As higher education continues to be shaped by the global pandemic, political and social volatility, technological transformation, and accelerating climate change, participants in ACE’s
Internationalization Laboratory and
Learner Success Laboratory are learning to face these shifting realities with agility and innovation. With change nearly the only constant, Transformation Lab participants use ACE’s well-honed change management process to address a future certain to be punctuated by increasing disruption.
Following the opening meeting of the Internationalization Lab Cohort 19 last month, ACE kicked off its first cohort of Internationalization Lab 2.0.
This new Lab allows past participants to take a second, deeper dive into the outcomes that stemmed from their first experience and all that has transpired since. Some participants looking to maintain momentum as they move from planning to implementation will work alongside others nearly a decade out from their initial Lab experience aiming to refresh their strategy. During the opening meeting, Lab 2.0 members exchanged wisdom, lessons learned, and various resources, guided by ACE staff and Lab advisors
The second cohort of the Learner Success Laboratory (LSL) also began work this month. Building on lessons from the LSL’s first year, this year’s participants were given more time for networking, more resources on facilitating on-campus committee meetings, and more opportunities to engage asynchronously. As the first year wraps up, ACE LSL Director Lindsey Myers shared her reflections on the program in a recent blog post, “How Centering Learner Success Helped Us Face a Year in Flux.”
Lab chats and virtual discussions help keep members of both labs engaged between milestone meetings and give them tools to address challenges as they arise. Previous topics included a mental health chat for the LSL and chats on the crisis in Afghanistan and making the case for internationalization for the Internationalization Lab. Upcoming topics include a government relations update with a focus on international student mobility for the Internationalization Lab and a session on preparing for site visits and peer reviews for the LSL.
Applications for Cohort 20 of the Internationalization Lab and Cohort 3 of the LSL will open in early 2022. ACE anticipates strong demand again this year for Transformation Lab programming, so stay tuned for the call for applications.