Fulbright International Education Administrator (IEA) Seminars: Which One is Right for You?

I learned so much about the student experience, higher education, and the employment process in Japan, and I became much more familiar with Japanese culture in general – the insight I gained has already been useful on the job this year. In addition to meeting all the generous and enlightening Japanese educators/administrators, one of the unexpected highlights of the program for me was getting to know the other U.S. participants – we bonded quickly and have stayed in touch regularly.

- Sarah Langston, University of South Carolina
2012 Japan IEA participant.

The Fulbright International Education Administrator (IEA) Seminars are designed for U.S. higher education administrators who are interested in spending an intensive two or three week period in one of six countries: India, Japan, Korea, Germany, France or the United Kingdom.

Each seminar offers participants an in-depth look at the higher education system, culture and society of the host country and provides an invigorating opportunity for networking with international and U.S. colleagues. All seminar participants gain a new perspective on the need to internationalize U.S. campuses and insight into how it can be done.

But which seminar is right for you? There are some differences in program goals to consider, depending on the strategic needs of your institution, as well as varying qualification information.

Participants in India’s IEA seminar will spend two weeks in March in New Delhi and other major cities, attending meetings with representatives of Indian universities, private-sector agencies and organizations and government agencies. The seminar aims to achieve a balance of topical discussions, knowledge sharing, experiential excursions and exposure to societal and cultural facets of India. Applicants must be international education administrators or senior-level university administrators with substantial responsibility for enhancing the international dimension of their institutions and who wish to expand opportunities for international collaborations through faculty exchanges, collaborative research projects or pursuit of innovative curricular design.

Administrators exploring the Japanese higher education landscape for two weeks in June will participate in briefings, campus visits, appointments with government officials, cultural activities and meetings with Japanese international education professionals in Tokyo and other cities. Preference is given to those who indicate an institutional interest in increasing the number of Japanese students on their campus. Applicants must be international education administrators or senior-level university administrators with substantial (at least 25 percent) responsibility for enhancing the international dimension of their institutions.

Korea IEA seminar participants will spend a week in June in Seoul and a week visiting institutions outside of Seoul. They will attend meetings with representatives from Korean universities, private sector agencies and organizations and government agencies. This program is not a vehicle for initiating or developing a U.S. institution’s linkage programs, for student recruitment or for establishment of branch campuses. Applicants must be international education administrators or senior-level university administrators with substantial (at least 60 percent of their time) responsibility for enhancing the international dimension of their institutions.

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In October, administrators have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with Germany’s higher education system. During the first week in Berlin, participants are provided with an introduction through briefings, government appointments, campus visits and cultural events. During the second week, participants are divided into small groups, traveling to other German cities. Applicants working in career services, alumni affairs and development and fundraising are welcome to apply, along with those working in international exchanges.

Senior level administrators (deans, vice presidents, provosts and presidents) wishing to spend two weeks in October in Paris, Bordeaux and Strasbourg are invited to apply to the France IEA seminar, designed to familiarize participants with France’s higher education and research system. The program consists of briefings, campus visits, appointments with government officials, networking and cultural activities and meetings with French international education professionals.

For three weeks in August, administrators will explore the higher education system in the United Kingdom through briefings, campus visits, appointments with government officials, cultural activities and meetings with British international education professionals. U.S. and U.K. administrators will have interactive sessions to share best practices in both directions across the Atlantic. Applicants should be full-time international education administrators or senior-level university administrators. Applicants with particular expertise in student advising, student services, student recruitment and admissions are encouraged to apply.

All IEA participants return to their home institutions empowered with an enhanced ability to build partnerships, encourage study abroad participation and support international students.

Korea IEA US 2011 Group Picture

Each program can have varying qualification information, so applicants should read the award description carefully. All programs have intensive, pre-arranged itineraries, but in most cases, return travel can be arranged to allow for personal meetings or travel in-country. All awards include economy round-trip travel, travel within the country, lodging and a lump sum supplement for incidentals.

