The IGlobal program, housed in the College of Education’s Office of International Programs, provides online global fieldwork for the College’s preservice teachers and professional development for in-service teachers around the world. The program facilitates connection between the U. of I. campus and home cultures for Illinois international students and it creates opportunities for local and international middle school students to collaborate on real world challenges across languages and cultures.

“At Illinois, we are fortunate to have such valuable global learning opportunities for local schools and schools around the world, aimed at creating a globally competent society—a vision that our Senator Simon also shared,” said Allison Witt, director of International Programs in the College of Education at Illinois. “We’re very proud of this award, and most especially of the undergraduate and graduate students who bring their creativity, dedication, enthusiasm, and teaching skills directly to the world through IGlobal. Thank you to our interdisciplinary colleagues across campus and abroad who support the program with their passion and expertise.”

With steady growth since its launch, IGlobal currently engages 57 preservice teacher undergraduates with 10 Illinois international students to lead over 1,100 middle school students from 20 countries in online learning. First, preservice teachers complete six weeks of training in technology and teaching, language education, sustainability and intercultural cooperation. Next, preservice teachers collaborate internationally, with partner classrooms, to lead one-hour online sessions over eight weeks with middle school students covering United Nations Sustainable Development Goals topics.

“IGlobal connects prospective educators with students and educators around the world in ways that help them all learn what it means to live in a global society,” said U. of I. College of Education Dean Chrystalla Mouza. “The program provides virtual international teaching and learning experiences that otherwise might not be accessible or sustainable and is a excellent example of Illinois leadership and innovation shining through our collective work.”

As a Simon Award winner, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will be and honored during NAFSA’s 2025 Annual Conference & Expo in May and featured in NAFSA’s annual report, Internationalizing the Campus: Profiles of Success at Colleges and Universities, to be published this fall.

To learn more about the NAFSA 2025 Senator Paul Simon Awards, visit nafsa.org/SimonAward.