Wake Forest community invited to WISE Conference 2018
This is a guest post from the Center for Global Programs and Studies:
The Center for Global Programs and Studies encourages members of the Wake Forest community to attend the 2018 Workshop on Intercultural Skills Enhancement, or WISE Conference, celebrating its 10th anniversary, Feb. 8-9. Wake Forest faculty, staff and students may attend at no cost, although registration is required.
WISE is the pioneering conference for faculty leaders, program coordinators, and administrators to develop the knowledge and skills needed to help students advance their intercultural skills and awareness during abroad experiences.
Farzana Nayani, a nationally-recognized Diversity & Inclusion Specialist and Intercultural Trainer, will present the keynote address on Thursday morning. Nayani, who has extensive experience working with academic institutions, Fortune 500 companies and non-profit organizations, will speak on Being Inclusive: Creating an Environment Where Authentic Selves Thrive.
The conference features a number of Wake Forest faculty, staff, and student presenters, including the following sessions:
- Bridging the Communication Gap: Script-Based Language and Culture for Non-Language Programs with Rebecca Thomas
- Inclusive Excellence: Including the On-site Team with Jessica Francis and Shayla Herndon-Edmonds
- International Student Adjustment to U.S. Universities: The Role of Intercultural Skills with Nelson Brunsting, and student presenters Megan Mischinski, Frank Fang, and Wenjin Wu
The full schedule and session descriptions are available on the WISE website.
Registration is open through Jan. 27. WISE 2018 will be held at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Winston-Salem, located at 425 North Cherry Street.
WISE 2018 also features pre-conference workshops on February 7. Topics include Mindfulness & Intercultural Teaching and Learning, and Global Service-Learning Pedagogy and Partnerships. Paid registration is required.
Please contact wiseconference@wfu.edu or 336-758-5938 with any questions.
Categories: Events
WISE 2017: Registration now open
This is a guest post from the WISE Conference:
Nine years ago a small cohort of Wake Forest faculty participated in a small workshop designed for developing intercultural skills and awareness. The Workshop on Intercultural Skills Enhancement, now known as the WISE Conference, has grown into a comprehensive forum hosting more than 270 domestic and international participants. The upcoming event — scheduled for February 8-10, 2017 at the Downtown Winston-Salem Marriott — will feature pre-conference workshops and sessions relevant in preparing educators to help students embrace their study abroad experiences on a deeper level – whether that be outside the U.S. or on the Wake Forest campus.
The main WISE Conference (February 9-10) will feature a plenary and more than 30 sessions covering a wide range of subjects applicable to out-bound and in-bound study abroad. Wake Forest University faculty and staff can attend at no charge, however registration is required.
Pre-Conference workshops are offered on February 8 and require a registration fee. Workshops are facilitated by well-known intercultural faculty/trainers: Steve Folmar, Wake Forest associate professor of anthropology; Tara Harvey; Mick Vande Berg; Adriana Medina-López-Portillo. These seasoned professionals will guide day-long or half-day workshops of a highly experiential nature, providing participants with in-depth perspectives on various intercultural topics.
Visit the Center for Global Programs & Studies’ website for registration and session details at http://global.wfu.edu/wise/
Categories: University Announcement
WISE workshop set for February
This is a guest post from the Center for Global Programs & Studies:
Wake Forest University’s Center for Global Programs & Studies recently received the Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award for Campus Internationalization from NAFSA for the development of WISE: Workshop on Intercultural Skills Enhancement. Initiated as a small workshop in 2009 for Wake Forest professors and staff, this annual event has developed into a comprehensive conference hosting more than 250 attendees from our community and across the U.S.
The eighth annual WISE event will be held Feb. 4 and 5 at the Winston-Salem Marriott hotel downtown. Registration is free for Wake Forest faculty and staff (register now through Eventbrite for one or two days).
The WISE Conference features a keynote address on the important role faculty play in students’ development of intercultural communication skills and competencies. Thirty concurrent sessions will be presented by experienced faculty and administrators in the field of international education. Session topics include comparison of models for study abroad programs, practices to develop intercultural competencies, role of language in cross-cultural engagement, pre-departure planning, assessment methods for students’ intercultural competencies, and much more.
Faculty new to study abroad programs will hear the basics, while there are new and advanced topics for veteran faculty. Associate Professor of Anthropology Steve Folmar, who has been taking students to Nepal since 2001, remarked, “Getting involved in these ongoing conversations and hearing other people’s approaches makes you pay more attention to what you’re doing. You put a much more discriminating eye on what you’re doing yourself.”
Pre-conference workshops are offered on Wednesday, Feb. 3. Explore opportunities to delve deeper into important topics on the WISE website: http://global.wfu.edu/wise/. Standard rates apply for pre-conference; WISE has a limited number of scholarships available for Wake Forest faculty/staff to participate in a pre-conference workshop. Contact Nancy Metcalf at 758-5994 with questions.
Visit the WISE website at http://global.wfu.edu/wise/ for session descriptions and how to register. Registration for the main conference, Feb. 4-5 is free for Wake Forest personnel.
Categories: University Announcement
Conference on intercultural learning, free to WFU community
The 
WISE Conference, Wake Forest’s premier conference focusing on intercultural learning will be held on Feb. 5-6 at the Marriott Hotel Winston-Salem in downtown Winston-Salem. The conference is free for Wake Forest faculty and staff; however, registration is required through Eventbrite.
Hosted by the Center for Global Programs and Studies, WISE helps faculty and staff leaders, program coordinators and student advisors develop the knowledge and skills they need to help study abroad students — including international students who “study abroad” in the U.S. or another country — develop intercultural skills and awareness.
Categories: Events