The application deadlines and more information about each program can be found at www.cies.org/IEA.  If you have further questions, please contact Alexandra Squitieri at asquitieri@iie.org or Anna Valiante at avaliante@iie.org.

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by fulbrightscholarprogram on May 22, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in France, Germany, Global Programs, IEA Seminars, India, Japan, Korea, United Kingdom

Posted by fulbrightscholarprogram on May 22, 2013

http://fulbrightscholarblog.cies.org/2013/05/22/fulbright-international-education-administrator-iea-seminars-which-one-is-right-for-you/

The Digital Namibia Archives Project: A 5-year Collaboration Growing Out of a Fulbright Grant

Dr. Allen Palmer
Brigham Young University
Namibia, 2004

In 2004, I received a Fulbright Scholar grant to Namibia for lecturing in journalism at Polytechnic of Namibia in the capital city Windhoek. I was a professor of communication at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. My wife, Dr. Loretta Palmer, who is a professor at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah accompanied me.

When my wife and I were in Namibia, she volunteered her services at the university while I lectured. She taught computer classes and worked as an instructional designer in the college’s distance education program.

In discussions with the Namibian college leaders, including the Rector, Dr. Tjama Tjivikua, we decided one area in which we could assist Polytechnic, in addition to the scheduled classes we were teaching, was the development of a USA-Namibia partnership to help train their staff in digitizing African cultural artifacts for their new library. Many of the African artifacts were neglected and at risk of being lost or destroyed, including old photographs, music recordings, documents, etc.

What resulted was a project that has lasted more than five years, from 2007 to 2012, and involved 35 to 40 American college teachers and students traveling to Namibia to participate in training for what was became called the “DNA Project”–the Digital Namibia Archives Project–that began in earnest in 2007. A link to the DNA Project is now featured on the Polytechnic’s main internet page: http://www.polytechnic.edu.na.

Each summer a team of six to eight college faculty and students from Utah Valley University’s Multi-media Communication Program traveled to Namibia. They assisted  with training college students and staff at Polytechnic of Namibia, and the staff at Namibian National Archives, how to digitize and preserve historic cultural records. Also assisting in organizing the program was Professor Steve Harper at Utah Valley University.

During the ensuing years after my Fulbright, my wife and I have returned to Namibia several times to support project planning. In addition, the rector, Dr. Tjivikua, has traveled to the U.S. twice to confer with us on project development. In addition to the benefits in Namibia, the students from Utah Valley University benefited from the project in their education program.

A brief overview of the DNA  project is posted on a Youtube video by a student participant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ats8jAypl0&feature=youtu.be

Numerous archive photographs and documents showing the history of Namibia are posted to public at the link on the main DNA Project web page: http://dna.polytechnic.edu.na

The 5-year plan for the DNA project recently ended and it was a remarkable example of a successful collaboration between a Fulbright host college and an American university that began with the Fulbright Scholar Program.

DNA Agreement Signed

Ceremony of the signing of a cooperative 5-year agreement in Namibia between Dr. Loretta Palmer, and Dr. Tjama Tjivikua, Rector of Polytechnic of Namibia, with officials from Utah Valley University from Orem, Utah.

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by fulbrightscholarprogram on May 13, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Namibia, STEM, Sub-Saharan Africa

Posted by fulbrightscholarprogram on May 13, 2013

http://fulbrightscholarblog.cies.org/2013/05/13/the-digital-namibia-archives-project-a-5-year-collaboration-growing-out-of-a-fulbright-grant/

Leveraging Faculty and Fulbright in Campus Internationalization: A Report by the American Council on Education (ACE)

What key challenges do American institutions of higher education face in internationalization? How can administrators and faculty work together to address these issues? “Internationalization in Action,” a series by the American Council on Education’s Center for Internationalization and Global Engagement, presents a selection of effective approaches to engaging faculty in the process of internationalization. While many think of the Fulbright Scholar Program as an individual opportunity, ACE’s article points out ways in which the program can be strategically employed by institutions to further internationalization goals, particularly when internal resources fall short.

