Embedding Global Learning Across Campus – UC Davis Global Learning Hub | Best in Practice by Claudio Castaneda | Jul 10, 2026 | Articles, Collaboration & Initiatives at Home, Global Engagement Resources, Homepage Articles, Public If you work in global education, you know how impactful this work can be for students. But it’s often seen as an add-on, something that doesn’t quite resonate with colleagues across campus. Global learning lives in one office. Career services sits across campus in another division. And the students who could benefit most often never find the door. Welcome to Best in Practice, conversations with practitioners tackling this challenge in innovative ways. What’s working, what’s not, and what we can actually learn from each other. Overview: Episode one of Best in Practice features five leaders from the UC Davis Global Learning Hub in conversation about what it looks like when an institution stops treating global learning as a single program and starts building it into the fabric of campus. The discussion covers the Hub’s organizational model, how faculty and campus partners are engaged at every level, and what it means in practice to redefine global learning beyond traditional mobility. The UC Davis team brings different perspectives to the same core question: how do you create conditions where every student, regardless of background, major, or financial situation, can find a pathway to global learning that is meaningful to them? Practice Area: Global Education Strategy & Alignment Moderator: Claudio Castaneda, Director of Content & Programs, DA Global Access Network Guest Speakers: Fred Boll, Executive Director, Global Learning Hub, University of California, Davis Aliki Dragona, Faculty Director, Academic Programs, Global Learning Hub, University of California, Davis Rosana Avila, Director, Global Study, Global Learning Hub, University of California, Davis Paula Levitt, Director, Global and Intercultural Programs, Global Learning Hub, University of California, Davis Seth Parrish, Director, Engagement and Enrollment, Global Learning Hub, University of California, Davis What You Will Find in This Summary How the Global Learning Hub is structured and what distinguishes it from a traditional global education office How the Hub engages faculty across study abroad, curriculum development, and the Global Studies minor How global learning is designed as a developmental journey across a student’s four years, not a single experience How the Hub is addressing access and building relationships with campus partners including advisors, student affairs, and career services What the UC Davis team would tell other institutions hoping to build a more connected model The Hub: Structure and What Makes It Different The Global Learning Hub is housed inside the UC Davis International Center and brings together education abroad, campus-based global and intercultural programs, aspects of international student support, and faculty engagement under one roof. Five directors lead the work, each overseeing a distinct area: organizational strategy, leadership, and business systems; faculty engagement and the Global Studies minor; education abroad and faculty-led programs; campus-based global and intercultural learning; and student engagement and enrollment. A team of approximately 27 staff supports the work across all areas. What distinguishes this model from a traditional global office is not just the co-location. The Hub is formally designated by UC Davis as a Special Academic Program, which means it can offer its own courses and its own interdisciplinary minor. That academic standing grounds the Hub’s work in the curriculum rather than positioning it as a peripheral service. Students are not navigating separate offices with separate goals. Instead, the teams coordinate across a shared structure so that a student’s global learning journey can be intentionally supported from their first week on campus through graduation. “We don’t view global learning as a single experience or a single pathway. We aim to incorporate and leverage the identities, experiences, interests, and goals that students bring with them when they arrive, and create vehicles for them to develop that into learning and growth opportunities” – Fred Boll Engaging Faculty Faculty engagement is built into the Hub’s model across three distinct channels. Together they reflect a belief that global learning has to be connected to the academic work of the institution, not layered on top of it. Study abroad program development. Every fall the Hub sends an open call to all faculty to propose new faculty-led programs. Interested faculty receive one-on-one support, attend information sessions, and are assigned a dedicated staff member through a committee-reviewed process. More than 40 faculty are currently leading programs. All receive ongoing professional development including intercultural learning workshops and access to a shared faculty portal. Teaching for Global Learning. Launched in 2018, this program provides faculty across all disciplines, colleges, and professional schools with frameworks and tools for integrating global perspectives into their courses, regardless of whether students travel. The program develops measurable global learning outcomes grounded in theory. 