It has been a very busy yet rewarding year at Illinois International.
We’ve accomplished so many milestones and we wanted to take a moment to share some of our favorite highlights that made 2022 a year to remember.
- Vision 2030: Illinois Global Strategy: During the fall semester, we announced our Vision 2030global strategy, which is aimed at maintaining the University of Illinois’ legacy of global engagement. By following strategic actions over the next seven years, we hope that this global vision that not only answers a call to action to utilize resources to find solutions to global challenges and trends, but also creates the foundation the university needs to be a pre-eminent public research university with a global impact for the next 150 years.
- The Illinois Global Summit: Two keynote speakers and several guest panelists with distinguished backgrounds convened at the I-Hotel on Oct. 19 to offer their expertise during the first-ever Illinois Global Summit. The Summit was one-day symposium that honoredVision 2030: Illinois’ Global Strategy. But as Dr. Sammer Jones, the director for Global Relations, said in earlier article published in October, the Summit, “Was a declaration of our campus commitment to continue our global work and to expand our work in areas that we have not been visible in.”
- International Education Week: IEW was organized by International Student and Scholar Services, who partnered with several student groups, centers, colleges, and units on and off campus to provide different immersive learning experiences for the community. What made this year special though was that that this was the first in-person IEW since the COVID-19 pandemic. "They were so excited to be back in person and they were excited to be sharing their culture and interacting face-to-face with other students," said Kimberly Yau, the associate director for ISSS.
- UIUC is a leading destination for international students: The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was ranked second in the nationa among public universities for the most international students. This data is from this year’s Open Doors report that was published on Nov. 14 by the Institute of International Education (IIE). UIUC was also ranked 22nd in the country for hosting the most international scholars.
- Strengthening partnerships: Throughout the year, our units have hosted scholars, programs, and administrators from different partner institutions all of which have contributed to building our relationships with our global partners. For instance, in the linked story UIUC and Zhejiang University (ZJU) commemorated 20 years’ worth of accomplishments on April 18, when representatives from the two universities met via Zoom. For an hour they celebrated their partnership, which has produced countless success stories and has flourished over the course of two decades. Another example of our growing partnerships includes our work with Amideast Egypt, an organization that is engaged in international education, training, and development activities in the Middle East and North Africa. With the help of Global Education and Training and Disability Resources and Educational Services, we have hosted two students during the fall 2021 semester, 13 students for a two-week program earlier this year, and one study tour with 33 participants from 15 different Egyptian universities and three Amideast Egypt staff. The Study Tour was a 10-day program that offered an opportunity for participants to learn how to effectively manage every aspect of a successful Disability Service Center from organizational structure and operations to policies and procedures.
As 2022 ends, we look forward to continuing our Vision 2030 mission, and we especially look forward to what 2023 will bring.
Happy holidays and Happy New Year!