Annual Conference in Chicago | October 26-28, 2026

The 2026 IES Abroad Annual Conference will be held in Chicago at the Radisson Blue Aqua Hotel.

Our Conference features a program designed to optimize learning, networking, and professional development opportunities. This will be an Annual Conference to remember and you won't want to miss it!

Dates: October 26-28, 2026 (Please note: This year's conference will take place Monday–Wednesday, rather than the traditional Wednesday-Friday schedule).

Conference Registration

Annual Conference Registration remains FREE for Consortium Members (Associate and Full Members) as a benefit of membership. Non-Consortium registration cost is $750.

Registration for the Annual Conference is now closed.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Annual Conference team at annualconference@iesabroad.org

What's Included in Your Registration

Pre-Conference Workshop focused on student well-being and risk management abroad (Advance registration is required)
Welcome Dinner at an iconic Chicago venue, Smith & Wollensky
Experience Chicago through a DiscoverIES Architectural River Cruise (Space is limited and advance registration is required)
A ticket to the 12th Annual Study Abroad Film Festival at the Chicago History Museum on Tuesday, October 27th
Hear from Critically-acclaimed Plenary Speaker, Dr. Aditi Nerurkar
Dozens of sessions with thought leaders discussing key topics in the field

Annual Conference Schedule

Monday, October 26

10:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.: Check-in – Grab your Conference badge and materials!
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.: Pre-Conference Workshop
5:00 – 6:30 p.m.: DiscoverIES – Experience Chicago on an Architectural Boat Tour
6:30 – 10:00 p.m.: Welcome Dinner at Smith & Wollensky

Tuesday, October 27

7:30 a.m.: Check-in – Grab your Conference badge and materials!
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.: Breakfast
9:00 – 9:30 a.m.: Welcome Remarks
9:30 – 10:45 a.m.: Plenary Speaker – Hear from Dr. Aditi Nerurkar
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Concurrent Session Block 1
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.: Awards Lunch
1:45 – 2:45 p.m.: Concurrent Session Block 2
2:45 – 4:00 p.m.: Center Expo & Poster Session
5:30 – 10:00 p.m.: 12th Annual Study Abroad Film Festival at Chicago History Museum

Wednesday, October 28

8:00 – 9:30 a.m.: Breakfast
9:45 – 10:45 a.m.: Concurrent Session Block 3
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Concurrent Session Block 4
12:00 – 1:15 p.m.: Lunch

Pre-conference Sessions

The IES Abroad Student Life, Health, and Safety Lab Real‑World Scenarios, Collective Insight, Strategic Solutions

Facilitators

Matthew Rader, Ed.D., Vice President for Student Life, Health, and Safety, IES Global
Shaun Jamieson, Director of Global Safety & Security, Emory University
Patrick Morgan, M.A., Chief International Safety Officer, University of Michigan

Supporting the Whole Student, Wherever They Go.

This 2.5‑hour Lab convenes global education professionals from across U.S. colleges and universities to tackle the most pressing challenges in student life, health, and safety abroad — together. Designed as a highly collaborative working session, the Lab blends real‑world crisis scenarios, peer‑driven problem‑solving, and strategic planning to strengthen duty of care and elevate student support across institutions.

Participants don’t just listen; they co‑create. Through facilitated small‑group labs, cross‑role discussions, and shared resource building, attendees generate practical tools and actionable strategies they can bring back to campus immediately. The result is a community of practitioners who learn from one another, pressure‑test ideas, and build more resilient, student‑centered programs.
Whether your role centers on advising, operations, or risk management, the Lab equips you to design stronger systems, respond more effectively to emerging risks, and support students holistically — wherever in the world they go.

2026 Focus: Turning the Forum’s Student Risk Report into Action

This year’s Lab centers on the most recent Forum on Education Abroad Student Risk Report and what its findings mean for your institution. Together, participants will:

Identify the report’s most urgent implications for student well‑being and safety
Translate data into targeted interventions and campus‑specific priorities
Co‑design initiatives that strengthen student preparation, in‑country support, and crisis response
Build a shared set of tools and templates informed by collective expertise

By the end of the session, every participant will leave with a concrete, institution‑ready action plan shaped by both research and community insight.

Concurrent Block 1: Tuesday, October 27: 11:00 - 12:00 p.m.

Delicious Ambiguity: Improv for International Education

What do improvisational theater and international education have in common? More than you might think!

In this interactive session, participants will explore the principles of improv and their connections to intercultural competencies, study abroad advising, and everyday professional practice. Through low-pressure partner activities, attendees will experience key improv concepts such as “yes, and”, accepting offers, adaptability, and comfort with ambiguity. Drawing on their experience in theatre and international education, the presenters will demonstrate how these skills can strengthen conversations, support student development, and enhance team collaboration.

