Mestenhauser Academy for Leadership in Internationalization

is a hands-on professional development for evidence-based strategic leadership of institution-wide internationalization: comprised of a 3-day training in Prague (from May 15th-17th, 2026) and 3 online sessions with internationallly recognised trainers and guest Vice Rectors from USA, EU and Australia.

APPLY NOW

Why Choose Our Program

This program was developed in collaboration with 11 Vice Rectors, experts, and policy makers across Europe to meet the critical needs of leaders of Internationalization today.

The program features 3 main trainers plus 9 more leaders and policy makers.

Highlights of the program include:

  • Hands-on tools for strategic decision making
  • Understanding of current and future trends
  • Build a strong network of leaders
  • Peer community and exchange of best practices
  • Burning issues discussed with policy makers
  • One-on-one consultations
  • Develop evidence-based plans for your institution
  • Access to online feed of resources

Program Details

 

What to Expect
  • Grow your skills for evidence-based strategic leadership
  • Gain best practice and hands-on tools for strategic planning and evaluation
  • Gain an in-depth understanding of current and future trends in internationalization
  • Build a strong network of international leaders across the EU to exchange ideas and experiences
  • Develop evidence-based plans to address challenges in internationalization at your institution
Program Delivery
  • Introductory orientation meeting (30 min, April 2026)
  • An intensive 3 day in-person workshop that will address professionally relevant topics and hands-on tools. The workshop will allow participants to connect, develop skills and exchange experiences in an international learning community of their peers.
  • 2 follow-up online sessions (60 min) with input and peer discussion over implementations in institutional contexts.
  • Monthly feed of the latest literature and research to support the participants in evidence-based decision-making.
Program Eligibility

The program has been specifically designed for Vice Rectors, Vice Deans for Internationalization, Policy Advisors, and Senior Internationalization Officers who may choose to bring their International Office Directors with them.

Program Fees

Fee: 2,000 Euro (Early bird February 28th), 2,200 Euro (regular)

  • Discounts: ½ price for a 2nd participant from the same institution. (Other discounts available for partner institutions.)

The fee includes:

  • Tuition for the entire three-month professional development program, including 3-day in-person workshop in Prague, indiv. consultation and online sessions
  • Catering including a welcome dinner on Day 1, and Lunch and Coffee & Refreshments on Days 1-3
  • Individual Consultations with trainers
  • Access to Monthly Online Feed for evidence-based decision-making
  • (The fee does not cover accommodation and travel to Prague.)
Trainers
  • Dr. Darla Deardorff (former Executive Director of AIEA and currently UNESCO Chair on Intercultural Competence, Stellenbosch University)
  • Dr. Harvey Charles (former AIEA President and International Education Administrator and Scholar)
  • Dr. Jos Beelen (THUAS, Awardee of EAIE Presidential Award)
  • Dr. Eva Janebova (MIIC Director) 
Sounding Board
  • Prof. Shanton Chang, Ph.D. (Professor, School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne)
  • Rene Teunissen (Senior Policy Advisor Internationalisation, Erasmus University Rotterdam)
  • Martin Považan (Head of International Relations, Comenius University Bratislava) 
  • Mgr. Renata Tomášková, Dr. (Vice-Rector for International Relations, University of Ostrava)
  • Mgr. Leona Stašová, Ph.D. (Vice-Rector for International Affairs, University of Hradec Kralové)
  • Dr. Rosalyn Eder, Ph.D. (Head of International Office, Paracelsus Medical University)
  • Ida Andersson-Norrie, (International Strategy Officer, Örebro University)
  • Maria Stergiou (International Cooperation Program Coordinator in Higher Education, Swiss National Agency Movetia)
  • Dr. Frauke Stebner, Ph.D. (Social Participation and Diversity, DAAD)

Strengthen Your International Leadership Skills

Program Dates:

  • May 15th-17th, 2026 (in-person)
  • April/May/September (online, dates TBA)

    2026 applications are now open via this link.

    Early bird application deadline: February 28th, 2026

    Program Location: ČVUT, Prague, Czech Republic

    Program Schedule and Modules

     

    In-Person Pre-Program Welcome

    Welcome Drink and Refreshments (19:00-20:30)

    • Meet other participants and connect with the academy team
    In-Person Day 1

    9:00-17:00

    Introduction: The Changing Mission of Universities, Peer Community, and Institutional Contexts

    Module: Leading Internationalisation: The Role of the Vice Rector/Senior International Officer  (H. Charles)

    • Exploring Roles of SIO and  applying Standards of Professional Practice – Tool
    • Goal setting for yourself and Responsible Leadership
      Peer Discussion

    Module: Intercultural Communication as a cornerstone of IZN  (D. Deardoff)

    • Understanding the theoretical foundations of intercultural communication for international educators and leaders
    • Planning professional development for academics and staff in global competences
    • Building an interculturally welcoming campus
      Assessing Intercultural Communication – Tool

    Spotlight: Using CRI Model for Diagnostics (M. Agnew)

    • How to use Cultural Readiness for Internationalization (CRI) Model to diagnose and understand how your organizational culture, governance structures, and power dynamics enable or constrain internationalization.
    In-Person Day 2

