The Graying of The Great Powers

Not long ago the Global Aging Initiative at the Center for Strategic & International Studies published The Graying of the Great Powers: Demography and Geopolitics in the 21st Century.

This book deserves much more attention - particularly from those university leaders involved in international programs.

The authors draw on careful analysis to predict a global aging of population as an unprecedented demographic transformation.

This transformation is both certain and lasting. It will not be reversed in our lifetime.

It will have major social, economic and political effects.

Currently, most pundits seem to assume that US global influence will diminish in the future. This report argues that the US will have more - not less - influence and responsibility in the global order over the next fifty years.

University leaders spend too much time thinking about short-term challenges. We focus too much on the needs and experience of "traditional" students (ages 18-25). This work reminds us that universities will operate in a very different future world, and we will need to make more space for lifelong learning.

Download an excellent summary of this book here.

US CEOs Value Study Abroad

Last month, the Institute for International Education released results from a survey of senior US business leaders. The survey was conducted to investigate how CEOs, presidents, and top-level managers value study abroad experience for prospective employees.

Some key findings...

• Though only a small proportion of US college graduates have ever studied abroad, 30% of the leaders responding had study abroad experience.
• Of those with experience in international education, over 90% said they looked to hire people who studied abroad.
• In all, 60% of respondents asked their HR departments to pursue and reward study abroad experience.

This is a very brief report worth reading.

Study Abroad Photo Contest

Each year our Study Abroad staff organizes a photo contest for MU students who've recently earned academic credits across borders. Students submit original photos in one of three categories, accompanied by brief narratives that explain the photos' personal meaning or significance.

This Fall, students submitted 291 excellent photos that were taken all over the world. To launch MU's observance of International Education Week, we will announce the winners of the contest, selected by a panel of judges.

Take a look at the work by contest finalists here.

Congratulations to all the students who participated, and thanks to all those who work year around to make MU study abroad possible.

Rush to learn English - by mobile phone

I noticed this post on Information Policy. It illustrates the worldwide demand to learn English -- and tells us about an innovative response to that demand by the BBC World Service Trust.

For more information on how the BBC is using new media for educational purposes, see this website.

International Education Week - at Missouri

International Education Week will be observed next week (November 16-20) across the world. At Missouri, we've planned a series of events.

• Monday, November 16
  Study Abroad Photo Contest AwardsLuncheon (by invitation only)
  Finalist photos available on line.

Tuesday, November 17, 12:00 Noon - 1:00 pm
Movie - Fulbright: The Man, the Mission, the Message
Free and Open to the Public
Hawthorne Lounge, Memorial Union, MU

Tuesday, November 17 7:00 pm
Talk: China's 30 Years of 'Opening Up and Reform'
Continuities and Change Visiting scholar Professor Lingling Qi
N103 (Stotler Lounge III) Memorial Union, MU

Wednesday, November 18, 3:00 - 4:30 pm
MU's connections with the Republic of Georgia: Past, Present and Possible Futures
Discussion led by MU Professors Byron Scott, Jim McCartney and Jim Scott
Jesse Wrench Auditorium, Memorial Union, MU

Thursday, November 19, 3:30 – 5:00 pm
Chancellor's Global Issues Forum - The Fulbright Program: Changing our Campus, Changing our World
Moderated by MU Chancellor Brady Deaton.
Chamber Auditorium, MU Student Center (located above the University Bookstore)

Friday, November 20, 11:30 AM
Thanksgiving Luncheon for First Year International Student (by invitation only)

Recruiting's Brave New World

Competition for international students is heating up. If your interested, the cover article of current issue of NAFSA's International Educator provides a quick overview of why and how this is happening, and what some universities are doing to respond.

There are some pretty good ideas here.

Sen. Kit Bond's new book

Missouri Senator Christopher (Kit) Bond will sign his new book The Next Front: Southeast Asia and the Road to Global Peace with Islam on Friday, Nov 13 from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. inside University Bookstore. The event is free and open to the public. Chancellor Brady Deaton will introduce Senator Bond. Senator Bond does not intend to speak but will sign books.