Internationalizing Best Practices: Lessons Learned

The core tenants of campus internationalization—with the goal of welcoming students from abroad and creating a new generation of global citizens who will contribute to the advancement of social and economic development for all—have taken on new meaning in an uncertain political environment.

These three case studies from previous winners of the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization highlight not only sound educational practices but also the value that society can derive from international education, an important contribution to the dialogue about the need to develop and advocate for a strong U.S. international education policy.

North Carolina State University

New Growth and Focus

Since winning the Simon Award in 2014, North Carolina State University (NC State) in Raleigh, N.C., has changed the name of its Office of International Affairs to the Office of Global Engagement (NC State Global). “Th e name change reflects a switch in emphasis from cross-border activities to engaging global learning on our campus and local communities,” says Bailian Li, senior vice provost for global engagement.

The office has also extended its reach—both on campus and overseas—with the number of full-time employees growing from 40 in 2014 to 65 in 2018. Li says they’ve expanded the scope of their internationalization activities and increased the visibility of the global engagement office through the office’s own entrepreneurial initiatives as well as increased support from the university.

University-Wide Center for Study Abroad

One major effort is the establishment of the NC State European Center in Prague, which grew out