Let’s expand “study abroad” to include more than just “study”

“It felt like we were saying that, to get from A to B, we can only use cars – no buses, no trains, no innovative, alternative modes of transport”

By Mark Overmann, Vice President of External Affairs, InterExchange, reflects on IIE’s Generation Study Abroad goal to study abroad – and says that in order to meet it, educators must start thinking beyond the traditional model of study abroad.

I left the recent IIE Summit on Generation Study Abroad in DC excited, inspired, and more sure than ever of one key idea: reaching Generation Study Abroad’s “moonshot” goal of doubling the number of Americans studying abroad can only happen if we expand our notion of what “studying” abroad actually means. I’m not suggesting that we pad the numbers. But I am suggesting that we broaden our definition of “study abroad” to also include a variety of international programs that are educational and experiential in nature, but not necessarily academic.
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Mark Overmann is Vice President of External Affairs at InterExchange and co-author of Working World: Careers in International Education, Exchange, and Development. He’s worked for more than a decade on advocacy and strategic communications for international education and exchange programs.