Expanding Horizons: Growth and Goals of the International Program

Tell us about some of the benefits and experiences students participating in the International Program will have?

We currently offer internships in Cape Town South Africa under the Volunteer Adventure Corps (VAC) organization and student-driven internship opportunities that depend on the students background and connections. For example, we have had students finish up their MSW internship requirements in Mbale, Uganda because that is where they were from, and Japan because of a military family member’s relocation. We are currently developing an internship in Puerto Rico with a current MSW student who has made the connections for us. We also have been offering a short-term faculty-led program to Athens, Greece, since 2014 with integration of experiential learning opportunities domestically and abroad around refugee services.

What are some of the hopes and plans you have for the program’s future?

The School of Social Work International Program committee developed a Global Strategy Plan (GSP), in alignment with the University’s Illinois International Programs (IIP) Global Strategy Plan, Vision 2030, which was approved during our October 2022 faculty meeting. Many of the goals I have for our International program fall under the goals of our GSP.

Here is a snippet of a few of these goals:

• to expand our short-term faculty-led programs beyond Greece, to other destinations, specifically to countries in the Global South
• to show how far reaching, worldwide, our research, teaching and public engagement are
• to infuse global learning and awareness into our existing curriculum
• to support our students, faculty and staff in achieving their global learning goals and initiatives
• to raise awareness and to celebrate or honor key world days such as World Refugee Day (June 20, 2024) World Mental Health day (October 10, 2024), and World Social Work Day (March 18, 2025), to name a few. The United Nations has honored these days and many more as a way to promote advocacy efforts. Advocacy is huge in social work, enough said!

How does the International Program align with the university’s broader mission of global engagement and cultural exchange?

The quick answer is by integrating the University’s Global Strategy Plan (GSP) into our SSW GSP. Our four primary strategies, that match the University’s are:

• Strategy 1: Education for Global Citizenship
• Strategy 2: Engagement for Impact in the Global South
• Strategy 3: Leadership for Innovative Partnership & Development
• Strategy 4: Education for Inclusive Excellence

As a smaller unit on campus that has been doing so much work on an international level, we have to be creative all the while being fiscally responsible. Study abroad is expensive yet most who do travel abroad find that they are forever changed once they return home, which is a priceless experience. International programming is not just about international internships and studying abroad though. It is also about engaging on a global level, infusing cultural exchanges and becoming leaders in modeling global social justice, teaching our students and each other on how to be cultural humble and empathetic, while developing our social, racial, and environmental justice scope.

In what ways does the International Program foster cross-cultural understanding and collaboration among students from diverse backgrounds?

This is not an easy question to answer because I do not believe it is the sole responsibility of the International Program to foster cross-cultural understanding and collaborations here at our School. Through collaborative and collective efforts with many School of Social Work programs, faculty, staff and students, through forums, class room discussions, lectures, small talk by a water fountain in the School of Social Work building or comments left on our interactive chalk board, I feel this fostering of understanding is a work in progress. There is so much to learn about the world all while we are on our own ongoing and perhaps ever-changing journey of self-reflection and self-awareness. I am humbled by colleagues and students who are already guiding the way and students who have spoken up or stood up to raise awareness already. I hope that through initiatives such as World Social Work Day 2024 events, expansion of our study abroad and international internships where students share their internship experiences during the online, integrative seminar classes, through our robust international research, teaching and public engagement initiatives, we continue to build on knowledge, compassion, understanding and awareness of how we each impact each other around the globe.