NEW YORK, August 10, 2012—The Institute of International Education announced today that it has selected five U.S. colleges and universities to participate in the 2013 India initiative of the International Academic Partnership Program (IAPP). Over the next year, international education professionals at each of these institutions will participate in a series of training activities arranged by IIE to help them implement and sustain partnerships with institutions in India. The strategy-building program includes a study tour to India in early 2013 to learn about the Indian higher education system and meet with potential partner campuses.
The five U.S. campuses are: Arizona State University, Portland State University, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Washington & Jefferson College. An IIE review panel chose these U.S. colleges and universities based on successful applications that outlined their strong interest in building ties with institutions in India and their need for the assistance that IAPP provides. This year IIE chose to accept a smaller cohort in order to offer a more tailored experience that directly addresses their specific partnership and capacity building goals. This is the third group of campuses to take part in the program focused on India.
Each institution has made a commitment to form a campus-wide task force to work on prospective partnerships, conduct an institution-wide inventory of activities pertaining to India and develop a strategic plan focused on partnering with Indian institutions. Partnership activities may include joint programs, student exchanges or faculty linkages for collaborative research and teaching. IIE’s goal in creating the IAPP program of webinars, workshops and site visits is to empower institutions with a number of resources necessary for building partnerships with India and other countries.
“Higher education is an important area of the strategic partnership between the United States and India because of its impact on fostering collaboration on critical issues that we face today,” said IIE President Allan E. Goodman. “This new phase of the International Academic Partnership Program and the strong group of campuses will strengthen the educational ties between our two nations and pave the way for students and scholars from both countries to gain important international perspective. We remain confident that academic partnerships will continue to be a core pillar of the relationship between our two countries.”
IIE’s Center for International Partnerships in Higher Education developed the IAPP program in 2009 with an initial two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). The goal of this FIPSE grant was to help jumpstart an academic partnership program in higher education between the U.S. and other countries that would grow into a self-sustaining program. Now in its fourth year, the partnership program continues to thrive, using a fee-based model.
Beginning with India and China, IAPP most recently expanded its portfolio to include Brazil, Burma, and Libya. In addition to this year’s five institutions, 49 campuses to date have taken part in this transformative experience that has helped foster numerous linkages with India, China, and Brazil. Institutions have overwhelmingly stated that participating in IAPP helped to advance campus-wide partnership goals and increase partnership activities, with 100% of participants agreeing that the program organized and greatly advanced their institution’s internationalization efforts. Past participants have engaged in new study abroad programs, distance learning, joint research, and a host of other collaborative activities with their counterparts abroad.
Peter Baker, International Program Development Officer at the University Montana, a participant in the 2012 IAPP India program and one of eight winners of the Obama-Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative Partnership Award, states “the IAPP program isn’t a ‘quick fix’, rather it’s a best way to take an important step in what should be a long and thoughtful process. This project acted as a focused lens through which we’ve started to project a more intentional approach in regard to the work we’re already doing there [India]. As higher education moves further into the age of global interdependence, programs like IAPP will be of increasing importance and impact. We’re already started to see results here – identification and submission of grant proposals related to India, success in those applications, coordination of India-related activities on campus among various stake-holders, and the early stages of the development of an Indian student recruitment plan.”
In academic year 2010/11, despite a 1% decrease from the previous year, India remained the second leading place of origin for international students in the United States (after China) with 103,895 Indian students enrolled in U.S. higher education, according to Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, published by IIE with support from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Students from India accounted for approximately 14% of the total international student population. Open Doors 2011 reports that India hosted 3,884 U.S. students in 2009/10. This represents an increase of 44% from the previous year, mostly due to the collective efforts of the public and private sectors to increase U.S. study abroad to India.
An IIE report, “Increasing Study Abroad to India: A Guide for Institutions” reveals that many existing study abroad programs in India are at or near enrollment capacity, highlighting a growing need for both U.S. and Indian institutions to forge new bilateral partnerships in order to accommodate increasing U.S. interest in India as a study destination. The IIEPassport study abroad directory includes listings for the range of programs available to US students seeking short-term or academic year study in India.
About the Institute of International Education
The Institute of International Education is a world leader in the international exchange of people and ideas. An independent, not-for-profit organization founded in 1919, IIE has a network of 18 offices worldwide and over 1,000 member institutions. IIE designs and implements programs of study and training for students, educators, young professionals and trainees from all sectors with funding from government agencies, foundations, and corporations. IIE also conducts policy research and program evaluations, and provides advising and counseling on international education and opportunities abroad.
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