75 faculty have completed it so far, and the cohort continues to grow. The Global Studies minor. An interdisciplinary minor that draws on globally focused courses taught across campus. A faculty committee oversees the minor, reviews new study abroad proposals, and governs the introductory Global Thinking course. That course enrolled 30 students in its first year and 60 in its second. Global Learning as a Developmental Journey One of the clearest shifts reflected in the Hub model is the move away from a study abroad paradigm toward a global learning paradigm. Rather than helping students complete a single program, the Hub is designed to support students in building a pathway across their four years, with multiple entry points at every stage. First-year programs. The Global Pathfinders first-year seminar, the Global Engagement Opportunity living and learning community, and the Global Ambassador Mentorship Program pair domestic and incoming international students and help build intercultural confidence before students ever consider traveling abroad. UCEAP Global Start. Incoming first-year students have the option to begin their UC Davis experience abroad before arriving on campus. Students in the first cohort returned having already built a global identity and became some of the Hub’s most engaged students, going on to mentor international students and work in the office. Education abroad. Programs range from three-to-five-week faculty-led experiences to full academic-year exchanges through UCEAP, the UC-wide Education Abroad Program. Faculty leading short-term programs now receive intercultural learning training from the Hub, so that even brief experiences abroad are designed with structured reflection before, during, and after. Re-engagement after return. Students who come back from abroad can continue through the Hub via the Global Impact Fellows program, which connects student-led projects to UN Sustainable Development Goals, or by presenting at the annual Global Learning Conference, where students synthesize experiences across multiple global learning touchpoints. “One of the most significant benefits of working within a shared hub structure is that it allows us to think about global learning as a developmental journey rather than a single experience” – Rosana Avila Access and Campus Partnership Awareness of the Hub at UC Davis is generally strong, but access remains the more persistent challenge. The three barriers that come up most consistently are finances, program timing relative to academic requirements, and students self-selecting out before they ever make an inquiry because they do not see themselves reflected in global learning. The Hub has designed specific responses to each of these. Financial aid sessions co-hosted with the Financial Aid Office, with individual advising appointments available for students with specific funding questions Credit and non-credit program options available year-round, so students in rigid major sequences still have viable pathways Virtual advising appointments, introduced recently, tripled the total number of student advising interactions in a single year Global Guides, a new peer outreach team currently in development, designed to extend the Hub’s reach through student-to-student conversation Identity-based resources on the Hub’s website to help students from a range of backgrounds see themselves in global learning opportunities Campus partners, including academic advisors, student affairs professionals, career services staff, and TRIO programs, are treated as essential to the Hub’s work, not supplementary to it. The Hub developed an Advisor’s Guide and other resources to the Global Learning Hub and distributes it across campus. A Coffee Chats initiative brings small groups of advisors together regularly to share feedback, surface concerns, and build ongoing relationships. The goal is for advisors to feel confident referring any student, regardless of major or background, to the Hub as a resource for their broader success. Seth Parrish: “We want to be thought of as partners in the truest sense of the word. We never want to be thought of as a competitor, only as an ally.” What This Means for the Field The UC Davis team was direct about what they have learned and what they would tell other institutions considering a more connected approach to global learning. Start with relationships, not structures. Co-locating offices is not the same as building a shared vision. The Hub works because teams have aligned around common goals, not just common real estate. Redefine what counts as global learning. Not every student will study abroad. But every student should have access to meaningful global and intercultural learning opportunities. Expanding that definition opens more paths for collaboration, more entry points for students, and broader institutional reach. Design for access intentionally. Funding barriers, timing conflicts, and students who opt out before asking a single question are real and recurring. They are also addressable, but only if institutions build systems and relationships specifically designed to reach those students. Build for culture, not just structure. The goal is not an org chart or a physical hub. It is a campus where global learning is understood as central to student success, and where every student can find a pathway that is meaningful and accessible to them. Paula Levitt: “The goal isn’t simply to create a hub or organizational structure. It’s to create a culture where global learning is viewed as an essential component of student success and where every student can find a pathway that is meaningful and accessible to them.” “The goal isn’t simply to create a hub or organizational structure. It’s to create a culture where global learning is viewed as an essential component of student success and where every student can find a pathway that is meaningful and accessible to them.” – Paula Levitt Be featured on the Best in Practice Series Is your institution doing something innovative or unique in this space? We’d love to hear about it. Reach out to us at members@daglobal.org to let us know, you might be featured in an upcoming episode.