Participants will leave with practical improv exercises they can immediately implement, along with a curated list of resources for continued learning. No performance experience required, just a willingness to lean into the unexpected, say “yes and” and discover the possibilities of “delicious ambiguity.”

Presenters

Virginia Gabby, IES Abroad
Will Bonfiglio, Washington University in St. Louis

Progress Over Perfection: Digital Accessibility in International Education

By the time of our annual conference, we will have "lived" through the dreaded April 24, 2026, ADA Title II web accessibility compliance deadline; made some progress and had some setbacks; and have a clearer picture of the regulations, new technology, and new approaches to digital accessibility. Judy Risch is an expert on this subject. She's here to give us the latest on this topic across educational institutions, insights on where the regulations in the U.S. and internationally may be headed, and advice on how to navigate this tough topic from here. You’ll also learn seven key accessibility actions that schools can take, and how Northwestern University found success with its ‘Mission: Accessible’ approach, from Accessible Technology Strategy and Operations Lead, Jim Stachowiak. And, Sonali Patnaik, IES Abroad’s Vice President and General Counsel, will share how IES Abroad is prioritizing digital accessibility actions to meet school and regulators’ expectations.

Presenters

Judith Risch, Judith Risch Advisory Services
Sonali Patnaik, IES Abroad
James Stachowiak, Northwestern University

Helping Students Move from Distress to Development: Building Resilience and Well-Being Abroad

Education abroad professionals increasingly support students experiencing emotional distress, overwhelm, and difficulty navigating the challenges of living and learning abroad. While staff are often called upon to intervene, it can be difficult to know when to step in, when to step back, and how to support students in ways that foster both well-being and long-term development.

Presenters

Rebecca Hurst, Oklahoma State University
Iva Lien, University of Florida
Stephanie Rock, IES Abroad
Rachael Ulrich, IES Abroad

Beyond the Silo: Reimagining Campus Partnerships for FGLI* Access to Global Learning

First-generation students now make up 54% of U.S. undergraduate enrollment yet only 8% participate in education abroad, despite research showing it dramatically improves graduation rates and GPAs. The campus offices best positioned to bridge this gap have historically operated in silos, and are now being restructured, rebranded, or eliminated under mounting budget pressure and federal policy shifts. This session brings practitioners into honest conversation about that reality. We'll share survey findings from first-gen success office staff, introduce the DA Global 4A Framework (Awareness, Assessment, Action, Accountability) as a scaffold for cross-office collaboration, and offer a practitioner toolkit and outreach templates to break down silos between education abroad, first-gen, DEI, financial aid, and student success offices.

Presenters

Noelle Baldwin, IES Abroad
Claudio Casteneda, DA Global Access
Liana Mentor, Johns Hopkins University
Jennifer Hyde, Bates College

Adapting Programming for First Year Success

This session explores the evolution of IES Abroad’s first-year program model over the past several years, highlighting successful approaches, key outcomes, and lessons learned. Panelists will examine which elements of current programming are most effectively supporting first-year students abroad and discuss opportunities for adaptation to better meet their unique academic and developmental needs. The session also features a spotlight on the first-year Customized & Faculty-Led program developed in partnership with Hope College, including a detailed look at the program development process, collaboration strategies, and implementation insights.

Presenters

Amy Quincey, Hope College
John Ockey, IES Abroad
Libby O’Brien, IES Abroad
Leland L’Hote, IES Abroad

Concurrent Block 2: Tuesday, October 27: 1:45 - 2:45 p.m.

Productive Discomfort: Designing Study Abroad for Growth in an Instant-Access World

Students are arriving abroad with less practice navigating challenge. Technology, social media, and instant access have helped create a more 'frictionless' mindset, yet study abroad is inherently the opposite. In this session, we'll share how we proactively prepare students to be more patient, adaptable, and curious through advising, ENGAGE (Encouraging New Growth About Global Experiences)-IES Abroad's signature, ongoing orientation program-and intentionally designed on-site experiences that build cultural competence through productive discomfort. We'll discuss what we're seeing in how students "show up" today, and the practical ways we respond to support growth and belonging. Participants will also experience an IES Abroad ENGAGE guided exercise firsthand, leaving with a tangible understanding of the approach.

