NAFSA Executive Internationalization Leadership e-Institute 2025-26

Unit 1. Comprehensive Internationalization Leadership and Strategy

This unit lays the groundwork for the rest of the program by providing a common understanding of key topics essential to strategic and successful leadership for comprehensive internationalization—leadership competencies, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement.

Unit 2. Administration

The key to successful implementation of comprehensive internationalization strategies is effective administration. This unit will cover essential administrative considerations such as financial stewardship, human resources, physical space management, and risk management.

Unit 3. Academic Engagement and Integration

This unit highlights ways in which leaders can engage academics and research so that internationalization may be integrated into the (co)curriculum and access to global and intercultural learning opportunities is available to a diverse cross-section of students, faculty, and staff.

Unit 4. Partnerships and Outreach

This unit will highlight how to develop, nurture, and (re)evaluate different types of partnerships—international partnerships, corporate/industry/nongovernmental partnerships—and strategies for effective communication, advocacy, and outreach to different internal and external stakeholders.

e-Institute Learning Outcomes

Throughout this yearlong program, participants will work closely with the e-Institute faculty, other subject matter experts, mentors, and members of their cohort to develop key leadership skills designed to aid executive level international education leaders.

By the conclusion of this program, participants will be able to:

• Enhance leadership skills to support innovation, advocacy, and capacity building;
• Evaluate strengths and identify skill gaps of the international office in order to introduce relevant training;
• Understand core principals of effective financial planning and stewardship of resources;
• Work with institutional leadership to plan, nurture, and grow the depth and breadth of internationalization supporting the ethics and values of their unique environment;
• Employ strategies to engage a mixture of stakeholders across and outside the institution in order to provide diverse populations of students and scholars access to global learning opportunities;
• Stimulate the development and maintenance of key local and global partnerships;
• Devise a broad strategy and timeline to develop, monitor, evaluate, and sustain comprehensive internationalization strategies across their institution; and
• Develop relationships with peer international education leaders to expand their professional network.

Social Justice and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Comprehensive internationalization includes a mandate to bring in and listen to diverse perspectives, as well as the inherent equality of all parties involved in partnerships and other opportunities. Comprehensive internationalization also provides a powerful framework to remedy socially unjust situations and ensure equitable access to necessary resources and provide all with knowledge, attitudes, and skills required to create a more socially-just world.

Ethics

Ethics should be considered in every step towards comprehensive internationalization. Strategic plans and goals must be grounded in the values of the institution, the community, and the profession of international education.

Leveraging Data and Resources

Developing and implementing comprehensive internationalization strategies requires knowing how success (and progress towards success) will be measured. Understanding, collecting, analyzing, and leveraging data is essential to the success of any strategic initiative and may involve combining resources from disparate parts of an institution.

Staff Development and Team Building

Comprehensive internationalization involves actors and stakeholders across campus and throughout the community (and around the world). Leaders must support and work with staff and other stakeholders to develop a shared understanding of the vision, mission, values, and goals.