IES Abroad 2014: Year in Review

Happy 2015! It was an exciting year here at IES Abroad and we’re looking forward to what this year will bring.

Check out our highlights below!

MILESTONES

• 100,000 Students: On April 29, we sent our 100,000^th student abroad—Britini Williams from Macalester College! We celebrated the occasion by hosting a party for Britini and her fellow students at the IES Abroad Granada Center.
• 50 Years in Spain: In 1964, we opened our first Spanish Center in Madrid.

ADVISORS & FACULTY

• Faculty Development Seminars: Each year, IES Abroad offers on-location Faculty Development Seminars designed to bring together faculty from around the world, as well as local experts for an intellectual discussion and exchange of ideas. This year’s seminar, titled Sexuality and Gender in a Multicultural World, took place at our Amsterdam Center in July. Eight attendees came from a range of colleges and universities across the country.
• Familiarization Trips: Our 2014 Familiarization Trips to IES Abroad Kunming in March and Istanbul in May gave Members, Associate Members, administrators, coordinators, faculty members the opportunity to take an in-depth look at what we offer.
• Advisor Workshop Abroad: This year’s workshop allowed nine advisors the chance to visit our Milan Center, learn more about advising for discipline specific prgrams, and get to know IES Abroad more personally.

SCHOLARSHIPS & FINANCIAL AID

• $2.5 Million: We awarded $2.5 million in aid and scholoarships—the most yet!
• Gilman Scholars: We awarded a total of 57 prestigious Gilman grants in 2014. Congratulations to the 22 IES Abroad students who received Gilman Scholarships for Spring 2015!

PARTNERSHIPS/INVOLVEMENT

• IIE’s Generation Study Abroad: IES Abroad joined the Institute of International Education’s Generation Study Abroad Initiative, aimed at doubling the number of U.S students studying abroad over the next five years.
• International Education Week: We also celebrated International Education Week.

AWARDS & ACCOLADES

• Study Abroad Film Festival: We held our first IES Abroad Study Abroad Film Festival! Congratulations to Alexa Penton (Beijing, Spring 2014) of the University of Mississippi whose film, East of Here, won the award. (Think you have what it takes to win? Check out our 2015 Call for Submissions!)
• Diversity Abroad: Gretchen Cook-Anderson, our Director of Diversity Recruiting & Advising, was honored with the Excellence in Diversifying International Education Individual Award at the Diversity Abroad Conference in San Diego.
• GoAbroad Innovation Awards: We were finalists for three GoAbroad Innovation Awards categories:

1. Innovation in Access and Equity: IES Abroad IDEA Bloggers
2.  Innovation in Marketing/Social Media: We [Heart] Study Abroad Campaign
3. Innovative Student Video: Departing for Beijing by Alexa Penton

• Ambassadors of the Year: Congratulations to Jacob Goldstein (Milan, Spring 2012) and Sarah Ziomek (Galápagos Islands, Fall 2011), who were named 2014’s Ambassadors of the Year.
• Blogger of the Year: The talented Meghan Johns (Rabat, Spring 2014) was named 2013-14 Blogger of the Year for her insightful writing and excellent videos.
• Photo Contests: We received the most ever votes for our Photo Contest winners for Fall 2013 and Spring and Summer 2014.
• Faculty & Staff: We can’t forget our incredibly talented and creative faculty. Here’s a round-up of our Faculty Accomplishments of 2013­-14 and our Faculty Award Winners for 2013­-14!

ON THE WEB

• We had more than 1.5 million visits to our website in 2014, from more than 800,000 unique visitors, of which 97% were new visitors. The site continues to evolve to meet changing user needs, providing an invaluable resource for prospects, students, and SACs.
• Take a Virtual Tour of Rio: A taste of Rio before you go? Yes, please!  Take our Virtual Tour today. Click here to view all of the tours.
• This is Study Abroad Video Series: We launched our new video series, This Is Study Abroad, on YouTube.
• @IESabroad on Instagram: In February, we joined Instagram, where we post daily student photos and feature weekly themes.

IN REMEMBRANCE

IES Abroad remembers Brita Koutny (born Brigitte–Baroness von Conrad), who passed away on May 9, 2014 at the age of 85. Brita was the wife of the late Paul Koutny, one of the three founders of IES Abroad.

COMING UP…

Here are a few of the big plans we have for in store for 2015:

• Our New Center on the French Riviera in Nice, opens Fall 2015.
• Our exciting new programs beginning in 2015-16:
  • FALL 2015 Dublin - Writer’s Program, Entrepreneurship & Technology, Multi-Location - Emerging Economies: Santiago & Rio, Nice, Shanghai - Engineering
  • SUMMER 2015 Multi-Location Summer - Museums & Beyond: Art & Culture in Paris, Rome & Madrid, Milan Summer – Internship, Paris Summer – Internship, Santiago Summer –  Internship, Shanghai Summer - Engineering
• IES Internships announced several new international summer programs (see above), as well as our first domestic IES summer internship program in Chicago.
• Our Annual Conference will take place October 14­-16 in Chicago.

We hope you’re as excited as we are about 2015, and we hope to see you at various conferences, fairs, and events throughout the year. Cheers!