“Internationalization in Action” suggests that university policies and procedures, both formal and informal, can either encourage or inhibit faculty’s ability to contribute to campus internationalization, and that faculty, as the drivers of the critical higher education activities of teaching and research, are fundamental components of any campus internationalization strategy.

ACE’s report begins with the preliminary hurdle of bringing in international faculty or those with international experience. It suggests that realigning hiring protocol and tenure or promotion policies to prioritize international experience, such as a Fulbright, can allay this issue.

When budget constraints limit an institution’s ability to draw international faculty, funded short term or long term visits may fill in the gap. ACE says, “While some institutions have the funding and staff needed to administer their own short-term visiting international faculty programs, for those that do not have such resources available, Fulbright and other national programs can be an excellent solution.” These opportunities include the Occasional Lecturer Fund and the Scholar-in-Residence Program.

Fulbright Flex Awards, a new initiative for the 2014-15 competition, and the Fulbright Specialist Program can give U.S. faculty the opportunity to make international connections when budgetary restrictions mean they aren’t able to leave campus for a full semester or year at a time. Additionally, a new salary stipend supplement may encourage campus administrators to increase faculty awareness of Fulbright programs.

Including faculty from abroad and those with an international concentration in reviewing Fulbright applications can increase institutional knowledge of Fulbright programs and should be considered a strategic way to utilize foreign faculty’s expertise. “Given the increasing focus on hiring in order to internationalize the faculty, institutions must also consider what happens to those international and internationally-focused faculty when they arrive on campus.  Rather than assuming that their presence alone will contribute to internationalization, making sure these faculty are given clear opportunities to share their expertise is important,” ACE advises.

Finally, ACE emphasizes the importance to sustainable internationalization efforts of building lasting international relationships. The piece highlights the work of Fulbright Ambassador John Allegrante, Deputy Provost of Teachers College at Columbia University, who stresses the value of the international connections Fulbright programs engender. Dr. Allegrante showcases long term Fulbright success stories at Teachers College during International Education Week, a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Education. His own Fulbright experience in Iceland led to an exchange agreement between Teachers College and an Icelandic institution of higher education and to his tenure as a Fulbright Alumni Ambassador. Dr. Allegrante proposes that the Alumni Ambassador Program can be helpful in creating connections between U.S. institutions interested in internationalization as well as, “on-going communication with faculty as they consider participating and mounting their applications.” In the ACE report, Dr. Allegrante summarizes, “Fulbright is a cultural exchange mechanism around the world. It is academic as well but the main purpose is to create lasting bonds and partnerships with people from various countries and cultures.”

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by fulbrightscholarprogram on May 8, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Administrators, Flex Awards, International Education Week, Internationalization, Occasional Lecturer Fund, Scholar-in-Residence Program, Specialist Program

Posted by fulbrightscholarprogram on May 8, 2013

http://fulbrightscholarblog.cies.org/2013/05/08/leveraging-faculty-and-fulbright-in-campus-internationalization-a-report-by-the-american-council-on-education-ace/

Research on Thailand’s Vegetarian Festival: How Social Support turns Pain into Pride

Andreas Schneider

From left to right: two helpers in Schneider’s project, the visiting monk at the shrine, Schneider, the president of all Phuket shrines.

By Andreas Schneider (Ph.D., Indiana University)
Associate Professor of Sociology
Texas Tech University

During my Fulbright grant in Thailand, I sought evidence of how social support creates situations in which people achieve positive identities, a process instrumental in rendering their subjective experience of pain. To study the rendering of pain, I interviewed the Ma Song, a group of religious devotees that engage in extreme forms of self-torture during the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket.

The Vegetarian Festival started as a form of redemption for the successful recovery of a community from a plague. The festival has been held annually since 1825 by the large Chinese immigrant community in Phuket Town and increasingly elsewhere in Thailand.