Presenters

Matthew Rader, IES Abroad
Meghan Culhane, IES Abroad
Jody Felton, IES Abroad

Embrace the Revolution: Why Study Abroad Weathers the Higher Ed AI Storm

Higher ed’s response to AI is dominated by and amplified by headlines that AI could end humanity. We acknowledge that concerns are real, but the experts disagree sharply, and the anxiety is misdirected. AI did not arrive from outside higher education. It is the latest point on the long arc of liberal learning.

Despite the higher ed crisis, we argue that study abroad is poised to weather the AI storm. Authentic immersion cannot be experienced from home, and no translation tool or virtual exchange substitutes for being in the place. Drawing on examples across the student journey, we show where AI can deepen immersion, strengthen safety, and free advisers’ time for the human relationship that defines our work.

The session is interactive. Live polls capture participants’ sense of AI’s greatest threats to higher education and to study abroad. Two tabletop exercises ask participants to sort their own work into what a tool can absorb and what only a person can do, and to state in one sentence what their programs give students that AI cannot.

Expected Learning Objectives / Key Takeaways

Participants will leave not with dread but with confidence, equipped to engage colleagues, deans, and parents about AI. Specifically, participants will be able to:

Distinguish what AI exposes in higher from the opportunities it creates.
Explain why authentic, immersive experience cannot be replaced.
Identify concrete uses of AI before that strengthen immersion, safety, and reflection while keeping the adviser relationship central.
Return to campus with a shared vocabulary and a cross-institutional network, ready to engage AI thoughtfully and on their own terms.

I Didn't Expect That!: Leveraging Expectation Setting for Empowering, Successful Internships

International educators supporting internship programs navigate one central dichotomy: the interplay between cultural norms and the expectations of non-local student interns. Working at the intersection of these worlds means continually building bridges, fostering equilibrium, and ensuring that no stakeholder becomes anchored to a single perspective. The goal is a dynamic, circular dialogue that advances both learning and professional development.

Achieving this balance requires intentional and structured expectation setting. This presentation examines how expectation setting functions as a strategic tool for both risk prevention and participant empowerment in international internships.

Why It Matters: Clear expectations reduce risk, prevent misunderstandings, and support the success of both students and host companies.

Who is Involved: Students, host organizations, on-site staff, and institutional partners, each contributing to a shared, collaborative process.

When & What: Expectation setting as an ongoing cycle, from pre-arrival meetings and orientations to early integration guidance, midterm check-ins, and end-of-term feedback.

Outcomes: Increased intern confidence and autonomy, greater host-company satisfaction and engagement, and fewer cases of misalignment, conflict, or early withdrawal.

Takeaway: Proposing a structured expectation-setting framework designed to strengthen program consistency and track impact over time, using metrics such as critical-case reductions, internship retention, and host-company return rates to inform continuous improvement.

Learning Outcomes:

Analyze the cultural dynamics and expectations involved in international internships from various perspectives, including those of the student and local host organization, while considering how these influence program satisfaction and overall experiences.
Learn about and develop strategies for minimizing risk, preventing miscommunication, and supporting successful internship outcomes (e.g. presenters will provide examples of structured cycles that span from pre-departure through post-internship, including orientation, integration, check-ins, and feedback gathering best practices).

Presenters

Marta Brambilla, IES Abroad Milan
Melissa Comiskey, IES Abroad
Carly Stingl, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Lupe Escobar, IES Abroad Quito & Galápagos

Communicators Anonymous: Sharing Wins, Challenges, and Ideas

Back by popular demand, this discussion continues a conversation started at last year’s Annual Conference about the challenges of communicating with students and colleagues across campus. Together, we’ll share what’s working, what isn’t, lessons learned, and practical ideas and resources you can take back to your campuses. Whether you joined us last year or are new to the conversation, come ready to listen, share, and learn from colleagues across the field.

Presenters

Abby Baric, IES Abroad
Hope McClelland Young, IES Abroad

Funding Strategies for Expanding Study Abroad Access

As the cost of higher education and travel continues to rise, funding has become one of the most significant barriers to study abroad participation. This session will explore how study abroad offices and providers are navigating these challenges while working to maintain and expand access to study abroad opportunities. We will review how institutional budget constraints affect study abroad offices, including staffing and departmental changes, program availability, and the number of students that institutions can support.

The conversation will also focus on the student experience. Financial concerns remain a leading factor in study abroad withdrawals. Presenters will discuss how institutions can balance student accountability with meaningful support, improve awareness of the full cost of study abroad, and connect students with available funding resources. Airfare will serve as a specific case study in addressing unexpected student expenses. With flight costs continuing to rise, partnerships and alternative funding models may provide opportunities to reduce this predeparture barrier. We will share examples, including IES Abroad's new partnership with Scholar Trip to offer flight credits, and invite participants to consider how similar approaches might work at their institutions.

