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1、COVID-19 LEARNINGS FROM THE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONLEADING WITH RESILIENCE COVID-19 LEARNINGS FROM THE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONLEADING WITH RESILIENCE A.Sarah Ilchman,Collette Agnese,Elizabeth Elmore,Taylor Schlaifer&Mirka MartelInstitute of International EducationApril 2023

2、IIE Research Publications:https:/www.iie.org/research/This report is dedicated to all team members of the Institute of International Education who have been critical to advancing our mission and programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.Our work would not be possible without them.We also acknowledge and

3、 remember the family and friends of the Institute of International Education lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.3 Table of Contents Foreword.4 Introduction.6 Methodology.6 Findings:Initial Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic.8 Team Member Perspectives.8 IIEs Initial Response to Team Members.9 IIEs Ini

4、tial Communications with Key Programmatic Stakeholders.11 Findings:Program Learnings.12 Virtual Programming.12 Data Collection and Emergency Contingency Plans.13 Increased Content for Participants.14 Virtual Outreach.15 Learnings in Program Administration.16 Serving as a Resource for the Internation

5、al Higher Education Community.17 Findings:Organizational Perspectives.18 IIE Coronavirus Task Force.18 Supporting Team Members through the Pandemic.20 Growing as an Organization.21 Conclusion.22 Acknowledgments.24 4 Foreword Thanks to our global office locations and range of international programs,t

6、he Institute of International Education(IIE)led the way for international exchange programs through the COVID-19 pandemic,facilitating widespread evacuations,initiating virtual exchange,and eventually reintroducing safe in-person exchange,even as the pandemic continues.The creation of IIEs Coronavir

7、us Task Force gave us the structure to streamline programmatic responses and share essential information and best practices at a time when circumstances were constantly in flux.In late 2019 and early 2020,COVID-19 was identified and began having limited regional impact on various IIE-administered pr

8、ograms.As the virus spread and it became apparent that the regional impact was expanding rapidly,IIE initiated a Coronavirus Task Force in February 2020.The purpose of the task force is further detailed throughout this publication and ultimately led to the interviews detailed here.As we mark the thi

9、rd anniversary of the onset of the pandemic,it is important to look back on the unforeseen changes COVID-19 has brought to almost every aspect of our daily lives.At the beginning of the pandemic in late 2019,none of us understood how much our lives,both in a work and personal context,were about to e

10、volve.In this report,we take the opportunity to speak to team members across seven countries where IIE has offices in the post-lockdown phase of the pandemic to understand the impact of COVID-19 on exchanges.We examine the lessons learned in the early days of pivoting to virtual programming and expl

11、ore the challenges and successes of continuing to use virtual components once in-person exchange resumed.We distill our findings into three primary categories:Initial Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic:Team members at IIE were in an unusual position:While the news reported layoffs and furloughs dail

12、y across the globe,IIE team members worked even harder than before to safely evacuate participants and figure out next steps for exchange programs.IIEs preexisting work-from-home policy and infrastructure allowed a fairly seamless move to full-time remote work,and staff felt supported by the organiz

13、ation.Communication volume increased dramatically,both internally and with sponsors.Program Learnings:Learning how to deliver valuable,high-quality,virtual content was essential across all aspects of program management,from recruitment and outreach to the exchange and return home.Program staff had t

14、o revise communication techniques and reconsider synchronous and asynchronous content delivery.Many programs plan to keep some of these elements moving forward.Organizational Perspectives:IIEs Coronavirus Task Force has evolved into a permanent Emergency Task Force,reinforcing IIEs priority to remai

15、n prepared for all kinds of future emergencies.This group is focused on building valuable resources for program teams and increasing information and best practice exchanges across the organization.This group was not the only emergency team working on pandemic responses.IIE also placed emphasis on 5

16、supporting team members.It became very clear to us that,to support programs and sponsors we had to take care of team members first.Cross-training to allow much-needed breaks for team members was a priority,as was identifying team members who could pivot in crisis.These priorities continue to inform

