EAIE 2019 in Helsinki: Summer as a Creative Space

In the coming week, members of King’s Summer Programmes team will be attending the EAIE Annual Conference in Helsinki. In a schedule packed with encounters with partners new and old, King’s Summer Education Programme will form a key part of the wider conference programme.

Dr Alexander Heinz, Associate Director (Research & Innovation), will be speaking on summer schools as a creative space for education; sharing a platform with Nita Kapoor, Director of the University of Oslo Summer School, and Jason Kinnear, Assistant Dean for Study Abroad at UNC Chapel Hill.

As Vice-Chair of the EAIE Summer Schools Expert Community, Dr Heinz will speak at and co-host a summer school health clinic, as well as a large reception for sector professionals.  He will also lead a campfire session for peers from around the world.Together with Lorraine Ishmael-Byers, King’s Associate Director for Disability Support and Inclusion, Dr Heinz endeavours to whet the appetite of other institutions to follow into the footsteps of Dialogues on Disability, a sector-leading programme by King’s, the University of Delhi, Humboldt-University, the Autonomous University of Mexico and others, and to encourage colleagues to think beyond national boundaries about mobility for and policy discussions among disabled students.

Fahema Ettoubi, Academic Services Manager, and Emma Carlile, Assistant Programme Development Manager, will attend EAIE for the first time and will be available to meet with partners and members of the wider international education community.  Both look forward to showcasing King’s Summer Programmes portfolio to current partners but also new institutions, enabling us to stand out from the crowd.

Spring conferences: what matters next

This spring King’s Summer Programmes are meeting with International Education leaders from across the world to discuss exciting innovations in the summer school sector. King’s Summer Education Programme contributes to and shapes the international debate on best practice and innovation in the field of summer learning and teaching.

At this year’s APAIE, the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education conference hosted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Dr Sarah Williamson and Mina Chakmagi spoke about ‘Improving Inclusion: Short Courses as an Opportunity for International Education’.

This week we are attending NAFSA, the large annual conference of the Association of International Educators in Washington DC, USA. Dr Alexander Heinz, Head of the Summer Education Programme, will be presenting together with Lorraine Ishmael-Byers, King’s Associate Director (Disability Support and Inclusion) on ‘Students Shape Policy Internationally: Dialogues on Disability’.

On campus in London, our Community of Practice which brings together summer tutors from all disciplines and programmes at King’s met last week to share best practice and their enthusiasm of welcoming students this summer. We have invited Dr Debbie Lock from Lincoln University who shared with the community her research into living and teaching for Chinese student cohorts.

Earlier in May Dr Heinz presented at the Going Global conference in Berlin, Germany, organised by the British Council, on ‘A Diplomatic Approach – Constructing the Academy from Flying Faculty and Online Learning‘.

Along with Katie Constanza from University North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Dr Heinz led a well-attended session at the Forum on Education Abroad in Denver, USA, on ‘Strategies for Building Student Resilience Through Integrative Global Learning‘.

The Impact of Preparatory University Programmes on School Students’ academic development will be at the centre of a plenary session at UCAS Annual International Teachers’ and Advisers’ Conference in Glasgow on 4th June. Dr Heinz will be joined by Dr Matt Edwards, Head of Sixth Form, Sevenoaks School and Lynette Peine, UCAS Lead and EAP Tutor at English Language Centre.

It is a privilege to share best practice and debate ideas with colleagues from across the world, working every day to provide students an enriching education experience.

Dialogues on Disability

‘In many areas of the globe, opportunities for disabled students to meet, study and advance thinking on disability and inclusion beyond the confines of national borders are nearly non-existent.’ To change this institutions are developing programmes and working collaboratively to face the worldwide discrepancy of this subject.

An example of innovative short term programming, the Dialogues and Disability programme started life in 2013 between Delhi University and King’s, as a collaboration between international Summer Programmes and King’s Disability Advisory Service. The programme focuses on improving the university experience for disabled staff and students and explores topics from inclusion across aspects of university life, mentoring and pathways to success after graduation. This annual programme brings together disabled students and disability professionals, from around the world, to explore the challenges and opportunities faced by disabled people with respect to accessibility and inclusion.

‘This is an example of internationalisation and disability services have entered into a symbiotic exchange of perspectives and best practices.’

Dr Alexander Heinz, Summer Education Programme Lead and Lorraine Ishmael-Byers, Associate Director (Disability Support and Inclusion) Student Support and Wellbeing Services co-written the recent ‘Transnational Dialogues on Disability’ article published at EAIE Forum magazine.

Please visit our webpage to know more about the Dialogues on Disability programme.