What the Field Is Telling Us: 10 Takeaways from Spring 2026 Conference Season by Andrew Gordon | Apr 20, 2026 | Articles, Homepage Articles, News & Updates, Public By Andrew Gordon, April 20, 2026 Every spring, the international education conference season offers a chance to step back from the day-to-day operations and take stock of where the field actually stands. This spring was no different, except in all the ways it was. I attended the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) Conference in Washington, D.C. and the Forum on Education Abroad Conference. And then there was the Global Impact 2026 – MENA — which we had to postpone due to the war in Iran and its impact on the region. More on that below. Three conferences. Two attended. One postponed. All of them clarifying. Here’s what I’m taking away from this season. 1. Forces outside our control are part of the work. Global Impact MENA was scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi in collaboration with NYU Abu Dhabi. We had planned, had a phenomenal speaker lineup, and were ready. And then the geopolitical situation in the region made it impossible to move forward responsibly. We made the decision to postpone, with a full commitment to return to the MENA region. What it reminded me — what it reminded all of us — is that international education doesn’t operate in a vacuum. We experienced this with COVID, the Great Financial Crisis, Brexit, … the list goes on. We’re experiencing it now with a global political climate that is anything but stable. No matter how well we plan, there are forces outside our control that will impact this work. Building that reality into how we operate isn’t pessimism. It’s professionalism. And it positions us to be nimble and ready to pivot in a way that allows us to still deliver global learning experiences for our students and colleagues despite geopolitics or other forces that have much greater control of our work than we would like. 2. There is a whole new crop of professionals in this field. I’ve attended AIEA and Forum many times over the years. I usually walk into a room at these conferences and know a significant portion of the room. This year was different. New faces and noticeably fresh perspectives on the work. It’s genuinely exciting. Newer professionals are forming their views about what international education is, what it should accomplish, and how it should be practiced. The field’s next decade will be shaped in large part by what new professionals learn in these spaces, and by the mentors and organizations who invest in their development. Mentorship and early professional development – for new professionals at all levels – in these spaces are how institutional knowledge gets transferred and how collectively we move the sector forward 3. The leadership pipeline requires intentional structure and mentorship is part of that. Growing emerging professionals into directors, SIOs, and senior decision-makers doesn’t happen organically. It requires intentional investment of time and resources. And when I look at how much more professionally and perspectivally diverse AIEA has become since my first conference there in 2009 — more directors at the table, more diverse voices in senior roles, a broader range of institutional representation — it’s clear that intentional investment works. Mentorship is central to that story. Not formal mentorship programs alone, but sustained, honest, relationship-driven investment that moves someone from their first NAFSA conference to a senior leadership role. If you’re a senior professional and you’re not actively mentoring, either formally or informally, now is a time to explore how you can leverage your immense experience and insights to ensure our field has the foundation to grow in its impact on students, institutions, and the communities we serve around the world. 4. Intergenerational learning is an underused asset at every conference table Walk into any major international education conference and you easily have four generations in the same room. Professionals who built this field decades ago alongside professionals attending their first conference this spring. That is an enormous knowledge resource, and we as a field largely leave it untapped. The same cross-functional collaboration we advocate for on campuses applies to our own professional development spaces. The veteran SIO and the first-year advisor have things to teach each other that no keynote can replicate. Conference organizers and professional associations should be designing for that deliberate exchange, structured intergenerational sessions, mentorship meetups, programming that puts experienced professionals in dialogue rather than parallel tracks. 5. We call ourselves global. Our conferences are largely US-focused. The dominant conversations at both AIEA and Forum centered on U.S. institutions, US policy, US student populations, and US professional practice. That is understandable, these are US-based organizations serving primarily US-based professionals. But the gap between how we describe our work and the actual geographic scope of our professional learning is real. Organizations can host events in other regions — we’ve done this with Global Impact and other organizations do this as well — but that’s not the same as large events branded as ‘global’, truly speaking to a global audience. At DA Global, we think about this actively with Global Impact – North America. Building a conference that genuinely reflects the global nature of our work — not just in attendance but in content, perspective, and framing — is harder than it sounds. It means deliberately decentering the US experience even when most of your attendees are US based. It also means working to diversify the content when the call for proposals process produces proposals that center the U.S. It’s a work in progress. We don’t always get it right, nobody does. But it’s a design standard that the field should continue to work toward. 