Presenters:

Noelle Baldwin, IES Abroad
David Crout, DePauw University
Susan Thomas, IES Abroad
Amy Weir, Wabash College

Concurrent Block 3: Wednesday, October 28: 9:45 - 10:45 a.m.

Expanding the Lens: Site Visits as Tools for Impact and Advocacy

Site visits often play a key role in how we evaluate programs, build partnerships, and stay connected to our colleagues abroad. But with tighter budgets, growing sustainability concerns, and ongoing questions about access and equity, many of us are asking: are site visits still serving us in the ways we think they are? Are we sending frequent flyers or strategic partners?

This session invites participants to unpack the site visit - examining not only what happens during a visit, but also the assumptions, decisions, and outcomes that shape its value. Bringing together perspectives from small and large institutions, as well as colleagues who organize and host site visits, we'll explore how site visits happen across different contexts: who gets to go, how destinations are selected, how decisions are made, and what happens with the knowledge we bring back.

As we unpack current practices, we'll also expand the lens to consider the broader role site visits can play as tools for advocacy, collaboration, and institutional impact. What is the real value of a site visit? Who benefits most? How can we broaden access to these experiences and extend their impact beyond the participant? And what happens when travel isn't possible? Panelists will share examples of different approaches, including more structured and intentional models, and explore what it might look like to rethink or redesign site visits moving forward.

The goal is not to land on a single "right" approach, but to open up space for reflection, comparison, and practical ideas that participants can adapt to their own institutional context.

Presenters

Eliza Camire, Skidmore College
Oussama El Addouli, IES Abroad Rabat
Susan Lochner Atkinson, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ruby Shields, IES Abroad

Global Pillars Institute – Global Pillars Alumni Contest Winner Spotlight

What happens when students are challenged to think globally, act locally, and turn their learning into meaningful solutions? In this student-centered session, moderated by Megan Leff, two Global Pillars Contest alumni will bring that experience to life. IES Abroad’s Global Pillars center learning around three areas vital to thriving global communities: Sustainable Living, Equitable Living, and Human Well-Being. Through Global Pillars coursework focused on sustainability or equity, students examine pressing global issues through the unique lens of their host cities and develop locally grounded solutions. The alumni will showcase their final projects, share how their coursework influenced the way they think about global challenges and their own academic and professional paths, and reflect on continuing their journey as alumni participants at the IES Abroad Global Institute held in Barcelona in 2025 and Milan in 2026 respectively. Join us for a firsthand look at the impact of the Global Pillars experience, followed by an interactive Q&A.

Presenters:

Megan Leff, IES Abroad
Mia Behringer, IES Abroad Alumna
Ayomiposi Oluwakuyide

Mind the (Mutual) Gap: Ageism, AI, and Cultural Differences in Study Abroad Classrooms

Study abroad classrooms are spaces where difference is already heightened: students and instructors navigate not only national cultures, languages, and academic traditions, but also generational expectations about learning, authority, and technology. The rapid integration of artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT has introduced a new layer of complexity into these environments, amplifying tensions surrounding assessment, authorship, academic integrity, and trust. This panel proposes that many current debates about AI in study abroad contexts cannot be fully understood without attending to the role of mutual ageism and culturally inflected assumptions between students and professors.

In this panel presentation we will consider familiar stereotypes, or "myths" in three distinct but connected areas in education: generational divides between professors and students, intercultural dynamics and students' perceptions of their host cultures, and uses of technology for learning, particularly AI. This panel brings together study abroad professionals to examine AI not simply as a pedagogical challenge, but as a relational and intercultural issue embedded in study abroad environments. Panelists will reflect on how AI reshapes power relations between home and host institutions, between faculty and students of different generations, and between global and local academic norms.

We will also consider opportunities that arise from the challenges, ones to further enrich students' educations abroad.

Takeaways for those who attend this panel:

Practical insight on how students might navigate generational and intercultural dynamics in our global classrooms, and how our Centers guide students along the way
Understand AI not simply as a pedagogical challenge, but as a relational and intercultural issue embedded in study abroad environments.

Presenters

Raquel Medina, IES Abroad Granada
David Reiersgord, IES Abroad Cape Town
Cristina Lopez, IES Abroad

Are You Crisis Ready? A Tabletop Exercise

This interactive session engages participants in a crisis management tabletop exercise that they work through in real time. Attendees will be assigned roles on a response team, ideally one that differs from their everyday professional responsibilities, and will collaborate to manage a series of evolving, interconnected crisis scenarios. Scenarios may include a mental health or medical emergency, political unrest, natural disaster, student injury, or other incidents requiring coordinated institutional response. As new developments are introduced, participants will be asked to assess risk, prioritize actions, allocate limited resources, and determine how to communicate effectively with students, families, colleagues, and other stakeholders. The session concludes with a facilitated debrief focused on best practices, recovery, and post-crisis evaluation, with particular attention to staff support and organizational learning.