17、hiring practices today.As the world increasingly returns to pre-pandemic levels of travel and exchange,IIEs core work and aims remain the same.The essentiality of international exchange and cultural diplomacy has been reaffirmed.It is clear that virtual components are incredibly valuable but will ne

18、ver replace in-person exchanges.Although the nature of the work remains,the experience of living and working through the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed us to modify many parts of our work,particularly encouraging us to recognize that we can be flexible and nimble in areas where it did not seem possibl

19、e before.A.Sarah Ilchman Co-President Chair,IIE Emergency Task Force Institute of International Education 6 Introduction Thanks to our administration of programs across the globe,the Institute of International Education(IIE)saw the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic from its very earliest days,assisti

20、ng participants in Asia with evacuation and general guidance at the onset of the pandemic.Because of this early understanding of the potential impact of COVID-19,IIE was ahead of the curve in creating the Coronavirus Task Force in February 2020.Before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a global emer

21、gency,we were already considering the widespread impact on our programs and participants.IIE originated in 1919 and has faced numerous social and political realities that have influenced our work throughout our history.Although IIE has persevered through 12 pandemics,there was no one emergency scena

22、rio to replicate when it came to COVID-19.We wanted to conduct these interviews and write this report about this historic time because of the considerable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,and with the hope that it will provide guidance in the future should we face something like this again.The COVID-

23、19 pandemic that originated in late 2019 is unique because it affected all aspects of the organization,from IIEs team members and their health and safety to the work we all do and how we carry it out.It is possible to say that,as a result,this event and its consequences were unlike other events the

24、organization has faced in the past.This report provides a living history of IIEs reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic as an organization,the effects of the health crisis on its team members and work,as well as lessons learned for IIE and other organizations that can be shared with the field of internat

25、ional education and beyond.In reflecting on IIEs response to the COVID-19 pandemic,we sought to address three key research questions:How did IIE as an organization react to the COVID-19 pandemic?What were the adaptations and learnings throughout COVID-19 regarding how we do our work?What can we lear

26、n as an organization about preparing for other emergencies or crises?Our role in producing this report was to evidence IIEs ability to continue its work throughout an emergency.We focused on what we learned from this time,as not all aspects of our work continued without challenges.To this end,we aim

27、ed to make conclusions about the lessons that IIE and other organizations can carry forward.Methodology The research team consisted of members of the IIE Coronavirus Task Force,whose structure and purpose is detailed further in the section on Organizational Perspectives.The task force provided a spr

28、ingboard for us to discuss the idea behind this report and its initial structure.We also reviewed preliminary data about IIEs response to COVID-19,including research by IIEs communications team and some program teams.In summer 2021,we designed an interview protocol and a list of IIE team members to

29、interview for research purposes.Our focus was to interview team members across the 7 organization,including staff who had joined IIE during the COVID-19 pandemic and those who had been with the organization for more than 20 years.We also wanted to hear from IIE team members across various job profil

30、es,from program analysts to IIEs executive leadership team.Finally,we spoke to team members across a range of IIE-administered programs and locations.Between August 1 and September 1,2021,the research team conducted 28 interviews with 58 IIE team members.All departments across IIE were represented,a

31、nd the total number of respondents covered approximately 10%of IIEs workforce at the time,spanning locations in China,Egypt,Hungary,India,Mexico,Thailand,and the United States.Most interviews lasted one hour and were recorded.The research team prepared preliminary outcomes and met at a research work

32、shop to identify common themes,followed by collaborative writing.The three main sections of the report map to the research questions:Initial Responses,Program Learnings,and Organizational Perspectives.The conclusion presents our learnings.We include quotes from IIE team members throughout each chapt

33、er for further context,and some quotes have been edited and shortened for clarity.8 Findings:Initial Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic The first chapter of our report delves into IIEs initial reactions and reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic.Throughout this analysis,we focus on team members reacti

