IEW 2021

About International Education Week 2021: Nov. 15 – 19

International Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This week seeks to advance cultural understanding as well as protect cultural heritage. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education is part of our efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences.

IEW 2021 at Vanderbilt University is a collaboration among ISSS, the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), and many other campus partners and organizations. Below is a detailed schedule of the week’s events.

Schedule of Events

Monday, November 15

Tuesday, November 16

Wednesday, November 17

Thursday, November 18

Monday, November 15

IEW Kickoff Event – Treats Around the World: Help us kickoff International Education Week with delicious treats from all over the world! Sponsored by EDI, ISSS, and the International Student Council (ISC). Sarratt Promenade, 11 AM – 3 PM.
International Travel Q&A Session for International Students: Are you planning to travel internationally over the winter break? Join us for a session on travel considerations! We will go over the documents that you need for travel, current travel policies, and other points that you should consider if you are on an F-1 or J-1 student visa and will be travelling outside the U.S. this winter. Sponsored by ISSS. Please click here to register. This session will be held virtually over Zoom from 12 PM – 1 PM.
Maymester and Scholarship Info Session: Are you an undergraduate student interested in participating in a Maymester program in 2022? Attend this session to learn more about program offerings, application tips, and information on funding! Sponsored by the Global Education Office (GEO). Please click here to register. This session will be held virtually over Zoom from 12 PM – 1 PM.
Fulbright Group Presentation: This is an info session and alumni panel. Sponsored by the Career Center Fellowships Team. Students and alumni can register here. This session will be held from 1 PM – 2:30 PM.
English Teaching Experiences and Opportunities in the U.S. and Abroad: Students often consider teaching English as an opportunity to travel, learn about other parts of the world, or even as a possible career path. This session will consist of a panel of experienced English teaching professionals who have taught in various contexts and countries. Join us to hear about their different experiences and gain a broader understanding of different pathways, locations, and considerations for teaching English both domestically and overseas. Sponsored by the English Language Center (ELC) and the Career Center. Please click here to RSVP. This session will be held virtually over Zoom from 7 PM – 8 PM.

Tuesday, November 16

Humphrey Fellowship & Vol State Associate Campus Collaboration: Humphrey Fellows will share their countries and cultures with students at the Vol State – Cookeville and Gallatin Campuses. Sponsored by the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program. This event will be held at Vol State, 9 AM -12 PM.
Support for Siblings (Parenting Group): The Parenting Group is a lunchtime program for the Vanderbilt community that addresses a range of topics, such as school choice, screen time, and gender socialization. Most meetings feature a guest who leads a discussion about a topic of interest to group members. Sponsored by the Women’s Center. Please click here to register. This session will be held virtually over Zoom from 12 PM – 1 PM.
Boren Scholarship + Fellowship Virtual Campus Visit Information Session: Learn more about the Boren Scholarship! Sponsored by the Career Center. Please click here to register. This session will be held virtually over Zoom from 1 PM – 2 PM.
DIS Scandinavia Info Session: Interested in studying abroad in Fall 2022? Attend this program-specific info session to learn more about program details and get ready to apply! This event is targeted towards undergraduate students interested in studying abroad. Sponsored by GEO. Please click here to register. This session will be held virtually over Zoom from 12 PM – 1 PM.
Immigration Concerns about International Travel for Vanderbilt’s International Employees: The White House recently announced the rescission of the regional COVID travel bans, which will be replaced on Nov 8th by a blanket COVID vaccination requirement for foreign nationals. This session will answer questions from Vanderbilt’s international community on the impact of this change in policy. This event is targeted towards international staff, faculty, and postdocs. Sponsored by the Office of Employee Immigration Services (OIS). Please click here for the Zoom link. This session will be held virtually over Zoom from 1 PM to 2 PM.
CIEE Seoul Info Session: Interested in studying abroad in Fall 2022? Attend this program-specific info session to learn more about program details and get ready to apply! This event is targeted towards undergraduate students interested in studying abroad. Sponsored by GEO. Please click here to register. This session will be held virtually over Zoom from 2 PM – 3 PM.
Increasing Motivation and Decreasing Procrastination with the Use of Self-Compassion: Attendees will learn more about how self-criticism can negatively impact productivity and the benefit of developing more compassionate self-talk as they pursue their goals. Sponsored by the University Counseling Center (UCC). Please click here to register. This session will be held virtually over Zoom from 3PM to 4 PM.
Self-Petitioned Pathways to Permanent Residency with Immigration Attorney David Ware: Immigration attorney David Ware with Ware Immigration will present on building your CV to provide you with options/pathways to U.S. permanent residency which are self-petitioned, focusing on national interest waivers (NIW’s) and and EB-1A’s for those of Extraordinary Ability. This workshop will not cover University-sponsored pathways to a green card. This session will not be recorded, so please make sure to attend if you are interested. The attorney does not provide legal advice, but rather general information to get you thinking about these topics. Sponsored by ISSS. Please click here to register. This session will be held virtually over Zoom from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM.

