IIE Heiskell Awards
As an IIENetwork Member, you are eligible to self-nominate for the annual IIE Andrew Heiskell Awards for Innovation in International Education. The awards showcase the most innovative and successful models for developing and expanding international education opportunities in practice today. By recognizing excellence and innovation, IIE hopes to encourage the expansion and creation of initiatives based on these successful models.
The 2025 IIE Heiskell Awards nomination is closed.
2025 IIE Heiskell Award Categories
IIE defines international education holistically and seeks nominations of initiatives demonstrating the diversity of innovative practices, practitioners, and impact on the community, reflected in any of the following areas:
- study abroad and international students
- credit-bearing and non-credit-bearing programs
- in-person, virtual, and hybrid activities and programs
- grants, scholarships, fellowships, and other funding models
- outreach, recruitment, and support services
- global learning curriculum and internationalization at home
- staff and faculty engagement/professional development
IIE welcomes current IIENetwork member institutions or organizations to self-nominate for one of the following award categories.
1. Widening Access to International Education
Demonstrating creative and substantial efforts to expand and promote global learning opportunities with a particular focus on practices that increase participation.
2. Student Mobility & Exchange
Creating innovative and impactful models for mobility and exchange programs that engage students in global, intercultural, and experiential learning, focusing on content, learning methods, or program delivery that challenge or build from traditional concepts and advance new opportunities.
3. Strategic Partnerships
Recognizing innovative partnership efforts that foster international education and demonstrate strong, sustainable linkages among higher education institutions or within an institution/organization or public/private partnerships with government, local community, and NGOs. One member of the partnership must be a current IIENetwork member.
4. Sustainability
Developing pioneering models centering sustainability in international education, whether through efforts to reduce or offset the environmental impact of in-person programs, alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), or incorporating sustainability education into an international education experience or global learning curriculum
IIE created these awards in 2001 to promote and honor the most outstanding initiatives being conducted in international higher education by IIENetwork member universities and colleges. We are particularly interested in highlighting innovative initiatives or programs that address a specific need, remove institutional barriers, and broaden the base of participation in international teaching and learning on campus. A winning initiative does not have to be the biggest or oldest. It should bring innovative approaches and new resources to bear on addressing a need or taking advantage of a new opportunity. By recognizing excellence and innovation, IIE hopes to encourage the expansion and creation of programs based on these successful models.
About Andrew Heiskell
Andrew Heiskell, a former chairman of Time Inc. and a member of the Executive Committee of IIE’s Board of Trustees, was a renowned international and cultural philanthropist and a long-time supporter of international education. Mr. Heiskell was formerly head of one of the world’s largest providers of news and information, having retired in 1980 after a twenty-year tenure as Chairman of the Board of Time Inc. Born in Italy and educated in Germany, Switzerland and France, Mr. Heiskell came to the United States in 1935 to further his education.
