Network of International Education Associations (NIEA)
Since 2017, the IAU has been the coordinator of the Network of International Education Associations (NIEA). NIEA is an informal group that convenes the leadership of nonprofit, non-governmental associations and organizations that have the main stated purpose of advancing international higher education. The Network advances the global learning of post-secondary education organizations through the exchange of information and dialogue, advocacy for international education, professional development, and discovery of new approaches to international education.
As coordinator of the Network, the IAU works closely with the Network Chair, an individual elected annually from amongst NIEA members. The Network meets twice per year at member conferences. Together with the Network Chair, the IAU sets the agenda of these biannual meetings and coordinate communications among members.
Work and Activities
Global Dialogues on the Internationalization of Higher Education
NIEA has already organised two Global Dialogues on the internationalization of higher education. The first Global Dialogue, held in 2014 and hosted by the International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA), led to the Nelson Mandela Bay declaration on the future of the internationalization of higher education. The second Global Dialogue took place in 2017 and was hosted by the Asociación Mexicana para la Educación Internacional (AMPEI) in Mazatlan, Mexico.
Formal Statements
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, NIEA members published a Statement on the Importance of International Higher Education and Research in 2020 which calls on government and higher education institutions around the world to support international collaboration as an essential means to finding solutions to global problems, which manifest differently in local contexts.
NIEA also submitted a Policy Brief on “The Continuing Need for Internationalization of Higher Education” to the UNESCO World Higher Education Conference (WHEC2022). This Policy Brief underlines the importance of international cooperation and exchange in tackling the challenges humankind faces today, as expressed in the UN Agenda 2030 and the SDGs.