The Ma Song are chosen by the leaders of nine shrines in Phuket.  They often volunteer because they experienced life threatening events.  According to the local interpretation of Chinese Taoism, during the festival, the nine embody the gods’ will incarnate on earth in the bodies of the Ma Song.  I gained the understanding that the Ma Song follow a Chinese logic of fair trade: they volunteer their bodies to be used by the gods in exchange for being kept alive through the gods’ use of their bodies in the future. The Ma Song inflict on themselves mild to extreme piercings that are displayed in processions, fire walking, and the climbing of high ladders with steps of blades.

The challenge for me was to conduct interviews with the Ma Song during the time of the festival while they were not occupied with the festival itself or suffering from the physical aftermath of their activities. Having finished the interviews before the main events, I was able to conduct a photo documentation of the piercing ceremonies, processions, fire walking and the ladder climbing photographically.

I was especially touched on my last day during the purification ritual where thousands of devotees walked across a symbolic bridge to be stamped by the Ma Song with the seal of the nine emperor gods.  Blonde and 6’4”, I clearly stood out of the crowd. My colleague Supatra Supchukul (Patti) from Burapha University remarked that I was the only white guy she had seen, though I did not feel out of place.

Because of the recent sensationalization of the religious practices of minorities through the posting of explicit images on the Internet, I had to work delicately to obtain the collaboration of the Kingdom, the Shrines and the Ma Song. Despite this, the collaboration and support for my research in Thailand was overwhelming. The National Research Council of Thailand in Bangkok approved my application to conduct research in Thailand and informed the Phuket Provincial Cultural Office to support my case with the Governor of Phuket and the Presidents of the local Shrines.

Meeting all these people was half the fun. However, I was grateful when Supatra Supchukul (Patti), came to Phuket to support me in my ongoing research project, easing communication about our work. Patti’s presence was also instrumental in approaching the female Ma Songs that recently were allowed to participate in most of the events in one of the temples.

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by fulbrightscholarprogram on May 1, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Core Program, East Asia and the Pacific, Scholar Stories, Thailand

Posted by fulbrightscholarprogram on May 1, 2013

http://fulbrightscholarblog.cies.org/2013/05/01/research-on-thailands-vegetarian-festival-how-social-support-turns-pain-into-pride/

The Impact of Fulbright NEXUS

The Fulbright Regional Network for Applied Research (NEXUS) Program brings together a network of junior scholars, professionals and mid-career applied researchers from the United States and other Western Hemisphere nations for a series of three seminar meetings and a Fulbright exchange experience.  At its core, the Fulbright NEXUS Program fosters collaborative and multidisciplinary research to address challenging regional issues and produce tangible results.  As the midterm meeting in Colombia concludes for the second cohort of Fulbright NEXUS Scholars, we invite you to watch this video of scholars from the first cohort, as they reflect on their experiences.

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by fulbrightscholarprogram on April 25, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Climate Change, Colombia, NEXUS, Public Health, Science

Posted by fulbrightscholarprogram on April 25, 2013

http://fulbrightscholarblog.cies.org/2013/04/25/the-impact-of-fulbright-nexus-3/

Fulbright NEXUS Scholars Meet in Medellin, Colombia

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U.S. NEXUS Scholar, Katie Arkema on assignment in Colombia where she is doing work on the environmental services that coastal and marine ecosystems provide.

J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board Chairman, Tom Healy, and Fulbright Colombia Executive Director, Ann Mason, will welcome officials from the U.S. Department of State, Fulbright scholars and guests to Medellín, Colombia for the Fulbright Regional Network for Applied Research Program (NEXUS) midterm meeting on Sunday, April 21, 2013. Medellín was chosen as the site for this meeting because it is widely regarded as one of the most innovative cities in the world with respect to its economy, urban development and technology.

The Fulbright NEXUS Program is a network of 20 scholars and practitioners from the United States and other Western Hemisphere nations engaged in collaborative thinking, problem-solving and multidisciplinary research on climate change adaptation strategies, all with a public policy focus. Hosted by Fulbright Colombia, the four-day meeting will allow NEXUS scholars to meet with influential stakeholders from a variety of sectors to discuss the challenges associated with climate and environmental problem-solving. NEXUS Distinguished Lead Scholar, Dr. Daniel Kammen of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, will lead the group in identifying and developing solutions to the most pressing environmental issues in the region.