6. Silos are still the enemy. Conference season has a way of reinforcing this point. International educators gather with international educators. Career services professionals gather with career services professionals. The cross-functional conversations that could shift how global learning is integrated into broader student outcomes frameworks largely aren’t happening, at least not at the scale it should. This is precisely why Global Impact exists. “Where Global Engagement and Student Success Meet” isn’t just a tagline, it’s a response to a structural gap in how the field learns and collaborates. When global learning operates in its own lane, disconnected from academic advising, career development, and institutional retention strategy, its impact on students is limited, and its case to campus leadership becomes harder to make. 7. The field is more technologically aware, but we are divided. At both AIEA and Forum, technology was a consistent theme throughout the conversation. Artificial intelligence, digital credentialing, virtual global programs, data infrastructure. The field is paying attention. And it’s innovating, new models for international student support, new approaches to scaling study abroad, new ways of credentialing global competencies that connect global competencies to employer language. But there’s a real divide emerging between practitioners who are leaning into these tools and those who view them with skepticism, worried that technology is displacing the human-centered relationships that have direct student impact and which have drawn so many to our field. Both of these responses make sense. The opportunity is to hold them together, using technology to expand access and scale operations while protecting the advising relationships and experiential depth that define high-impact global learning. One thing is clear: standing still isn’t an option. Whether we like it or not, technology is here to stay and all indicators point to expanded use in higher education. 8. Inclusive practice remains a growth area — and the field is finding new language for it. There is still a significant appetite in the field for learning around inclusive practices. That appetite is appropriate because the students we serve are increasingly diverse across every dimension of identity and professional preparation hasn’t always kept pace with that reality. What’s shifted is how the conversation is being framed.The language. With the legal and political challenges to traditional DEI frameworks, many professionals are approaching this work through a more pragmatic lens, centering student and professional well-being, access to opportunity, and measurable outcomes rather than the language and structures that have come under fire. How is the field approaching this changed landscape? In conversations with colleagues at all levels within international education I’ve ascertained the following: on one hand, there are professionals who have dedicated their careers to traditional DEI frameworks in global education and view any deviation from such approaches as capitulation. On the other hand, you have professionals who were never truly comfortable with the DEI framework of the past, but reluctantly supported them, and now feel a bit of relief that past approaches to identity are being phased out. And still, you have the majority who are in the middle, not activists for this work, but value the need for inclusive practices and strategies to support students and colleagues of all backgrounds. What’s the right approach to inclusive practices? There doesn’t seem to be a consensus and much will depend on which of the three buckets one — or their employer — falls into. What I do know is that in the U.S. hundreds of thousands of students participate in inbound/outbound mobility programs, students increasingly hold various identities that impact their experiences, and despite millions of dollars spent in scholarships, the access gaps haven’t closed. This is true in the U.S. and other parts of the world. So, whatever language or frameworks we use, the work to ensure all students can access and benefit from global learning still needs to be done. 9. Clarity, even when it's hard, is better than uncertainty. We are operating in a genuinely difficult moment, politically, financially, institutionally. The professionals I found most grounded this season were not the ones with the easiest circumstances. They were the ones who had looked clearly at their institutional situation, budget constraints, political headwinds, shifting enrollment, and made deliberate and pragmatic choices about where to focus and what to let go. Uncertainty is its own kind of operational paralysis. When teams don’t know where things stand, it’s difficult to move forward. Leaders who communicate clearly — internally and externally with partners and vendors —, about budget realities, about what programs can and can’t deliver, about where the institution is headed, create the conditions for their teams to act with clarity and important relationships are maintained. That directness is a professional skill. However, from my conversations at recent conferences, this is a skill some feel uncomfortable with. As we continue to navigate uncertainty, the better we all become with clear communication, the better positioned our field will be to not just survive, but thrive. 