WISE 2014 Conference
Thursday and Friday, February 6-7, 2014
Pre-conference workshop: Wednesday February 5, 2014
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
WISE is the premier conference focused on the development of intercultural skills and awareness during study abroad and international travel. WISE is a practitioner’s conference focused on helping faculty leaders, program coordinators, and resident staff develop the knowledge and skills they need in order to help study abroad students develop intercultural skills and awareness.
WISE is designed for faculty who lead or teach short- or long-term programs abroad, and for study abroad professionals who assist students in this important cross-cultural experience. It is a place where faculty, study abroad professionals, and other international education and assessment experts can share insights, strategies and personal experiences about intercultural competency in practical, hands-on sessions.
Why focus on intercultural skills and awareness? Many international educators share a common experience: once abroad, they discover that many of their students stay in a “study abroad bubble” and have a difficult time meeting and interacting with local people. They find that many students lack fundamental intercultural skills and are ill-prepared to interact effectively with their hosts. They wish they could help their students find better ways to take advantage of the numerous cross-cultural interactions that lie at the core of the overseas experience.
This conference aims to explore students’ intercultural learning abroad from a variety of angles. WISE 2014 will include four sessions focused on the most important intercultural training models now in use. WISE 2014 will also feature a session focusing on the variety of inventories and tools being used to assess students’ intercultural competency and awareness.
The WISE 2014 Conference Committee invites proposals from faculty, education abroad professionals, and anyone interested in student learning during study abroad and other forms of international activities (internships, service-learning, service, research, etc.). Proposals are due by August 30, 2013. Visit the Call for Proposals page for details.
More information about the schedule and logistics for WISE 2014 will be posted here over the summer, so check back later for up-to-date information.
Quotes from past participants:
“Attending WISE was one of the best decisions I ever made. I gained an appreciation of culture in ways that I had not tapped into before, and I have been able to incorporate what I learned in my travels around the globe and in my classroom.”
– Russell G. Brodie, Director of Global Study Abroad and International Programs, Saint Augustine’s College
“WISE was a wonderful opportunity for me to learn about intercultural learning best practices. I found it useful, as an administrator, to sit in on sessions related to philosophical areas, such as how we define culture and how we adequately assess intercultural competency in students. Learning about the differing approaches of various institutions was very helpful, as we grapple with these same questions.”
– Paul Paparella, Assistant Director, Global Education Office for Undergraduates, Duke University
