This year, Stellenbosch University celebrates thirty years of successful internationalization, and to mark the occasion the university hosted the Stellenbosch International Academic Networks (SIAN) Meeting in March - a week-long conference on internationalization in higher education.
The objective of the SIAN meeting is to bring new and existing partners together to network, discuss current issues regarding internationalization, and to grow and strengthen collaboration and deepen partnerships.
The intense program included panel sessions, meetings, campus tours, and site visits relevant to internationalization in higher education: Town & Gown Relations; Transnational Research Communities, Global Education Outcomes, Inclusion & Diversity. Orla McLaughlin of VIU contributed to the panel on Leveraging Multilateral Collaboration to Build Bilateral Partnership Capital.
VIU participated also in the Study Abroad Fair, promoting the opportunity to attend joint programs at VIU to many undergraduate and graduate students.
Overall it was an excellent opportunity to bring together international education practitioners from 77 different universities in 36 countries. Several other VIU members were also in attendance: Università degli Studi di Padova, KU Leuven, University of Ljubljana, University of Rome Tor Vergata, and European University at St. Petersburg.