10. We are bringing more of ourselves to this work. This one surprised me most. Across sessions, hallways, and dinners, I noticed something different in the texture of professional conversation. People are sharing more, not just ideas, but experiences. Grief. Institutional struggle. Personal challenge. The loss of colleagues. The weight of navigating hard seasons professionally and personally. The lines between professional and personal have always been blurry in a field this small and this relationship-driven. But something feels like it’s shifted. People are willing to show up more fully and more honestly than before. I don’t think that’s a problem. I think it’s a sign of a field that is, in its own way, growing up. We’re still figuring out what those boundaries look like. But the willingness to be human with each other, especially in a field that asks us to bridge human difference for a living, feels right. Spring 2026 was a lot. It always is. This summer I’ll be in Madrid for the International Internship Conference and Boston for a health and safety conference. Fall will bring me to EAIE, Global Impact 2026 North America in Atlanta, and a handful of other spaces. I’ll be back with my pulse on the field from a conference lens at that point — if not before. In the meantime, I hope to see you at Global Impact 2026 North America this November 4-6 as we tackle how a cross-functional approach to global learning will increase the impact of our work on student success and career readiness. Andrew Gordon is an award-winning social impact entrepreneur and leading voice in global education, edtech, inclusive student success and workforce development. As founder of DA Global Access Network, an educational consortium and strategic partner advancing access to global opportunities, he has spent nearly two decades helping higher education institutions strengthen academic achievement, career readiness and institutional impact through access to global education.
A Year of Change, Challenges, and Opportunity by Andrew Gordon | Oct 26, 2025 | Articles, News & Updates, Public This week we kick off Global Impact 2025 in Minneapolis. It’s been almost exactly one year since the DA Global community met in person in the U.S. In October 2024 nearly 600 professionals gathered in Washington D.C., for our 12th annual conference, which had been known as the Global Inclusion Conference. A year later, it’s not hyperbole to say there are tectonic shifts that have taken place in the U.S. and globally that are leading to monumental impacts in education and beyond. As I gear up for the 13th edition of Global Impact, which will take place this week in Minneapolis, there are three words I would use to describe the state of DA Global and our field as a whole: change, challenge, and opportunity. What’s Changed? After operating as Diversity Abroad for almost nineteen years, in February 2025 we rebranded to DA Global Access Network or simply DA Global. We didn’t make this decision lightly; after all, changing a brand after nearly two decades has its risks. Still, the time was right. We had grown from our roots as an organization solely focused on increasing access to the benefits of education abroad for historically underserved students, to a strategic partner for higher education institutions and organizations around the globe focused on aligning access to global education to the priorities and outcomes that matter: student success, career readiness, and institutional impact. Diversity Abroad is our foundation; DA Global is our evolution and our future. We codified our work into four areas of practice: Strategy & Alignment, Access & Opportunity, Technology & Digital Innovation, and People Development & Success. Our former name simply no longer fit who we had become. Our rebrand is a recognition of who we are today and the impact we aim to have on the higher education sector in collaboration with our partners around the world. We’re not alone in that evolution. Across the sector, change is constant. There’s been a growing wave of mergers and acquisitions—particularly among education abroad providers and EdTech companies. Offices are rebranding to reflect broader, more strategic scopes. Geopolitical realities are shifting old alliances and opening doors to new ones. And, as in every era, the students have changed. Today’s students grew up with technology and social media first. They’re socially conscious and questioning the value of traditional higher education. At the same time, they’re part of the COVID generation, and both they and we are still navigating how years of isolation have shaped how they show up in higher education and beyond. “The only thing that is constant is change.” We’re experiencing this firsthand. And of course, with change comes new challenges. The Challenges While we’re excited about the brand and direction, this past year hasn’t been without its challenges for DA Global and the field as a whole. First, and not surprisingly, we’ve experienced disruption as institutions navigate numerous changes to U.S. state and federal policies. While DA Global is a different organization, our legacy as Diversity Abroad has made some partners cautious about working with us. Call it an abundance of caution—or over-compliance driven by uncertainty in the law. In conversations with colleagues what has become abundantly clear is that fear is a dominant factor in these decisions. We get it. And it’s messy trying to operate in a new and ambiguous policy landscape with seemingly endless changes. We’re trying to adapt in real time and navigate this new terrain with thoughtfulness and flexibility, because that’s what this moment requires of us. It’s not just us. And as we don’t