AIEA pre-conference workshops offer deep-dives into issues related to leading comprehensive internationalization, often in partnership with sister associations. From Developing an International Partnership Strategy to Strategic Budgeting, workshops provide in-depth training and cohort-based reflection on critical, timely topics. Adding workshops to your conference registration - or signing up for them individually - is easy with our registration form.

Early Registration is Open
Register by December 15 for exclusive early discounts!

Member Registration

Non-Member Registration

2026 Virtual Workshops

Early Registration (by December 15): 
Member: $125 
Non-Member: $225 

Regular Registration (after December 15): 
Member: $125
Non-Member: $275 

Special Price - Developing Proficiencies in the Domains of Professional Practice for Aspiring Senior International Leaders: $25 

From Purpose to Practice: Exploring Consulting Pathways in International Education

​From Purpose to Practice: Exploring Consulting Pathways in International Education
January 22 from 1:00 - 3:30 pm ET

As the international education landscape evolves, many professionals are reimagining their careers and seeking new ways to apply their expertise. This interactive workshop offers a guided exploration of consulting as a meaningful next step—whether full-time or alongside other pursuits. Participants will learn how to develop the needed mindset and identify their transferable skills; explore potential consulting scenarios; and gain practical strategies for designing flexible, purpose-driven career pathways within and beyond higher education.

Participants will: 

• Reflect on their own professional expertise and identify transferable skills that lend themselves to consulting work;
  
• Understand different models of consulting within international education and the broader nonprofit/education sectors;
  
• ​Assess whether consulting aligns with their professional and personal goals at this stage of their career;
  
• Learn key steps to get started—such as defining a consulting focus, identifying potential clients, and communicating their value;
  
• Gain practical strategies for exploring consulting as a flexible, purpose-driven pathway during times of transition or career growth.

​
Chair: Rajika Bhandari

Developing Proficiencies in the Domains of Professional Practice for Aspiring Senior International Leaders ​

Developing Proficiencies in the Domains of Professional Practice for Aspiring Senior International Leaders 
February 3 from 1:00 - 3:30 pm ET ​

Professional development is essential for acquiring the skills and proficiencies necessary to serve in a senior international leadership role. This workshop guides aspiring senior international leaders in using the four broad domains of AIEA’s Standards of Professional Practice to acquire the skills and abilities necessary for such roles. Using their own experiences and professional growth, presenters will share their paths to developing the proficiencies with each domain. They will also guide participants in the development of a personalized plan for advancing their professional development with these standards.

Participants will: 

• Identify and describe the four domains of AIEA’s Standards of Professional Practice and their relevance to senior international leadership;
• ​Assess their current professional strengths and areas for growth within each domain;
• Analyze examples from experienced leaders to understand how specific proficiencies can be developed through intentional professional practice;
• ​Apply the Standards framework to articulate a clear, personalized plan for advancing their professional development;
• Set measurable goals for cultivating the competencies, mindsets, and leadership behaviors associated with effective senior international officers.

Chair: Todd Lee Goen
​Presenters: Leslie Bozeman,Chrishon Blackwell, Chrissie Faupel, Elizabeth Langridge-Noti

Strategic Budgeting and Resource Management for International Education Leaders ​

Strategic Budgeting and Resource Management for International Education Leaders 
February 10, 2:00 pm- 4:30 pm

Strategic budgeting is essential for attaining an institution’s internationalization goals. This interactive workshop focuses on budgeting strategies and resource management, and provides participants from all areas of international education with the knowledge and tools to build a budgeting system for the international office. The workshop will also help participants to align the goals for internationalization initiatives with the institution’s vision, mission, and priorities.

Participants will: 

• Understand strategic budgeting, financial sustainability, and the key factors leading implementation of budget models for internationalization structures and processes;
• Learn how to implement a budgeting system adequate to your international office and/or the typical internationalization units;
• Gain an understanding in how to align budgeting with the strategic priorities of the institution;
• Identify revenue-generating initiatives aligned with the goals and budget models of international offices and/or their typical units.​

​
Presenters: Jill Blondin, Paulo Zagalo-Melo 

2026 On-Site Workshops 

On-Site Pre-Conference Workshop Fees: 

Member: $225  Non-Member: $450 

Developing an International Partnership Strategy

AIEA/IIE Workshop:
Developing an International Partnership Strategy
February 16, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm 

This workshop explores how your institution can develop a purposeful international partnership strategy that results in an effective portfolio of linkages that advance the institution, engage a wide range of faculty, staff, and students, and can be sustained over time. Experienced practitioners provide research findings, practical knowledge, and models for establishing the goals, criteria, policies, supports, and processes that foster partnership success and bring clarity and intentionality to partnership decision-making. Geared towards international education professionals with several years of experience, especially those who are responsible for partnership building at their institutions, the workshop equips participants with the basics of how to plan, organize, initiate, sustain, and evaluate partnerships between their home institutions and those in other countries.

Participants will:

• Understand the current academic partnership landscape and current ways of defining international academic partnerships.
• Learn methods for preparing your campus for partnerships and setting a partnership strategy.
• ​Learn about ways to initiate, expand, sustain, and evaluate partnerships.​

​

Chair: Sylvia Jons 
Presenters: Tim Barnes, Cori Crisfield, Susan Buck Sutton, Stacy Burger

Leveraging the Standards of Professional Practice as a Pathway to Senior International Leadership​

AIEA Workshop:
Leveraging the Standards of Professional Practice as a Pathway to Senior International Leadership
February 16, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm 

AIEA’s Standards of Professional Practice provide a framework of the competencies senior international leaders must possess to succeed in their work. This workshop focuses on how to develop the skills and background necessary to demonstrate expertise with each standard. Reflecting on their own backgrounds and professional development, presenters will discuss the ways in which their work reflects each standard as well as how they developed their own proficiencies with each. Participants will engage in guided reflection to create a plan for aligning their own professional development with these standards to demonstrate their readiness for senior international leadership.

