UNIVERSITY NEWS

Global Leadership Program wins prestigious award

Macquarie University has become the first Australian institution recognised for internationalising its campus through the Global Leadership Program.

The Institute of International Education (IIE) has announced the winners of the annual IIE Andrew Heiskell Awards for Innovation in International Education with Macquarie University’s Global Leadership Program (GLP) receiving the award for Internationalising the Campus.

The awards showcase the most innovative and successful models in practice today for international education, with a particular emphasis on initiatives that remove institutional barriers and broaden the base of participation in study abroad and promote international teaching and learning on campus.

The first of its kind when it launched in the Australian university sector in 2005, Macquarie’s GLP is the country’s flagship tertiary global leadership program and has more than 3600 active participants in more than 200 academic disciplines.

GLP is a voluntary, extra-curricular learning and engagement program that students design according to their own interests and complete at their own pace. Students are required to complete a workshop series, attend tailored keynote speaker and networking events and complete an experiential credit component, which ranges from short-term study abroad to learning a new language to attending internationally themed seminars and study tours, such as a Domestic Symposium in Canberra or an International Symposium in Brazil.

The program is the only extra-curricular activity formally recognised on the official Macquarie University Academic Transcript, and provides flexibility for students to complete the requirements on campus at no additional cost. Committed to building a pipeline of global citizens, Macquarie University also selects local high school students to begin the Global Leadership Entry Program (GLEP) during their senior year. It boasts a track record of results in developing cross-cultural competency, leadership capability, understanding of global issues, community responsibility and global citizenship.

“The Global Leadership Program has broadened student understanding of some truly vital skills, including understanding of culture, leadership and global issues, and extended the learning opportunities for Global Leadership Program students far beyond the classroom,” said Professor Sherman Young, Pro Vice Chancellor Learning and Teaching.

Program manager Chloë Spackman explains that GLP graduates are distinguished by their strong sense of global justice, acute awareness of the issues affecting the global community, and a keen awareness and enthusiasm for working together to achieve a better world for all.

“No matter where they go, Global Leadership Program students take with them a global mind-set that drives them to serve others, be active members of the community, and to lead by example.”