensions of Global Learning as a curricular framework in professional development and in pedagogy to emphasize the interconnections of global issues; to expand senses of responsibility; and to draw attention to the importance of considering diversity and critical issues in global and local contexts.
Hilary Kahn, associate vice chancellor for international affairs at IUPUI and associate vice president for international affairs at Indiana University, accepted the award on behalf of the university.
“IUPUI has always had a creative eye toward internationalization, and we have always aimed at scaling up our internationalization efforts on campus,” Kahn said. “It is an honor to receive recognition for our innovative approaches to advancing IUPUI’s global identity.”