    9:00-17:00

    Module: Comprehensive Internationalization (H. Charles, Guest: Rene Teunissen)

    • Using the American Council of Education Framework for understanding the components of comprehensive IZN
    • Your role in coordinating and communicating with boards and leadership, and EUA
    • Using the Mind Map Visualization for Comprehensive IZN planning – Tool

    Module: Internationalization of Curriculum (IoC) (D. Deardoff/J. Beelen)

    • Understanding the concepts of internationalisation at home and internationalisation of the curriculum, with their implications for institutional policies
    • Identifying top-down strategies that stimulate bottom-up curriculum development in departments and programmes of study
    • Embedding strategies for quality enhancement of Virtual Exchange/COIL within institutional policies

    Module: Understanding the fundamentals of Inclusion (J. Beelen/E.Janebova, Guest Renáta Tomášková)

    • Understanding the concept of inclusive Internationalization beyond mobility
    • Analysing and engaging stakeholders across the institution, Case studies, Implementation of Tools 
    • Cultural Readiness for Internationalization Model (M. Agnew), Capacity Building

    National Policies: Discussion with Policy Makers

    Individual Consultations with trainers 

      In-Person Day 3

      9:00-14:00

      World Cafe (Sounding Board Experts, Policy makers):

      • Strategy Planning towards Sustainability, Equity, and EUA
      • Participatory Leadership in EUA
      • Funding opportunities for IZN
      • Conscious Internationalization – integration of awareness/mindfulness-based practices into leadership


      Module: Evidence-based decisions (D. Deardoff/J. Beelen/H. Charles)

      • Tool of collecting data for Comprehensive Internationalization across faculties

      Peer Discussion: Challenges and way forward (Application of the tools used during the workshop for individual institutional planning)

       

      Wrap up and next steps 

       

      Online Sessions

      There will be an optional online program orientation in April before the start of the in-person program.

      There will be 2 follow-up online sessions in May and September after the in-person program concludes. These include:

      • Interactive Webinar: Topic to be decided by the participants
      • Online Presentations of Participants

      Lead Program Trainers

       

      Dr. Darla Deardorff

      Darla Deardoff, PhD, UNESCO Chair, Stellenboch University, South Africa is the chairholder of the UNESCO Chair of Intercultural Competences at Stellenbosch University in South Africa and a research fellow at Duke University. She previously served 19 years as Executive Director/CEO of the Association of International Education Administrators, a leadership organization, and also the Founding President of the World Council on Intercultural and Global Competence. She has worked in the international education field for over thirty years & previously held positions at North Carolina State University & the University of North Carolina, Harvard’s Global Education Think Tank, the Summer Institute of Intercultural Communication, Shanghai International Studies University (China), Nelson Mandela University (S. Africa) & Meiji University (Japan) as well as Middlebury Institute of International Studies. She has published widely, including 80+ articles and book chapters, as well as 14 books starting with The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence (Sage, 2009), The Sage Handbook of International Higher Education (Sage, 2012 and 2021), co-author of Building Cultural Competence (Stylus, 2012), Demystifying Outcomes Assessment for International Educators (Stylus, 2015), co-editor of Intercultural Competence in Higher Education (Routledge, 2017) and lead editor of Leading Internationalization (Stylus, 2018) and the Manual for Developing Intercultural Competencies: Story Circles (Routledge/UNESCO, 2020).

      Dr. Harvey Charles

      Harvey Charles, Ph.D. is currently a senior affiliate at Gateway International Group. He previously served as Vice Provost for International Programs at the University of Minnesota and as a Professor of International Education at the University at Albany. Prior to joining the University at Albany, Charles served as Senior International Officer at a number of institutions around the US, including Georgia Institute of Technology, Northern Arizona University, and San Francisco State University. Charles has made important contributions to the field of international education, including serving as President of the Association of International Education Administrators, the world’s only organization focused on serving Chief International Officers at colleges and universities.

      Dr. Jos Beelen

      Jos Beelen, PhD is Professor of Global Learning at The Hague University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands as well as Visiting Professor at the Centre for Global Learning at Coventry University in England. He has facilitated workshops and coached academic staff in internationalising academic programmes at universities in the Netherlands and across Europe, as well as in Colombia, Brazil, South Africa and Australia. He edited the EAIE’s Toolkit publication Implementing Internationalisation at Home (2007) and has since written a range of articles on the same topic, often co-authored with researchers from Europe and Australia. Jos is currently researching the internationalisation of learning outcomes in academic programmes, focusing on developing the skills that enable academic staff to assume ownership of curriculum internationalisation. In addition to being an EAIE senior trainer, he was also Chair of the Expert Community Internationalisation at Home and a member of the EAIE Publications Committee. In 2022, he was elected to the General Council for the 2022–2024 term.

      Jos was honoured with the 2018 President’s award by the President at the time, Sabine Pendl in recognition for his productive commitment to the Association.

      Our partner institution for the Leadership Academy is the Czech Technical University in Prague (ČVUT)

      We thank them for their support in this program.