receive direct government funding, we have more agency on how we articulate our work and our programming. The same can’t be said for partners at institutions or organizations that manage government grants. We’ve seen the erasure of units and divisions that focused on inclusive practices and strategies. Once-reliable grant funding has been cut off and, in many markets across the globe, higher education is experiencing significant budget cuts. Technology is rapidly advancing with the potential to disrupt how students learn, are supported, and the staffing calculus to support it. All of this against the backdrop of unprecedented scrutiny and changes to visa regulations that have thrown international students’ dreams—along with the recruitment process and reliable funding they bring—into flux. I could easily write more about the challenges we all face in this landscape, but what keeps me hopeful are the opportunities before us. We all have the opportunity to shape the future of global education into something more inclusive, strategic, and impactful.” What Opportunities Lie Ahead I describe myself as a pragmatic optimist. And yes, there have been days this year where it feels like a struggle to have glass-half-full optimism, but here are three opportunities that I see this current landscape presenting for DA Global and our field that give me hope. First, there’s an increased focus on connecting global education to student success and career readiness. We’re not advocating that the value of global education be articulated solely in career development terms. We do, however, subscribe to the thought that, if global education is to be a meaningful part of the higher education ecosystem, then it must closely align with higher education priorities. The goals of global education cannot be disconnected from retention, persistence to graduation, and career readiness—for all students. As our field continues to collect actionable data, conduct meaningful research, share new frameworks, and build strategic relationships with career services, first-generation, and student success offices, we position ourselves as a vital link to higher education’s future success. I’m excited for how DA Global is and will continue to collaborate with its partners to see this vision become reality. Second, with challenges, there are almost always opportunities. Yes, the challenges we face are concerning, fast-changing, and broad, but the proverb “necessity is the mother of innovation” is particularly applicable in moments like these. It can be hard to think about the future and innovation while it feels like we’re playing whack-a-mole, putting out one fire after the next, but we must persist. This moment calls for innovation, creativity, and tenacity, which we are already seeing. From increased interest in transnational education (TNE) and first-year abroad programs to virtual international internships and digital advising tools that expand access, our field is finding ways to innovate to ensure all students have access to the benefits of global education. And perhaps, in an ironic way, this current environment has unmasked what the good times hid: for too many students, families, and institutions, global education — particularly place based — didn’t work for them. We have an opportunity to recommit to ensuring global education is inclusive of all students and institutions. And in today’s environment, that’s not just the morally right thing to do, it’s essential to our future. Finally, the emergence of new educational hubs, from Hong Kong to the UAE, is creating novel opportunities for engagement. Why does this matter? For too long global education has been dominated by the West, primarily English-speaking countries, sometimes dubbed the Big Four. Changing political, educational, and economic dynamics are shifting the landscape and opening opportunities for new educational hubs. This draws scholars, students, entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders to new destinations, which opens the door to nuanced educational experiences, deeper cultural understanding, and innovation. What’s Next I’m bringing these thoughts with me to Global Impact 2025. Changes and challenges are inevitable. Seeing the opportunities during trying times is a choice. It’s never easy, but often necessary. As I walk the conference floor, talk with attendees, and listen in on thought-provoking sessions, I’ll be holding both truths: the weight of this moment and the very real opportunities in front of us. Top of mind is that we’re in this together—whether you’re an institution in the U.S. or Saudi Arabia, an education-abroad provider or a recruitment agency, a nonprofit association or a consulting firm, a donor-backed NGO or a VC-backed edtech company. We all have the opportunity to shape the future of global education into something more inclusive, strategic, and impactful. I’m looking forward to the role DA Global will play—alongside you—in that future. I’ll come back to this theme before Global Impact 2026 Abu Dhabi (March 25–27) and Atlanta (November 3–6). My sense is that we’ll still be navigating change and challenges, but as a sector we’ll be that much more positive about the future and the impact we’ll have on students, institutions, and communities. Andrew Gordon is an award-winning social impact entrepreneur and leading voice in global education, edtech, inclusive student success and workforce development. As founder of DA Global Access Network, an educational consortium and strategic partner advancing access to global opportunities, he has spent nearly two decades helping higher education institutions strengthen academic achievement, career readiness and institutional impact through access to global education.