Wednesday, November 17

International Travel Q&A Session for International Scholars: Are you an international scholar planning to travel internationally over the winter break? Join ISSS and OIS for a session on travel considerations! We will go over the documents that you need for travel, current travel policies, and other points that you should consider if you are a J-1 or H-1B scholar, or in another non-immigrant visa status. Sponsored by ISSS and OIS. Please click here to register. This session will be held virtually over Zoom from 12 PM to 1 PM.
A Conversation about Mentoring (Women in the Academy series): This program offers graduate students and postdocs a chance to reflect on the ways that gender affects their experience as they begin their professional journey in the academy. Sponsored by the Women’s Center. Please click here to register. Sarratt 189, 12 PM – 1:15 PM.
Learn a Second Language to Become a More Robust Candidate: This event will promote the benefits of learning and speaking a second language for the job market and for pursuing a terminal degree. Additionally, it will advertise the classes offered for the less-commonly taught languages for the spring semester as well as the free resources available to students, faculty, and staff for second language acquisition such as tutoring, conversation hours, and professional development workshops, among other things. Sponsored by the Center for Second Language Studies (CSLS). Rand, 2 PM.
International EAG Interest Meeting: Employee Affinity Groups (EAGs) are employee-led and facilitated groups formed around interests, backgrounds, identities, and common bonds. Those who identify as international, non US citizen, immigrants, refugees are encouraged to attend. The meeting is open to all Vanderbilt employees, including staff, faculty, and postdoctoral scholars, regardless of identity. The goal of the interest meeting is to gather input, ask questions, and offer suggestions about how a International Employee Affinity Group at Vanderbilt can best serve this community, including creating programming for International students, scholars and employees. Sponsored by EDI. Please click here to register. This session will be held virtually over Zoom from 3 PM – 4 PM.

Thursday, November 18

CIEE Barcelona Info Session: Interested in studying abroad in Fall 2022? Attend this program-specific info session to learn more about program details and get ready to apply! This event is targeted towards undergraduate students interested in studying abroad. Sponsored by GEO. Please click here to register. This session will be held virtually over Zoom from 1 PM – 2 PM.
Travel Signature Day: Are you a student or scholar on a Vanderbilt-issued I-20 or DS-2019 who is travelling internationally over the holidays? Get your I-20 or DS-2019 signed on the same-day! Sponsored by ISSS. Please contact ISSS for instructions on submitting your request. This is a virtual event; requests must be submitted virtually on the ISSS Portal. We will be signing documents from 9 AM – 4 PM.
Heritage Social for Biomedical International Trainees: Biomedical sciences international graduate students and postdoctoral fellows will spend a few minutes to share something from their culture (anything about their culture’s history, music, song, dance, language, art or festivals). We will follow this by having the attendees break out into small groups to learn and play board games native to specific cultures. Sponsored by the Office of Biomedical Research Education and Training (BRET) and the Vanderbilt International Researchers Alliance (VIRAL). 407 Light Hall, 5 PM – 6:30 PM.
Humphrey Fellowship & Vol State Associate Campus Collaboration: Humphrey Fellows will share their countries and cultures with students at the Vol State – Cookeville and Gallatin Campuses. Sponsored by the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program. This event will be held at Vol State, 9 AM -12 PM.
IEW Wrap-Up Event – Splat N’ Chat: Join SCSJI in practicing self-care while painting amazing locations rich with history and cultures. Music, paint, and good conversation to celebrate IEW! Sponsored by the Student Center for Social Justice and Identity (SCSJI). Multicultural Space, 6 PM.

Questions about IEW? Contact Andrea in ISSS or Wendy in EDI.