In addition to thematic group sessions, panel discussions and individual consultations, NEXUS scholars will share updates on their individual research projects, addressing any challenges they are facing in completing their research, and will receive group input on their projects moving forward. Special guests, Sergio Fajardo, the Governor of Antioquia, Colombia, Carlos Fonseca, the Director of the Colombian Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (COLCIENCIAS) and Pablo Ortega, Director of RutaN, a smart building that houses the innovation strategy for Medellín, will discuss issues relating to energy, the environment and innovation within the Colombian context.

The midterm meeting will lay the groundwork for scholars to develop a clear plan of action for the final NEXUS meeting in September 2013, to be held in Washington, DC.

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by fulbrightscholarprogram on April 19, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Climate Change, Colombia, NEXUS, Western Hemisphere

Posted by fulbrightscholarprogram on April 19, 2013

http://fulbrightscholarblog.cies.org/2013/04/19/fulbright-nexus-scholars-meet-in-medellin-colombia/

My Fulbright Experience in Brazil at Univali – Universidade do Vale do Itajai

By Professor Mohammed Rawwas
University of Northern Iowa
Professor of Marketing

My Fulbright in Brazil, where I taught and conducted research in business and marketing, stands out as one of my best teaching experiences.  I enjoyed the company of the university’s warm and helpful administration, professors, and students.  The International Director made every effort to make my family and my visit comfortable and rewarding and the university’s president and vice president were open, cordial and sincere.  They were very much interested in what I was offering in terms of research and teaching experience, and placed a great value on this exchange program.   Consequently, they asked me to give several lectures to undergrads and MBA and Ph.D. students in different locations in Brazil.

The professors I worked with were also very hospitable and warm-hearted.  Many of them attended my classes and showed genuine interest in my teaching and research.  They asked me to give a presentation about my research and many had interests similar to mine: consumer behavior, sustainability, business ethics, and new product development – all topics that are crucial for building a growing Brazilian economy. The discussion was very rewarding and I learned a great deal from my Brazilian colleagues.

Rawwas 1

Professor Mohammed Rawwas with his graduate students.

 

Students were very curious and keen for knowledge.  I gave many lectures to different groups of students at a variety of locations, teaching undergrads in the university’s Balneario Camboriu campus (a fifteen-minute drive from home), MBA and Ph.D. students at the Florianopolis campus (a two-hour drive), and non-business students at the Itajai campus (a one-hour drive).   The most interesting class to me was to listen to Ph.D. students presentations discussing their dissertations.  My role was to answer their questions and provide guidance.  I was very impressed and pleased with the seriousness and the quality of their research.  This type of interaction made my stay extremely valuable and rewarding.

Although the university’s main administration office was located in Itajai, we were offered accommodation in Balneario Camboriu (a resort town on the Atlantic Ocean).  During the summer (winter in the northern hemisphere), it was very crowded.  In autumn, during our visit, it was mild.  The beaches were clean and populated by vacationing families. We used to walk every evening on the beach to watch the sunset and wait for fishermen to bring in their catch.  Fish was abundant, large in variety and high in quality, and prices were very affordable.  The town had one main street that was full of boutiques, restaurants, and bakery shops, and looked like a petite avenue of Champs-Élysées.  At the end of the street, there was a monstrous Wal-Mart that the Brazilians called Biggy.  Kibbe and Soufieh, two Lebanese dishes, were offered everywhere, including in the main street.  It seemed that the nine million Lebanese who immigrated two hundred years ago to Brazil definitively left their mark on Brazilian culture.

Rawwas 2

Professor Rawwas’ children at Foz Do Iguassu waterfalls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The major trips we made were to Foz Do Iguassu waterfalls and Bonito village.  Foz Do Iguassu waterfalls span three countries: Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.  The falls, totaling 275 in number and stretching for almost two miles, have a flow capacity equal to three times that of Niagara Falls.  Bonito village is located in the deep, tropical west of Brazil.  Wildlife was abundant, including parrots, toucans, macaws, owls, and emus.  We snorkeled in a river, white water rafted and watched various species of fish. In sum, we enjoyed every minute of our experience.  Our life will never be the same after experiencing this rich culture and its warm and friendly people.

