First published on CBIE’s website, Niagara Falls, 24 November 2015

If the measure of a day’s success is based on how it tickled your brain, then day 2 of CBIE 2015 Conference is a winner just on the merit of its plenary session: Hot Topics in International Education.

An international panel of experts each gave their short overview of what they consider the current topics and debates in international education. Here’s my own snapshot:

• For education institutions: don’t use rankings to make strategic decisions!

• Internationalization of the Curriculum is urgent.

• If mobility cannot be provided for all students for limited resources, how about replicating the learning outcomes from international education experience to benefit students who cannot go abroad?

• How are we learning as higher education institutions?

• Are we prepared as societies to deal with global crises? Now it’s the refugee crisis (from war and conflict) but sooner, there would be refugees from climate change and so on.

• International educators have unique advocacy roles – to change and shape public consciousness.

• We, as professionals in international education, need to articulate our values. We can influence.

If you’re not yet convinced, look at the photo below. See the queue for questions? – that is, after a couple were already answered. Now let me go back to my thoughts…

Helen Balderama is International Partnership Officer at the University of Manitoba. She was formerly Program Manager to the Education sections of the Asia-Europe Foundation and UNESCO National Commission (Manila).