Dialogue of Civilizations receives international accolades

heiskell awardNortheastern University’s Dialogue of Civilizations program has been recognized as the top Study Abroad program and awarded the 2011 Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education by the Institute of International Education (IIE). Northeastern’s program was selected from more than 1,000 higher education institutions that are members of IIE’s association.

Robert Lowndes, Vice Provost for International Affairs, and Denis Sullivan, director of the Middle East Center for Peace, Culture and Development, director of the international affairs program and founder and director of Dialogue of Civilizations, recently accepted the award at IIE’s Best Practices in Internationalizing the Campus Conference in New York City.

Dialogue of Civilizations is a faculty-led academic program that connects Northeastern students with their peers around the world in different national, cultural, political, and social environments, typically for five weeks. The “dialogue” in each country involves a series of meetings and discussions between students and local government, business, and community leaders on a range of topics.

“We founded this program not only to expose Northeastern students to different people and cultures, but to offer them an all-encompassing global experience,” said Sullivan. “Our students are engaged in service-learning, independent research, social entrepreneurship, and otherwise find ways to connect with their peers throughout the world.”

Since 2005, participation rose from approximately 50 students in 3 programs to 950 students in 48 programs in 2010. The University expects more than 1,000 students to participate in 50 programs this year.

The Dialogue Program is one of several experiential learning programs that have been rapidly expanding around the world; co-op and Northeastern’s other experiential learning programs now have students working, studying and conducting research in 160 cities and 69 countries on all seven continents.

“Having been recognized by the Institute of International Education for the best study abroad program is a testament to Northeastern’s dedication to providing our students with a global education,” added Sullivan.