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by fulbrightscholarprogram on April 15, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Brazil, Core Program, Scholar Stories

Posted by fulbrightscholarprogram on April 15, 2013

http://fulbrightscholarblog.cies.org/2013/04/15/my-fulbright-experience-in-brazil-at-univali-universidade-do-vale-do-itajai/

Fulbright Visiting Scholars to Explore Social Entrepreneurship in Vermont: “Doing Well by Doing Good”

From April 10-13, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in coordination with the Vermont Council on World Affairs, and the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, will host a Fulbright Enrichment Seminar in Burlington, VT, for approximately 65 Fulbright Visiting Scholars from more than 35 countries.

Vermont has long been recognized as a leader in socially-responsible businesses that embrace a triple bottom line (“people, planet, profit”), and include social and environmental performance in addition to the financial.  Seminar participants will explore the concept of “Social Entrepreneurship: Doing Well by Doing Good,” and how a company’s social impact can and should be measured.  Fulbright Visiting Scholars will also donate their time and skills to assist a variety of local organizations through community service projects.

The four-day seminar will feature keynote speakers, panel discussions, dinners with local Burlington-area families, and visits to key sites in Vermont.  Visits will include: the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program, Good News Garage, the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (Vermontivate!),  the Association of Africans Living in Vermont, New Farms for New Americans in Vermont, Champlain College’s Emergent Media Center, Ben & Jerry’s, and the Middlebury Center for Social Entrepreneurship.

Each year, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sponsors a series of enrichment seminars for Fulbright Visiting Scholars on topics of global importance.  Through community outreach activities and discussions, Fulbright Visiting Scholars learn how the selected topic impacts communities in the U.S. and explore its impact on their own home countries. These enrichment seminars, an integral part of the Fulbright experience, benefit Fulbright Visiting Scholars and support the overall mission of the Fulbright Program—to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world.  Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 318,000 participants from over 155 countries with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

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by fulbrightscholarprogram on April 9, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Enrichment, Visiting Scholars

Posted by fulbrightscholarprogram on April 9, 2013

http://fulbrightscholarblog.cies.org/2013/04/09/fulbright-visiting-scholars-to-explore-social-entrepreneurship-in-vermont-doing-well-by-doing-good/

Engaging Early Career Academics: New Fulbright Postdoc Opportunities

“My Fulbright experience has certainly changed my life and has helped immensely in furthering my career.  The impact was evident in the responses I received for applications to new positions after my Fulbright research was complete. I ended up taking a very prestigious position for my next postdoc which I would not have been able to get had it not been for the Fulbright award. This is the kind of impact which will propagate throughout my career and I am very fortunate to have had this opportunity.”

-          Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Israel, Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

The Fulbright Scholar Program, and its sponsor, the U.S. Department of State, are eager to engage postdoctoral and early career academics through new opportunities in a range of countries and fields.  Postdoctoral/early career grants target U.S. scholars who have recently completed their doctoral degrees – typically within the five previous years.  There has never been a better time to apply for Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards open to early career academics, with over 170 awards in more than 80 countries worldwide offered for the 2014-2015 academic year.

In addition to primary research or teaching activities, postdoctoral and early career scholars will be asked to give public talks, mentor students, and otherwise engage with the host country academic community.  Fulbright Scholars will also be expected to connect with graduate students in the host country and to be involved with host university training in cutting edge research in their specializations.  Grant lengths range from one semester to 20 months, depending on the host country.  There are also flexible options available to scholars currently unable to spend extended periods of time abroad.

Postdoctoral awards are available in all fields of study, from STEM, to the arts, humanities and social sciences.  Public health scholars should take special note of the Fulbright-Fogarty Postdoctoral Awards for research at a National Institutes of Health Fogarty site in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi or Zimbabwe through the African Regional Research Program, or in South Africa, Bangladesh or Peru.

