Beacons of light: the 2016 EAIE Award winners
In a world where the need for international and intercultural collaboration is highlighted on what seems like a daily basis, it’s more important than ever to promote the values of higher education and recognise those in our community who are working to foster international partnership and exchange. That’s why we’re so proud to announce the seven recipients of the 2016 EAIE Awards – an outstanding group that has demonstrated a commitment to these values and serve as shining lights of inspiration.
Institutional Award for Innovation in Internationalisation
This year’s Institutional Award winner, the University of Porto, is a solid example of good practice in all aspects of internationalisation. Recently, the university has increased its internal cooperation, investing in integrated actions and collaboration of the International Office with other internal structures and departments. It has also extensively expanded its visibility worldwide, through coordinated activities, namely within Erasmus+ and Erasmus Mundus. Find out what steps the University of Porto has taken to develop its comprehensive internationalisation strategy during their session at EAIE Liverpool 2016.
Constance Meldrum Award for Vision and Leadership
Jo Ritzen is this year’s recipient of the Constance Meldrum Award. During his career in politics and university leadership, Jo Ritzen has been an active proponent of international higher education. As one of the longest-serving Ministers of Education in the world, he enacted a series of major reforms throughout the Dutch education system, that are acknowledged as the basis for the success of Dutch universities in international rankings. He is being recognised this year as a continuous driving force in the field for almost three decades.
Bo Gregersen Award for Best Practice
This year’s Bo Gregersen Award winner goes to Serge Sych in recognition of the demonstrated impact of his alumni relations model and more importantly how he has made it accessible to others. Serge presently serves as the Vice President for Alumni Relations and Enrolment Management at Central European University in Budapest. As a senior trainer for the EAIE, offering courses in international alumni relations strategy and management, he has helped train several hundred professionals in Europe and around the world over the past 10 years.
Tony Adams Award for Excellence in Research
Betty Leask is this year’s Tony Adams Award winner, in recognition of her considerable research output related to international higher education. Currently Professor of Internationalisation and Pro Vice-Chancellor Teaching and Learning at La Trobe University, Australia, she is best known for her research focused on engaging academic staff in the process of internationalisation of the curriculum. Betty’s publications on the topic provide valuable information that has direct applications for universities wishing to further develop Internationalisation at Home practices.
Transatlantic Leadership Award
This year’s Transatlantic Leadership Award goes to Peter Kerrigan for his significant leadership in educational exchange between Europe and the United States. Peter helped launch the annual conference of The Forum on Education Abroad and played a key role in ensuring that The Forum’s guiding principles were visible and understood by a variety of international audiences. He is also the first American to Chair the EAIE Professional Development Committee. At DAAD, Peter is currently responsible for promoting exchanges and mobility at all levels between North America and Germany. During his tenure he has helped increase numbers in both directions, linking American and European universities like few others.
President’s Award
In honour of his remarkable service over the years, the EAIE President has chosen Duleep Deosthale as this year’s President’s Award winner. Having attended his first EAIE conference in 1993, Duleep has a long history as a committed volunteer and has continuously served in various leadership positions. He was first active in the Expert Community formerly known as International Relations Managers (2000–2010) and went on to serve on the Conference Programme Committee (CPC), becoming the Chair in 2014. Duleep will continue dedicating his expert knowledge within the EAIE as a Steering group member of Strategy and Management for the 2016–2018 term.
Rising Star Award
This year’s Rising Star Award honours Ceren Genç, whose active involvement in the EAIE has shone greatly in just a short time. In addition to her noteworthy contributions to the EAIE’s conference in Istanbul, she also easily bridged the gap between the European and Turkish networks while serving as a Resource person for the Expert Community Admission and Recognition. Described as ‘a strong leader who manages to bring people together cross-culturally’, Ceren further demonstrated her skills as one of the key initiators of the recent Spotlight Seminar on refugees.
Congratulations to the 2016 EAIE Award winners and thank you to all those who took the time to nominate. We look forward to honouring their achievements at the 28th Annual EAIE Conference in Liverpool.