CSUB hosts first-ever U.S. Department of State Workshop

Discussing building capacity to study abroad

By California State University, Bakersfield

January 31^st, 2020

The CSU Bakersfield Center for Global Outreach hosted the first-ever Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students (IDEAS) Incubator Workshop on Friday, January 24, 2020. During the workshop, study abroad professionals from universities around the country presented best practices and techniques for increasing and diversifying the students who study or intern abroad and the locations to which they travel.

CSUB was competitively selected from colleges and universities nationwide to host the 2020 IDEAS Incubator Workshop for approximately 30 study abroad professionals from across the U.S.

“This workshop brought national attention and recognition to CSUB for its leadership in study abroad education. We are happy to lead the nation in offering these workshops to build professional skills among study abroad professionals,” said dean of CSUB’s Extended Education and Global Outreach, Mark Novak, Ph. D.

The State Department is supporting similar capacity building workshops on study abroad this year at University of North Carolina at Charlotte; University of Georgia; St. Cloud State University; and Mount Holyoke College.

“The IDEAS Incubator workshops provide a much-needed opportunity for higher education professionals in study abroad to network around the topic of student recruitment. By learning from experienced professionals in the field and sharing their own best practices, everyone at the workshop at CSU Bakersfield came away with new strategies to increase and diversify student abroad on their campus,” reflects Amy Fisher, Project Director of World Learning.

The IDEAS Incubator Workshop is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by World Learning. The program provides small grants, in-person trainings, and digital resources to help U.S. colleges and universities increase and diversify their study abroad programs for U.S. students.

“When U.S. students study abroad, they build cross-cultural relationships and gain 21st century jobs skills that strengthen U.S. national security and economic prosperity,” said Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce. “It is a strategic imperative

of the United States that we have more U.S. students studying and interning abroad in more destinations, and we could not accomplish this without our great U.S. higher education partners.”

Additional details concerning the IDEAS Program and other programs of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs can be found at exchanges.state.gov.

For further information on study abroad programs and opportunities at CSUB, contact the CSUB Study Abroad Office at 661-654-6271 or email studyabroad@csub.edu.