The Fulbright Scholar Program presents excellent opportunities for recently minted scholars to deepen their expertise, to acquire new skills, to work with additional resources and to make connections with others in their fields, all while serving as cultural ambassadors and meeting the public diplomacy intent of the Fulbright Program – to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.  To learn more, visit the Catalog of Awards or contact scholars@iie.org.

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by fulbrightscholarprogram on March 29, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Core Program, Post-docs, Sub-Saharan Africa

Posted by fulbrightscholarprogram on March 29, 2013

http://fulbrightscholarblog.cies.org/2013/03/29/engaging-early-career-academics-new-fulbright-postdoc-opportunities/

Fulbright Scholar Program Also Serves Learning Technologists

This blog post originally appeared in EDUCAUSE Review Online and is republished here courtesy of the author, Meg Stewart.

“The world is changing. Our disciplines are changing. Our students are changing. But is higher education keeping pace?…For education to do better we cannot just keep doing the same things.” —Diana Oblinger

Professional development within and around international educational exchanges might become essential as we increasingly export U.S. higher education expertise while importing new ideas and ways of knowing from abroad. This is where the Fulbright Scholar Program comes in: It offers professional development opportunities for learning technologists, digital librarians, technology-fluent faculty members, and administrators who have valuable and sought-after expertise to share in an international higher education context. In the interest of ending the cycle of “doing the same things” and with an awareness that geographic boundaries are not barriers to learning and knowledge-sharing, I ask you to consider applying for the Fulbright.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars or CIES, the Fulbright program has been providing international academic exchanges between the United States and other countries for more than 60 years. The program provides scholarships for individuals in all fields to undertake innovative projects, graduate-level study, teaching, and research, while also enabling participants to become cultural ambassadors. Instructional technology skills such as co-curricular course design, instruction, software demonstration expertise, digital analysis and research, coding, and programming, as well as a background in discipline-specific research, make digitally fluent higher education practitioners potential Fulbright grantees. You might be surprised, as was I, to find that your educational background and experiences qualify you to apply for a Fulbright grant. Depending on the country for which you apply, a technology professional likely possesses proficiencies that are rare to nonexistent there.

The EDUCAUSE “Top-Ten IT Issues, 2012” lists as issue number one “updating IT professionals’ skills and roles to accommodate emerging technologies and changing IT management and service delivery models.” The Fulbright grant experience affords an opportunity for updating the administrative, project management, teaching, and research skills of a technology professional as he or she gains international experience. The Fulbright grantee will gain in-depth knowledge of the host country’s higher education system and learn about new institutional frameworks for learning. Often, a returning Fulbright Scholar becomes a catalyst for initiating educational, social, and cultural exchanges between the home campus and institutions abroad. The long-term benefits to both the learning technology practitioner and his or her home institution are many.

I was a Fulbright Scholar in 2009–10 and have skills similar to many readers of EDUCAUSE Review Online. Prior to being awarded the Fulbright, I worked (since 1998) in higher education as an academic technology professional supporting faculty use of geospatial and other technologies in the learning process. I have a master’s degree in geoscience and understand how to manage research and curricular projects. Although I have several adjunct teaching experiences at a variety of higher education institutional types, I never held a full-time teaching position. I consider myself an alternative academic. I have participated in or managed assorted and interesting teaching-related technology integrations and given talks on several of those projects. A few of those implementations, I turned into journal articles. My teaching and my record of publications helped strengthen my Fulbright application.

Meg Stewart

The author showing features of Google Earth software in a GIS class at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus

I was on my Fulbright grant for 11 months to teach and do research at the University of the West Indies in Barbados and was affiliated with a graduate program in environmental resources and climate change studies. I helped teach the GIS class, gave faculty development workshops, wrote curriculum for geography lessons, and helped integrate and teach how to use different technologies in a field-based class taught in Belize. My office door was always open, and students and faculty members regularly came to seek advice and guidance on aspects of their research projects. No one  employed in the department or on the university campus knew how to use GIS or other geospatial technologies, so I frequently had visitors. As far as research goes, I worked with a PhD student who had mapped the marine environment around the islands in the Grenadines. Her many map layers were in GIS software, so I exported her GIS data set and created a Google Earth project file for easy sharing. She and I traveled to St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada to talk about her project and show locals how to use the new Google Earth project file that I created. I took photographs and made a video to document that trip.

