09. Inma Martinez: Digital transformation 2021

01/13/21 • 22 min

Episode number nine of the EAIE podcast series takes up the topic of digitalisation, a matter that was of immense importance in 2020 and that’s certain to continue featuring prominently in the field of international higher education in 2021. Guest Inma Martinez, a globally recognised digital pioneer and artificial intelligence scientist, weighs in on key issues of how technology can support the work of higher education, and how very real human needs and interests sit at the heart of all technological innovation.

For quite a number of years now, the many and varied possibilities of technology to play a game-changing role in higher education have been widely discussed, hotly debated and eagerly anticipated. But 2020 truly marked a watershed moment for rhetoric to meet reality: technology-based solutions were deployed rapidly by higher education institutions around the world to fill the gaps in our ability to convene in-person meetings and face-to-face classes as a result of the fast-moving COVID-19 pandemic. What have we learned from this experience? And where are we headed next in terms of digital developments? Join us in conversation with technology expert Inma Martinez as she reflects on these remarkable recent events and the transformational effects they have already rendered – and may yet enable – in our relationship with digitalisation.
Further reading
For further insights into the topics touched on in this episode, the following resources may be of interest:

→ Top IT Issues, 2021: Emerging from the Pandemic (EDUCAUSE, 2020)
→ DIGI-HE Webinar series: A strategic reflection on digitalisation in higher education (European University Association, 2021)
→ 2020 Spring EAIE Forum: ‘Digitalisation’
→ AI in international education: redefining who ‘we’ are (EAIE blog)
→ Virtual exchange and Internationalisation at Home: the perfect pairing (EAIE blog)

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08. Robert Coelen: Reflections on Resilience

Episode number eight of the EAIE podcast series features personal and professional perspectives on surviving–and thriving–during a year of extraordinary challenges. Guest Robert Coelen, who spent 23 days in a coma in the spring of 2020 while battling coronavirus-related health complications, speaks from deep personal experience about the meaning of resilience and offers insights into how the field of international education can gain from our collective experience of unprecedented disruption and our shared aspirations for recovery.
Reaching the final month of 2020 offers a timely and important opportunity to reflect on what we as individuals and professionals in the field of international education have weathered over the course of this extremely challenging year. The COVID-19 pandemic has dominated most aspects of our lives for the last ten months, and as we consider all that has been lost or disrupted, we also have an opportunity to reflect on what we have learned and what comes next. Resilience is the theme of this conversation with Robert Coelen, whose 25 years of professional and academic experience in international education, as well as his personal experience as a COVID-19 survivor, are brought to bear on considerations of what it means to face adversity and imagine a better, brighter future. For those of you with a special interest in this topic, 'Resilience in uncertain times’ is also the theme of the Winter 2020 issue of EAIE’s member magazine, Forum.

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10. Nico Evers: International schools: pipelines & possibilities

International schools, which cater to the needs of children who require or simply desire an international educational experience at the primary or secondary level, serve as natural feeders for students into higher education institutions focused on internationalisation. This episode of the EAIE podcast series explores some of the current work and perspectives of the Council of International Schools (CIS), a leading organisation in the international school community. Our conversation with Nico Evers, who serves as CIS’s Director of Higher Education Services, sheds light on the ways that the work and interests of international schools parallel closely many of the key concerns of international higher education professionals, highlighting compelling synergies.
Discussions of internationalisation in higher education typically play out in isolation from what may be happening in terms of international education at the level of primary and secondary schools. Yet, in international schools around the world, there is a long tradition of educating younger students in highly internationalised settings and through internationally-oriented curricula. This has implications for higher education. Most immediately, graduates of international secondary schools are typically perceived as very welcome recruits into higher education institutions eager to cultivate an ‘internationalised’ student body. Beyond this, the commitments made by international schools to such issues as the cultivation of global citizenship may make them natural allies with their international higher education counterparts. Join us in conversation with Nico Evers to learn more about CIS’s work and its ongoing efforts to engage international schools and higher education institutions in mutually beneficial activities.
Further reading
For further insights into the topics touched on in this episode, the following resource may be of interest:

→ What does ‘Shaping the Future of International Education’ look like in practice? (Evers, 2020)