CIEE and AIC Announce Merger to Increase Access to Global Academic Internships
Portland, Maine (PRWEB) September 18, 2014 -- CIEE: Council on International Educational Exchange, the world’s leading nonprofit international education and exchange organization, and AIC: Academic Internship Council, a global leader in placement-based, academic and experiential education programs, are merging to expand academic internship programming around the globe.
CIEE President and CEO James P. Pellow, Ed.D., and AIC President Tony Johnson, formalized the partnership on September 18.
International internships are one of the fastest growing areas of student interest in study abroad. College presidents, provosts, deans, and study abroad professionals are seeking high-quality, academically rigorous, global internships to meet this demand. The partnership between CIEE and AIC creates the most comprehensive portfolio of internships in the field, in terms of both programming and geographic locations.
These organizations have more than 100 years of combined experience in facilitating international programs. By combining CIEE’s portfolio of more than 60 Study Centers around the globe with AIC’s broad network of international and domestic internship opportunities, CIEE and AIC will offer universities and students more internship options in more cities than any other international organization.
“The demand for high-quality international academic internships is consistent with higher education’s desire to increase experiential learning opportunities across all disciplines to better prepare students for today’s interconnected world,” said Pellow. “To meet that demand, we believe it’s important to partner with the most talented and experienced professionals. We feel especially privileged to be uniting with the AIC team and in particular, with Tony Johnson, a professional of the highest caliber, and whom many consider the grandfather of international internships. More than 30 years ago, Tony began helping American students secure internships with the British Parliament. Today he is widely regarded as a leader in this field, having placed more than 30,000 students in international internships.”
AIC serves more than 30 U.S. and international universities, establishing academic internship opportunities for students in Canada, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States. AIC offers domestic internships in Boston, New York, and San Francisco. CIEE provides study abroad programs, faculty training programs, and custom international programs to more than 340 U.S. colleges and universities, with academic internship opportunities in 21 international cities. In addition, each year CIEE helps more than 5,500 international students participate in U.S.-based internship opportunities through the U.S. State Department’s Exchange Visitor Program.
“After developing international internship opportunities for nearly three decades with Boston University and EUSA, primarily in Europe, my colleagues at AIC and I sought to build a portfolio of internship opportunities in locations less-served by most organizations, but growing in popularity with university students,” said Johnson. “Joining forces with CIEE will allow us to continue that momentum by combining AIC’s strength in developing custom internships with CIEE’s foundation of academic program-based internships. Together, we will serve member schools and students with the highest level of service and support.”
Sharing a commitment to both quality and access, CIEE and AIC look forward to expanding their traditional and customized international internship programs to allow all students – regardless of academic major or type of institution – to benefit from international internships.
CIEE: Council on International Educational Exchange
Founded in 1947, CIEE is the country’s oldest and largest nonprofit study abroad and intercultural exchange organization, serving more than 300 U.S. colleges and universities, 1,000 U.S. high schools, and more than 35,000 international exchange students each year. CIEE operates 60 study centers in 40 countries, sponsors international faculty training programs, teach abroad programs, and various specialty and custom programs for secondary, post-secondary, and international students. We provide participants with skills, competencies, and experiences that elevate their ability to contribute positively to our global community. Visit http://www.ciee.org.
AIC
The Academic Internship Council (AIC) is a global not-for-profit organization with more than three decades of experience specializing in customized, academically directed internship programs. AIC currently has offices in Boston, New York City, San Francisco, Toronto, Singapore, Mumbai, and Hong Kong. In addition to internship placement and coordination, AIC provides program development and management, academic coursework, student accommodation and program safety, as well as student life and professional development activities. AIC's dynamic team throughout the world works with more than 30 university partners and places students across a broad spectrum of industries and organizational settings. Visit http://www.academicinternshipcouncil.org.
Sarah Day, CIEE, +1 (207) 553-4274, [email protected]
Share this article