The Institute of International Education (IIE) is recognizing Georgia Tech with a 2010 Andrew Heiskell Award for “Internationalizing the Campus.”

IIE Awards are for best practices in the categories of Internationalizing the Campus, Study Abroad and International Exchange Partnerships.  This year, in an effort to showcase initiatives that are working to make the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields more global, the “Internationalizing the Campus” category is recognizing exceptional programs that bring international elements to the study and teaching of engineering.  

Over a two-year period, Georgia Tech faculty and administrators developed a broad set of global course requirements that can be tailored to any discipline. This curriculum integration initiative, The International Plan (IP), is in its fifth year and encompasses 25 out of the 35 undergraduate majors at Georgia Tech, including eight of the eleven engineering majors. Since the IP’s inception, 661 students have participated in the program, 50 percent of whom come from the College of Engineering or the College of Computing.

“The International Plan neither replaces nor supplants other Georgia Tech programs,” says Gary B. Schuster, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “Rather, it is Georgia Tech’s signature international program to enhance international study for undergraduates.”

The Heiskell Awards were established to promote and honor the most outstanding initiatives in international higher education among the members of the IIE Network, IIE’s membership association of more than 1,000 institutions.  The Heiskell Awards will be presented March 19 as part of IIE’s fifth annual Best Practices Conference for campus professionals.