Presenters

Jody Felton, IES Abroad Cape Town
Christopher Heinzinger, IES Abroad
Matthew Rader, IES Abroad

Concurrent Block 4: Wednesday, October 28: 11:00 - 12:00 p.m.

The Real Cape Town: Preparing Students for Life Abroad

Cape Town is often described in extremes. Some people see it as too risky. Others see it through a lens shaped by perception and stereotype. Neither is accurate. When students are prepared with clear expectations of social realities and practical guidance about the influence of history and cultural dynamics, they tend to do well there. Advising plays a pivotal role in providing students, campus partners, and parents with the historical and cultural context needed to set expectations and make informed decisions. This session aims to help study abroad professionals move beyond perceptions and stereotypes to frame general safety talking points more effectively in relation to socio-economic realities shaped by historical events that better support student readiness, confidence, and success in Cape Town.

Learning Outcomes:

Gain insight into the most common health and safety concerns students face in Cape Town.

Develop greater confidence in discussing risk with students and families in a historically and culturally balanced manner.

Understand how students usually manage transportation and daily activities within the city.

Enhance support for students whose identities influence their experiences in South Africa.

Depart with actionable ideas to implement immediately in pre-departure advising.

Presentation Details:

Understanding the local context: A brief overview of how the city's history, cultures, and geography continue to influence students' destinations, movement patterns, and initial impressions upon arrival.

Student health considerations: What access to care looks like in practice, how students typically manage their mental health while abroad, and the environmental adjustments that often catch people off guard.

Personal safety in daily life: How students usually get around, what patterns we see in incidents that do occur, and what preparation helps students make good decisions early on.

Identity and student experience: Exploring how historical and cultural dynamics in relation to race, nationality, socioeconomic background, and LGBTQ+ identity influence students' experiences in Cape Town, and how advisors can support students in a considerate, personalized manner rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach.

Working with families and campus partners: Ways to respond to concerns without minimizing or overstating risk, and how to explain what support systems actually look like on the ground.

Advising: Schools, students, and parents: Strategies for authentically communicating health and safety risks, identity, and socioeconomic status in their proper context

Presenters

Jill Reister, University of Minnesota
David Reiersgord, IES Abroad Cape Town
Eduardo Díaz, IES Abroad
Jody Felton, IES Abroad Cape Town

HBCU Study Abroad Access from the Ground Up: Financial Support, Student Readiness, and Global Competency Development

This session highlights successful practices at North Carolina A&T State University that address key barriers to study abroad participation for HBCU students. It shares a coordinated approach used at NC A&T that includes support for passport-related expenses to reduce upfront costs, enrollment in an internal certificate program that builds cultural competency and prepares students for international experiences, a centralized repository of study abroad scholarship opportunities, application and essay support, and financial readiness planning facilitated by financial institution partners. Together, these efforts strengthen access, improve student preparation, and increase participation in study abroad programs at NC A&T.

Presenters

Kimberly Tyson, North Carolina A&T University
Tameka Coly, North Carolina A&T University

Global Learning in Action: Customized Programs to Communities of Practice

Experience FLEX, a Community of Practice for faculty-led education abroad! Explore adaptable program models, discover IES Abroad's Customizable Global Pathways, engage in interactive discussions, and exchange best practices. Walk away with actionable strategies for inclusive, mission-aligned programs and connect with peers shaping the future of faculty-led learning abroad.

Presenters

Katie Burke, IES Abroad
Megan Jones, Drew University
Angela R. Rothrock, Penn State University
Daiji Shin, IES Abroad Tokyo

Tailoring Education Abroad for STEM: a Collaborative Effort for Increased Access

This session, moderated by Leland L’Hote, features three Center Directors with new and developing Engineering, Math, and Science programs in Cape Town (David Reiersgord), Dublin (Megan Markey), and Milan (Roberto Andreoni). Our panelists will discuss how providing STEM programming abroad relies on meeting specific needs, inspiring trust, and dedicating careful attention to institutional relationships. Each Center Director will provide a case study for how they are tackling these challenges at their specific Centers.

Presenters

Roberto Andreoni, IES Abroad Milan
Lee L'Hote, IES Abroad
Megan Markey, IES Abroad Dublin
Cesar Alegre Alsina (IES Abroad Barcelona)