2025 World Expert Series
The World Expert Series brings top world experts from the MIIC community to Czech and Central European universities explore topics like building capacities of academic and nonacademic staff in internationalizing study programs, boosting international student recruitment, and advancing intercultural skills in practical workshops and tailored mentoring. In particular, we are happy to reach regional universities alongside large technical ones!
Upcoming Workshops
June 17th: Workshop with Dr. Darla Deardorff
Train-the-Trainers Workshop: Advancing Intercultural Work in Business at Langhan’s Gallery Prague
June 13th: Workshop with Lucie Weissova
Internationalizing the Curriculum in Bratislava
2025 World Experts
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. Shanton Chang
Shanton Chang, Ph.D., Melbourne University, Australia received the Noam A. Chomsky: North Star Medal of Lifetime Achievement (2024), the International Education Association of Australia’s Distinguished Contribution to International Education Award in 2021, and also in 2000. He serves as Associate Dean (International) at the University of Melbourne with extensive experience in international student recruitment, teaching and learning across cultures, career mentoring, international education strategy, and policy. He has collaborated with the Australian government and industry partners to improve student employment outcomes and co-founded VICWise. He led a project for the International Education Association of Australia to support employers hiring international students. A well-published author, his work includes Digital Experiences of International Students and a special issue on digitalization in international education.
Dr. Barbara Kappler
Barbara Kappler Ph.D., University of Minnesota, USA is assistant vice provost of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) within the Global Programs and Strategy Alliance at the University of Minnesota. She directs a comprehensive ISSS office with staff who are experts in employment-based visas, counseling, immigration advising, intercultural programming, engaging international students and scholars, sponsored students, exchanges, and non-degree options for semester-long study with ISSS’s vision to be an inclusive and engaged international learning community. Dr. Kappler is an experienced Intercultural Communication Trainer and serves on the Board of the International Schools Network.
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.
Lucie Weissova
Lucie Weissova is a higher education professional and researcher working currently as Internationalisation at Home Coordinator at Halmstad Univetsity in Sweden. She is engaged in several ‘Internationalisation at Home/Internationalisation of the curriculum’ projects both nationally and internationally and as a research practitioner. She is working toward her PhD degree in Internationalisation of Higher Education at CHEI at Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. Her background is in linguistics and international education management.
Past Workshops
Workshop with Dr. Shanton Chang
Stepping Up Recruitment of International Students at Komensky University in Bratislava
Workshop with Dr. Barbara Kappler
Intercultural Communication Frameworks at VUT Brno
Workshop with Dr. Jos Beelen
Internationalizing the Curriculum at Comenius University in Bratislava
Workshop with Dr. Shanton Chang
Enhancing Interactions and Engagement between International and Home Students
Workshop with Dr. Barbara Kappler
Advancing Intercultural Skills for IROs at University of Ostrava
Workshop with Dr. Jos Beelen
Internationalizing the Curriculum at Slezká University in Opava