AUSAPI Events
Upcoming Meeting
New Delhi: Novemeber 30 - Decemeber 3, 2011
We hope you have all marked your calendar for the annual 2011 AUSAPI Conference and Business Meeting hosted by the U.S.-India Educational Foundation (USIEF) at its headquarters in New Delhi. Although we didn’t hold the conference in 2010, we are excited to offer this important professional development and networking opportunity to the AUSAPI members. We have finally been able to finalize the schedule and workshop for this event and are ready to communicate these details out to AUSAPI members. We are also strongly encouraging all AUSAPI member organizations/institutions to pass this information on to their administrative colleagues at their host institutions based in India with the hope that we can broaden the impact of this annual event.
Schedule
Wednesday, Nov. 30: 3pm
AUSAPI business meeting following by reception on the USIEF lawn
Thursday, Dec. 1: 9:00am - 5:30am
Friday, Dec. 2: 9:00am - 3:00pm
Professional Development Workshop for Resident Directors and Host Institution Partners
Summary of Workshop
Attitudes and beliefs about study abroad continue to change rapidly. Until recently, most faculty and study abroad professionals, whether at study sites abroad or in the U.S., assumed that students abroad normally and naturally learned in one of two ways. First, they learned through traditional “information transfer,” with teachers delivering knowledge to willing recipients; or second, they learned through being exposed to the new and different. In both cases, it was assumed that students learned well when simply left to their own devices.
However, recent theory and research have seriously challenged this belief; faculty and staff now increasingly understand that most students abroad learn and develop well only when staff and faculty intervene, throughout the study abroad experience. These staff and faculty are, however, unsure what they need to do to intervene.
This workshop would be designed to allow participants to respond to that uncertainty, and to learn to train students in ways that will allow them to learn and develop effectively. By the end of the workshop, participating Resident Directors and Host Institution Partners will:
- Understand and be able to facilitate activities grounded in three developmental learning theories—Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory, and Sanford’s Challenge and Support hypothesis.
- Understand and be able to help their students engage around key intercultural and pedagogical concepts, including “developmental,” “experiential,” and “challenge and support.”
- Understand and be able to start introducing “mindfulness” and game-playing into their intercultural training.
- Have experienced, through participating in a number of interactive activities, some of what we ask our students to learn through developmental and experiential approaches to teaching/training developmentally.
Bio of Workshop Facilitator
Catherine Menyhart Catherine has worked in at CIEE in various capacities since 2003. Currently, as Manager of Academic Assurance & Support, her primary responsibilities include coaching instructors of the Seminar on Living and Learning, facilitating intercultural trainings, administering the Ping Matching Grants and Doctoral Fellowship and support of various research projects. Previously at CIEE, Catherine spent two years as the Resident Coordinator at the CIEE Study Center in Dakar, Senegal and also worked as the Institutional Relations Manager for the Eastern U.S. During a hiatus from CIEE, she earned her teaching certification in French and ESL and a Master’s in Education from the University of Southern Maine and taught at Expeditionary Learning middle and high schools in Portland, Maine. She has a BA in International Relations and French from Grand Valley State University.
Friday, Dec. 2: 3pm
Final Wrap-up
Saturday, Dec. 3
Departure from Delhi
Logistics
Logistics for the meeting will be managed by Vibha Sharma, Director of the Office of U.S.-India Higher Education Cooperation at USIEF.
Please contact Vibha directly at vibha@usief.org.in to register your attendance by October 15, 2011. The Conference attendance is capped at 25 people, so we encourage early registration from everyone interested in attending.
There will be USD$50 conference fee for participation in the event to help subsidize costs associated with the conference. The fee can be paid during on-site registration and the rupee equivalent is perfectly acceptable.
All participants are expected to cover their own travel, lodging, and non-sponsored meals. A block of rooms at a nearby hotel will also be reserved for AUSAPI participants, details forthcoming.
USIEF has obtained a grant from the U.S. Embassy to defray the costs of the workshop, so there will be no charge associated with the workshop.
Other Business
Given that the purpose of AUSAPI is to empower and develop a network of study abroad professionals in India, we ask that all participants plan to fully engage in the group process of the three-day conference as is designed. In previous years, some participants excused themselves from various discussions/meetings to attend to personal/work matters which impacted the entire group experience. Therefore, we ask that all participants respect the the vision for this conference and come prepared to fully engage in all aspects of the workshop and business meeting while there.
We are also looking for sponsors for a group dinner on Thursday, Dec. 1. Please contact Vibha directly if your organization is willing to serve as a sponsor and the level of your financial contribution.
Again, we hope to see representatives from each U.S. study abroad program in India and their host institution partners at the meeting, and deeply encourage your participation in the event. We’ll send additional updates via LinkedIn as necessary. Please let me know if you have any questions and look forward to seeing many of you in Delhi later this year.
Best regards,
Daniel Olds
CIEE
Program Director, Asia Pacific
AUSAPI Moderator
Resident Directors Meeting - History
AUSAPI organizes an annual meeting in India for resident directors and staff to share information, discuss best practices, establish communication and collaboration networks, and improve U.S. program management in India. In addition to discussion sessions to share issues of common interests, each meeting features a topical workshop.
Past Meetings:
2009 ~ December 2-4, Delhi
2008 ~ December 3-5, Delhi
2007 ~ December 9-12, Delhi
Past Meetings at Professional Conferences
AUSAPI organizes informal meetings for members who are attending professional conferences such as NAFSA, the Forum on Education Abroad, and CIEE.
Past Meetings:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Minutes from 2010 AUSAPI Meeting.pdf | 82.5 KB |
| 2011 AUSAPI Meeting Minutes PDF.pdf | 73.91 KB |
Join our group at LinkedIn!
AUSAPI has a group on the Linkedin website that provides members a forum to discuss topics such as health and safety, travel warnings, upcoming events, new resources and articles,programming/resident issues, and job postings.