​Participants will:

• Explain how AIEA’s Standards of Professional Practice define the core competencies required for effective senior international leadership;
  
• Recognize the skills, experiences, and professional pathways that demonstrate expertise within each of the standards; 
  
• Reflect critically on their own professional backgrounds to identify evidence of proficiency and areas for further growth;
  
• Analyze examples from experienced leaders to understand strategies for cultivating expertise across the standards;
  
• Develop an individualized professional development plan that aligns with the AIEA Standards and articulates readiness for senior international leadership roles.​

Chair: Todd Lee Goen 
Presenters: Sally Mudiamu, Carol Stax Brown, Patricia Sagasti Suppes, JY Zhou

Maximizing the Role of SIO: A Leadership Development Workshop

AIEA Workshop: 
Maximizing the Role of SIO: A Leadership Development Workshop
February 16, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm 

To be effective change agents, SIOs must navigate divergent contexts, rationales, and politics at institutions and beyond. This leadership development workshop will help SIOs build consensus and advance internationalization, by working more effectively across communication styles, roles, and priorities. Utilizing various role playing and scenario settings, where participants explore the complexity of stakeholder voices, motivations, and practices, SIOs will better understand the landscapes in which they work and advance international engagement. 

​Participants will: 

• Develop a deeper understanding of institutional complexities to be more effective leaders and change agents; 
  
• Become equipped with ways to anticipate obstacles, address resistance, and initiate change; 
  
• Understand how to engage stakeholders more meaningfully to advance internationalization; 
  
• ​Create an action roadmap for stakeholder engagement and consensus building

Presenters: Hilary Kahn, Vesna Dimitrieska

The Path Forward: Preparing for Your Next Leadership Role

AIEA Workshop
The Path Forward: Preparing for Your Next Leadership Role
February 16, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm 

This workshop will both encourage participants to dream big about their careers, and engage them in a step-by-step process to chart their path to success. In short presentations, group work, and individual exercises, we will identify the education, experience, skills, and qualities they have now and may need to attain to move into their desired roles at institutions of higher education and with other employers. Participants will also learn tips to improve how they present their professional accomplishments.

​Participants will:

• Reflect on their motivation for seeking a new role, create aspirational short-and long-term career goals, and consider limiting factors in their future job search
• ​Learn how to analyze position descriptions and “map” them to their current curriculum vitae/resumé
• Draft an individual professional development plan to guide their efforts in preparing for their next role

​Chair: Carolyn Stefanco

Building Your Sustainability Toolkit: Emerging Frameworks and Decision-Making Tools for IE Leaders

AIEA Workshop 
Building Your Sustainability Toolkit: Emerging Frameworks and Decision-Making Tools for International Education Leaders
February 16, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm ​

As international education leaders navigate the growing imperative to align global engagement with environmental and social responsibility, the need for actionable sustainability strategies has never been greater. This interactive workshop is designed for Senior International Officers and strategic decision-makers. Participants will explore frameworks that integrate sustainability into institutional planning, discuss models for stakeholder engagement, and apply evidence-based decision-making tools to real-world scenarios. Through guided collaboration and hands-on, real-time toolkit development, attendees will create actionable resources for initiating sustainability conversations and developing strategic roadmaps within their unique institutional contexts. Each participant will receive a comprehensive sustainability toolkit—including planning templates, engagement frameworks, and assessment rubrics—and gain access to a professional learning network for ongoing collaboration and shared innovation in sustainable internationalization.

Learning Outcomes: Participants will be able to

• Apply emerging sustainability frameworks to guide strategic planning within international education offices and programs; 
• Utilize evidence-based decision-making tools to balance institutional priorities with environmental and social sustainability goals;
• Design inclusive stakeholder engagement strategies that foster cross-campus and international collaboration for sustainable impact;
• Develop an actionable sustainability roadmap and toolkit tailored to their institution’s context, supported by a continuing professional learning network.
  
  

​Presenters: Kira Espiritu, Daniel Ponce-Taylor, Ravi Raj 

What is this Moment Calling Us to Do? A Socratic Inquiry into Internationalization Drift

AIEA Workshop 
What is this Moment Calling Us to Do? A Socratic Inquiry into Internationalization Drift​
February 16, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm 

​This interactive workshop employs the Socratic method to examine fundamental assumptions underlying internationalization. Participants will engage in systematic questioning to identify internationalization drift—the deviation from educational missions toward market-driven goals. Through guided inquiry examining institutional culture and leadership capacity, attendees will explore tensions and paradoxes, engaging in the frame-breaking dialogue necessary to challenge existing paradigms. The session emphasizes transformative dialogue and institutional analysis rather than passive knowledge transfer, positioning internationalization as higher education's emerging fourth macro mission.

Learning Outcomes: Participants will be able to: 

• Engage collectively in guided questioning to examine assumptions about internationalization that often go unquestioned, recognizing each participant as someone who can create change within their institution.
• Identify gaps between what institutions say about internationalization and what they actually do to explore how market pressures influence these decisions.
• Use a practical assessment framework to analyze how institutional culture, governance structures, and academic disciplines shape internationalization efforts.
• Build understanding together through active discussion rather than passive listening, challenging conventional thinking about internationalization's purpose.
•  Develop actionable responses to the question "What is this moment calling us to do?" based on shared analysis of where internationalization is heading.

Presenters: Melanie Agnew, Moreen Travis Carvan 

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