Reflections on the 2025 Global Inclusion Regional Summit | Barcelona, Spain by Amanda De Blas | Jul 18, 2025 | Articles, Public by: Victoria Pope, DA Global Access Network As I reflect on the 2025 Global Inclusion Regional Summit, I’m filled with gratitude, energy, and a deep sense of purpose. My hope going into this event was that attendees would leave feeling affirmed in their work, inspired by their peers, and better equipped to champion equity in all areas of global learning—and while I can only speak for my own experience, I truly believe that hope was realized. Over two days, we engaged in powerful plenaries, hands-on breakout sessions, and meaningful informal conversations. Our plenary panels offered insightful, cross-sector perspectives and featured student voices that reminded us exactly why this work matters. I was especially moved by the students who spoke candidly about how their time in Barcelona is shaping their worldview, confidence, and future ambitions. Their presence and their honesty were a powerful reminder that while we often speak about the impact of global education, hearing it directly from students is transformative. To kick off the list of people to whom I want to give special thanks, is to our plenary speakers and moderators, who anchored our summit with powerful dialogue, regional insights, and visionary ideas: DEI Without the Acronym: European Approaches to Equity & Inclusion in Global Education: a conversation moderated by Andrew J. Gordon (DA Global Access Network), and invited speakers Marcelle Laliberté (HEC Paris), and Eva Pujadas Capdevila (Universitat de Pompeu Fabra) who shared expertise on ways to develop and embed inclusive practices in the structure of our programs in a way that honors the unique audiences that they serve. Shifting Models of Student Mobility: Spain’s Role in Shaping Inclusive Global Education: a panel moderated by Lily López-McGee, PhD (Howard University), and featuring insightful commentary from Cèsar Alegre Alsina, PhD (IES Abroad), and Rachel Mantiñán (Academic Solutions), two professionals with experience spanning throughout the USA and Spain. Students at the Center: Rethinking Global Education Through Their Eyes: a discussion expertly moderated by Clara Barbera (Berklee Valencia) and highlighting the experiences of Lizzie Kowal (CEA CAPA Intern), Winter Harris (CEA CAPA Intern), Gayle Were (IE University Alumni) and Fatma Ahmed (American University of Cairo). I also want to give a heartfelt thank you to all of our concurrent session presenters. Your sessions were thoughtful, well-organized, and deeply engaging. Attendees recanted the impactfulness and practicality of the sessions, from frameworks shared to resources offered to the honest and collaborative discussions you facilitated. The strength of the breakout sessions is what makes this summit a truly participatory learning space, and your contributions brought that vision to life. Outside of sessions, I was thrilled to see attendees building connections over coffee, during receptions, and in the quieter moments between panels. These relationships, new and renewed, create meaningful communities. As I continue my post of reflection and gratitude, I would like to be sure to recognize a few organizations and individuals. Our colleagues at Fundació Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Study Abroad Programmes, who were generous hosts and partners from planning to execution. The venue provided a warm, culturally rich backdrop for this international gathering. Barcelona SAE, for their continued partnership and support—not just for this summit, but for our global community at large. Our planning committee members, who contributed not only to outreach and vision, but also served as speakers, moderators, and facilitators of important dialogue. The incredible team at DA Global Access Network, who helped curate the program and supported the event from afar. And the wonderful student volunteers, who offered their time and energy to ensure things ran smoothly—and whose reflections reminded me why I’m committed to this work. Speaking with these students between sessions was grounding. In a time when international education faces political and structural threats, particularly in the U.S., hearing about their growth, resilience, and curiosity reignited my sense of mission. Yes, some may spend weekends hopping from city to city, and yes, their studies may occasionally compete with the thrill of cultural discovery—but they are learning in ways that stretch far beyond the classroom. They are building adaptability, cultural awareness, and global citizenship with every train ride, every group project, and every language barrier overcome. As we move forward in the year and further these conversations in the international education community throughout various avenues and spaces, I hope we continue to ask ourselves: How can we harness innovation to expand access to global learning? What does meaningful collaboration across institutions, sectors, and regions truly look like? And how do we sustain inclusive practices amid changing political and institutional landscapes? We look forward to continuing these conversations with you in the months ahead and hope to connect again through future gatherings—such as the upcoming Global Impact Conference and the inaugural Global Education Technology Summit (GETS)—as we collectively explore what’s next for our field. To all of you who joined us, from a short metro ride away to a 10-hour flight—thank you. Your commitment to global inclusion and student success continues to inspire. I look forward to the collaborations, innovations, and collective impact that will grow from this experience. Until next time.
