“It Takes a Campus and More: The Faces of Education Abroad,”is this year’s theme for The Forum on Education Abroad Conference. InteRDom representatives will attend the 11th annual conference from March 25-27, 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Forum on Education Abroad (FEA) is a non-profit organization recognized as the Standards Development Organization (SDO) for the field of education abroad. This will be the first time InteRDom has participated in this important conference on education abroad.
The Forum poses questions to be discussed and explains the theme for this year’s conference, by stating: “The value of education abroad for students is undisputed among education abroad professionals. It is the transformative potential of education abroad that inspires their work. However, it takes more than the dedication of the education abroad field to develop and administer successful programs, and to serve students effectively: it takes a campus, and more. Commitment from all stakeholders is essential. Who are the people of education abroad and how do they work together to create a culture that supports the field? What are successful strategies for initiating and maintaining productive collaborations with different entities involved in education abroad? How may we build relationships that extend beyond the home campus, to collaborate with colleagues from different institutions and organizations? How can education abroad professionals advocate for education abroad, to gain the support necessary to serve students from pre-departure through re-entry? The Forum’s Eleventh Annual Conference addresses these and other questions by examining the many faces of education abroad, their diverse perspectives, and how we can all work together to improve the student experience.”
InteRDom representatives are looking forward to the rich discussion, presentations and panels that will take place surrounding these topics. They hope to come away from the conference with new ideas and best practices that can be implemented in all programs that are offered by InteRDom, in order to continue to provide the highest quality experience possible to current and future program participants.
While in the New Orleans area, InteRDom representatives will meet with the directors of the Cuban & Caribbean Studies Institute at Tulane University, and the director for the Center for Intercultural and International Programs at Xavier University, to discuss future collaborations and program offerings. They will also have many opportunities to network with study abroad professionals and university program faculty and staff, to explore partnerships with other institutions and providers, and to build new relationships while attending the conference.
The internship program, InteRDom, an initiative of Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and FUNGLODE is the premier internship, research and academic study program in the Dominican Republic. It offers international students the opportunity to research important topics at the forefront of the United Nations agenda, obtain professional experience by interning with Dominican organizations and businesses related to their fields of study and/or earn academic credits by taking courses and seminars at a local university.