Inspirational leaders: the 2015 EAIE Award winners
This year, one institution and five incredible individuals have joined the ranks of EAIE Award winners, a remarkable group that has made outstanding contributions to the EAIE and the internationalisation of higher education. Each of their extraordinary and diverse efforts serves as an example of the high level of excellence that we all can aspire to. Be inspired by these role models who will be honoured at the 27th Annual EAIE Conference in Glasgow for their tremendous achievements.
Institutional Award for Innovation in Internationalisation
Recognising a European higher education institution for its exceptional efforts to promote internationalisation, this year’s Institutional award goes to Georg-August-Universität Göttingen of Germany. In the last few years, Göttingen has extensively regenerated its internationalisation strategy, developing ‘Göttingen International’ to ensure internationalisation within the university as a whole. Additionally, through the newly established ‘Campus 2020’ project, they aim to strengthen cooperation between the University’s Göttingen-based research partners. Come learn from university representatives about the steps Göttingen has taken to develop its comprehensive internationalisation strategy during their session at EAIE Glasgow 2015.
Bo Gregersen Award for Best Practice
This year’s Bo Gregersen award, acknowledging an innovative contribution to the field of international higher education, goes to Isabell Majewsky Anderson of The University of Edinburgh for her work creating the Principal’s Go Abroad Challenge (PGAC). Isabell designed PGAC to create an immediate impact and long-lasting enrichment to the student experience, offering a range of short-term, accessible international experiences in lieu of the traditional full year and semester long exchange options. Come learn about this initiative during her poster session at EAIE Glasgow 2015.
Constance Meldrum Award for Vision and Leadership
Honouring an inspiring leader for his/her contributions to the field, this year’s Constance Meldrum award goes to Dr. Siegbert Wuttig. Having just retired last year from The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Siegbert has been one of the outstanding figures in European and international higher education cooperation for a quarter of a century. With his bold vision and his ability to rally the support of universities, academics, students and political and administrative decision-makers alike, he has shaped the development of European education and training cooperation like few others.
Rising Star Award
In recognition of the abundance of rising talent within the EAIE, the Awards and Talent Committee chose not one, but two individuals to receive the 2015 Rising Star Award: Frank Haber from Jacobs University Bremen in Germany, and Edyta Lachowicz Santos from the University of Economics in Katowice in Poland. Having both started out as Resource persons within the EAIE’s Expert Communities, the brilliant work of these individuals has radiated throughout the Association and we expect great things from them in the future.
A speaker in numerous sessions at EAIE Conferences, as well as a co-trainer at the EAIE Academies, and the author of multiple posts on the EAIE blog, Frank Haber has significantly contributed to the EAIE’s activities over the last three years. He additionally serves as a Steering group member within the EAIE Expert Community Psychological Counselling in Higher Education (PSYCHE). We continue to benefit from his expert knowledge in his field and his motivation for networking within and outside the EAIE.
As Vice-Chair of the EAIE Expert Community Employability skills, graduate careers and international internships (EMPLOI), Edyta Lachowicz Santos has actively contributed to the development of EMPLOI’s goals and ambitions. She has taken an active role in EAIE conferences, sharing her skills and passion as chair and speaker at several sessions, as well as helping to organise the very first EAIE Spotlight seminar event. Edyta has actively promoted the EAIE in Central and Eastern Europe, additionally helping to get essential input from underrepresented countries for the EAIE Barometer report.
President’s Award
In honour of his outstanding service over the years, the EAIE President has chosen Herman de Leeuw as this year’s President’s award winner. In addition to his long history as an association leader, Herman was instrumental in the development of Digital Student Data Portability (DSDP). Not only did he take this initiative from an idea within the Expert Community Admissions Officers and Credential Evaluators (ACE) to an EAIE Task Force on this subject, Herman brought it to the reality of the Groningen Declaration. He has continually kept the EAIE very much involved in the developments and activities of the initiative, ensuring that the EAIE community can benefit from these resources.
Congratulations to the 2015 EAIE Award winners and a big thank you to all those who took the time to nominate this exceptional group! We look forward to celebrating these incredible achievements at EAIE Glasgow 2015.