Reflections from NAFSA: Hope, Connection, and What’s Next for Global Education by Andrew Gordon | Jun 5, 2025 | Articles, Public It’s that time again—looking back at the academic year behind us and ahead to what the coming one has in store. There’s no shortage of troubling headlines, from international students facing increased visa scrutiny to attacks on lawful equity practices that help ensure global education supports academic success and career readiness for all students. But with all the negativity dominating the news cycle, I thought I’d share a few reflections, ones that left me hopeful about where we are and where we’re going. Last week I joined my DA Global colleagues in San Diego for the annual NAFSA Conference. Something felt different this year. Maybe it was me. After nearly twenty NAFSAs, the conference doesn’t hit quite the same, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Over the years, I’ve evolved. NAFSA used to be mainly about business for me: more contacts, more partners, more members. Now, it’s become a space to reconnect with my chosen tribe. We build each other up, swap ideas, share laughs, and at times, commiserate. With everything going on in the world and its impact on our field, I needed the connection more this year than most. I get the sense I wasn’t alone in that feeling. My schedule was a mix of long-time friends and partners and a few new faces. I resisted the urge to stack six, seven, or eight receptions into one night and instead spent more quality time at fewer events. There’s no right or wrong way to do NAFSA, but this approach worked for me. I left recharged and ready for what’s ahead. And I walked away with a few observations and reminders. I’ll share three of them here. “They say necessity is the mother of invention. Well, we’re in a moment of necessity. And if what I saw last week is any indication, our field is ready to rise to the occasion.” Technology is essential, but this work is about people Walking through the exhibit hall it was clear that tech is booming. Apps, platforms, CRMs, AI tools. Many of them are impressive, and there’s no doubt technology will continue to shape our work. But no one I know got into international education because of the tech. We’re here for the people. For the smiles when students learn they’re going abroad. The pride on the faces of international students’ parents at graduation. The warm embrace from a colleague you haven’t seen since the last conference. The work of international education is about the lives our work touches. As tech’s footprint grows, we need to keep it in perspective. Let’s use it not just to streamline operations, but to deepen human connection—the real reason most of us chose this field. Challenging times often birth innovation It’s no secret that the current environment for international education isn’t easy. As a self-professed pragmatic optimist,I try my best to find the hidden opportunity in challenges. To be fair, this is often easier said than done, especially when staring down political, regulatory, and financial headwinds. Still, in my conversations in San Diego with colleagues from different roles, institutions, and countries, what stood out was the creativity. There was an acceptance of the heaviness of the moment, but people weren’t retreating; they were reimagining. The ideas were flowing—from education abroad program models and inclusive support for international students to nuanced approaches to technology and deeper collaboration with industry. That’s what our field needs. If we want to grow our impact on students, institutions, and communities, we have to keep innovating. They say necessity is the mother of invention. Well, we’re in a moment of necessity. And if what I saw last week is any indication, our field is ready to rise to the occasion. Future thinking is key In one conversation, a colleague pushed me to think bigger. She simply asked, “how are you preparing for the 2030s?” It took me a moment but then it hit me. The incoming class this fall will graduate in 2029. The 2030s are almost here. It’s easy, and at times necessary, to stay focused on the current moment. But we also have to think long-term. What does international education look like for the class of 2035? How are we positioning global learning to drive student success, career readiness, and institutional impact ten years from now? Big-picture thinking might feel like a luxury these days, but we can’t afford not to do it. Our ability to question old paradigms, invest in our own growth, and build new models—some for needs that haven’t even emerged yet—will determine how international education contributes to the broader higher ed and workforce ecosystems in the decade ahead. Conferences can be exhausting and energizing at the same time. NAFSA this year was a marathon, but I left hopeful. Hopeful for our field, for our students, and for the role DA Global can play as we prepare for the future. As we move into summer planning and gear up for the Global Impact Conference, these reflections—and the many more that came from hallway chats at receptions—will shape how I show up for the work ahead. We’ve got a lot to look forward to. Andrew Gordon is an award-winning social impact entrepreneur and leading voice in global education, edtech, inclusive student success and workforce development. As founder of DA Global Access Network, an educational consortium and strategic partner advancing access to global opportunities, he has spent nearly two decades helping higher education institutions strengthen academic achievement, career readiness and institutional impact through access to global education.