In a traditional sense, Fulbrights tend to go to those with a sabbatical leave. But not always. As a staff member at a college, I took an unpaid leave of absence to go on my placement abroad. The Fulbright grant provided a stipend that I found sufficient for living in Barbados and included an allowance for subsistence, housing, books, and travel to the host country and back home. Grants pay for up to two accompanying dependents, and I brought my family.

The Fulbright Scholar Catalog of Awards, which goes online every February 1, provides a list of Fulbright awards to be granted for the coming academic year. For instance, this past February 2013 the 562 awards listed are for placements in academic year 2014–2015. A complete Fulbright application is then due six months later, on August 1. Some of the items that might be necessary in a Fulbright application include a five-page proposal with a teaching and research statement, a five-page CV, three letters of recommendation, and, if you propose to teach, two examples of course syllabi. Sometimes a letter of invitation from the host institution is necessary. Taking a close look at the individual award description will explain in detail the items you need for your proposal.

A lot of information is available on the Fulbright Scholar Program website to help you investigate the Fulbright. I recommend spending time reviewing the site, paying particular attention to the following:

  • Types of Fulbright Scholar grants: There are several different types and lengths of grants including Administrator grants, Specialists, and Core. Lengths of Fulbright placements vary from 2 weeks to 12 months, so be mindful of the amount of time you wish to dedicate to your grant. This year there is added flexibility in the timing of grants and Fulbright scholars need not go for long periods of time.
  • Catalog of Fulbright awards: The Fulbright Core awards can be searched by global region, country, discipline, type of Fulbright grant, and keywords. In the advanced search you can narrow the results to just teaching or just research or both, and by need for a PhD or not.
  • Webinars: Online presentations given by knowledgeable CIES  staff members are given frequently and are also archived.
  • Contact Program Officers: Designated CIES staff members oversee exchanges around the world regionally, and each award lists the names of those officers. They are informed of the latest developments and are helpful in answering your region-related questions.
  • Contact former (or current) Fulbright Scholars: As you narrow your search to a particular country, it is advisable to contact former grantees who went to the country you’re looking into. Questions about daily living, taking family members, and host country institutional concerns, as well as many other questions, can often be answered by the U.S. Fulbright Scholars who recently lived and taught in that country.

Colleges encourage students to study abroad. On some U.S. campuses whole offices are dedicated to supporting sophomores interested in spending their next academic year in another country, learning in a new environment, taking classes in another language, and living with locals. We tell our students that this experience will add value to their liberal arts education and make them more well-rounded, more agile, more employable. Can we not claim those same benefits to international educational experience for ourselves? Working, researching, and teaching in another country, pushing our comfort zones, experiencing new cultures and educational environments so different from our own broaden our scope and make us more conscientious and valuable citizens, and, yes, employees.

In a world that is interdependent and technologically accelerating, a learning technology professional in higher education may find a Fulbright Scholar award a good fit for next-stage professional development. Creating cross-cultural bridges can benefit the scholar professionally, build capacity and capability at his or her home institution, and have lasting benefits to the host country in which the scholar is placed.  I encourage you to seek a Fulbright grant. If you would like to hear more about the Fulbright Scholar Program, invite me or any one of the over 20 Fulbright ambassadors to come speak at your institution.

The Fulbright Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. For more information, visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright/

1 Comment
by fulbrightscholarprogram on March 18, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Barbados, Professionals, Scholar Stories, Technology, Western Hemisphere

Posted by fulbrightscholarprogram on March 18, 2013

http://fulbrightscholarblog.cies.org/2013/03/18/fulbright-scholar-program-also-serves-learning-technologists/

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