34、ons as the pandemic progressed in late 2019 and early 2020,and the subsequent reactions of IIE-administered programs.This was a necessary entry point to our analysis,as it allowed team members to reflect on a time when their professional and personal lives were initially affected by COVID-19.Team Me

35、mber Perspectives As we heard in our interviews,the COVID-19 pandemic was primarily a humanizing experience;nearly everyone interviewed talked about their home(non-work)life.We often heard that team members were worried about grantees who were scared,but they also were scared themselves.Many opened

36、up about the emotional ride they were a part of,both at work and home.“We have gotten to know one another on a very different level.I feel that I have true relationships and partnerships with these individuals now because we talk so often and have these conversations and figured out how to do our wo

37、rk together.”“One of the things that I find so interesting about this time is that we were not only understanding how our work was changing tremendously but also how our own lives were changing.This wasnt some issue that was happening across the globe,that we were getting people home to get them saf

38、e.We also needed to figure out how to keep ourselves safe,and to be in that mode is exhausting,to say the least.Youre not only trying to save the people out there;youre trying to save yourself.”There was variance in IIE team members understanding of the pandemics scope as events unfolded.Some team m

39、embers knew about COVID-19 well before others,specifically if their programs operated in China or had participants in China.Although the shutdown in the United States did not begin until March 2020,some teams were aware of the unfolding situation as early as December 2019.For example,IIEs office in

40、Beijing responded rapidly as events unfolded in November and December of 2019.The office worked with a Fulbright Scholar who was placed in Wuhan,China,and needed to be evacuated as soon as possible before being locked down.A team member in China also shared that the unfolding events were similar to

41、the severe acute respiratory syndrome(SARS)situation years before.“It reminded me of a time when our country was dealing with SARS.Although it was 20 years ago,many people do have very fresh memories.”That said,even these team members were taken aback by the sheer size of the lockdown effort in Chin

42、a.“I still remember the day when we locked down.It was January 23,2020.Lots of people around the world were shocked,it was totally unprecedented in the countrys history.And theres no way that they can lock down the entire city with over 10 million residents.”9 Team members in China,both in Beijing a

43、nd Hong Kong,felt that IIE and the program sponsors carefully managed the evolving situation and were in close communication during the first months of 2020.They also felt that many of the sponsors were sensitive in their communication and understood the realities of IIEs work and how it was affecte

44、d in China,specifically those who also had offices in China.“They the program sponsor understood the situation because they also have an office in China,and their headquarters in China is in Shanghai.”IIE team members in other locations expressed their view that the issue initially felt“isolated”in

45、China,so they did not feel that actions would be taken immediately.Many team members shared that,while they understood the seriousness of the situation,they felt this would be a temporary shift to remote work.As some had already experienced this in other contexts due to health or natural emergencies

46、,teams felt this would be a similar situation that would last a few weeks or at most a few months.The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic to Italy was seen by many team members as a turning point,where the view of the crisis being tied to one location or country could not be ignored.“I remember in Decem

47、ber having lots of communication with Beijing and the team there and what this meant for team members in Beijing,and for Fulbrighters and other IIE program participants who were either there or hoping to come from there to here,and feeling like at least in the beginning it was isolated,right?It was

48、Wuhan.It was China.And sort of feeling like OK,this is hard,but its just there and we can work around it.”“So once it left one region and Italy became the hotspot then were looking at multiple regions once you have two dots now youre thinking,three and four,so for those countries that hadnt even sta

49、rted their grants or had just started their grants how do we maneuver.”Throughout our interviews,team members were very candid in offering personal reflections on their work and lives in the beginning months of the COVID-19 pandemic.This opportunity to reflect on their experience was welcome,even if

50、 some of the memories were challenging to discuss,as they included emotional topics like the urgent emergency evacuation of students or scholars,the unique situational factors of their home lives,physical and mental health,and other factors like the Black Lives Matter movement.“We saw Black Lives Ma