2020 U.S. Higher Education Partnership Fair
The goal of the U.S. Higher Education Partnership Fair is to bring U.S.- and non-U.S.-based international education leaders together to learn about possibilities for developing institutional partnerships. The Fair invites all accredited U.S. colleges and universities, and accredited intensive English programs to participate and display information about their programs to create new partnerships with overseas universities.
NAFSA will develop specific marketing to encourage non-U.S. conference attendees to attend the fair, as a means of exploring institutional partnerships. The 2020 fair is taking place on Tuesday, May 26 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (CDT), and will be located in the poster fair area of the Expo Hall at the America’s Center Convention Complex in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Benefits of Participating
- International attendees, who make up over 35 percent of the conference audience (more than 3,000 attendees and exhibitors), report that “meeting current and potential partners” is one of their top three reasons for attending the NAFSA annual conference.
- This dedicated and time-early event during the conference will spotlight U.S. universities and colleges and give international attendees the opportunity to quickly focus their attention on developing new partnerships and linkages.
- Presenting at the Fair will increase your institution’s visibility with the international education community.
- By holding the Fair on the first day of the Expo, you and your colleagues will have all week to continue discussions with potential partners met at the Fair.
- Your institution can "test the waters" for participating in future longer term exhibitions at the NAFSA annual conference.
How to Take Advantage of this Opportunity
Accredited U.S. colleges, universities, and intensive English programs that are physically located in the U.S. are invited to participate in the fair, which will be limited to 50 displays, offered on a first come, first served basis. A fee of $429 will be charged to the U.S. institutions that display at the fair, but no fee will be charged to the conference audience entering the fair. Campus leaders who staff their display will also be required to register for the NAFSA conference. Please register prior to April 16, 2019 if you would like to receive complimentary signage (institution and table number).
Preparing for Your Participation
Once registered, NAFSA will send specific guidelines regarding display materials and content to institutions to make it easy for attendees at the fair to identify the programs of each participating U.S. institution and engage in meaningful discussion of potential partnerships.