WES-CIHE Summer Institute
WES-CIHE Summer Institute brings together graduate students and early career researchers in international and comparative higher education from all over the globe.听Since the founding of the Institute, we have hosted nearly 200 participants from more than 35 countries
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About the WES-CIHE Summer Institute
The WES-CIHE Summer Institute supports the development of the next generation of international higher education leaders and scholars by connecting graduate students and early career researchers with seasoned professionals and senior scholars from around the world.听
What is it like to participate in the WES-CIHE Summer Institute?
Watch the video to learn more!
Summer Institute Info
What to Expect
At the Summer Institute, young scholars from around the world convene to share insights, challenge traditional paradigms, and propose innovative approaches to some of higher education鈥檚 thorniest problems.听
The theme of the 2026 Summer Institute is Fulfilling the Unfulfilled Promise of Higher Education.
At the Summer Institute, participants can expect to:
- engage in substantive discussions,
- share their work, in a supportive environment, and receive both written and oral feedback from established scholars,听
- network with other early-career researchers, and
- participate in discussions about important developmental topics, such as innovative methods, disseminating your scholarship, and the international job search.
We alternate between an online and an in-person format, year on year, in order to ensure that a broad diversity of early career researchers has the opportunity to participate. The 2026 Summer Institute will be offered in a fully online format.听
Event Program
The Summer Institute combines individual paper presentations, panel discussions with expert speakers and opportunities for group discussion and networking for participants and presenters.听
The full program for the 2025 Summer Institute can be found below.
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9:00 a.m. | ARRIVAL AT BOSTON COLLEGE |
9:30 a.m. | WELCOME & OPENING PANEL DISCUSSION 听 |
| 10:45 a.m. | Participant Introductions and Coffee Break |
11:30 a.m. | PARTICIPANT PAPER SESSION #1听 听 |
12:45 p.m. | Lunch Break |
1:45 p.m. | PANEL DISCUSSION 听 |
| 3:00 p.m. | Break 听 |
| 3:15 p.m. | PARTICIPANT PAPER SESSION #2 听 |
4:30 p.m. | Optional Campus Tour 听 |
| 6:00 p.m. | Wine & Cheese Reception |
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DAY TWO | |
8:30 am | Coffee, Light Breakfast, and Networking |
9:00 am听 | PANEL DISCUSSION 听 |
| 10:00 am | Break |
| 10:15 am | PARTICIPANT PAPER SESSION #3 听 |
11:45 am | LUNCH and PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSION 听 |
1:45 pm | PANEL DISCUSSION |
3:00 pm | Break |
| 3:15 pm | PARTICIPANT PAPER SESSION #4 听 |
| 5:00 pm | LESSONS LEARNED, CONCLUDING THOUGHTS, and NEXT STEPS听 听 |
| 6:00 pm | Summer Institute Ends 听 |
Speakers
A fantastic line-up of expert speakers was invited to our 2025 Summer Institute, including Savo Heleta, Tristan McCowan, Tracy Zou, Upenyu Majee, Yusuf Oldac, Jenna Mittelmeier, Miguel Lim, Phil Altbach, Laura Rumbley, Samia Chasi, Thierry Luescher, Daniela Craciun, Victoria Galan-Murros, Hans de Wit, and Meseret Hailu.
Speakers for the 2026 Summer Institute will be available in early 2026.
Paper Submission
Any graduate student or early career professional* is invited to participate in the 2026 WES-CIHE Summer Institute. Participants who wish to participate should submit a 1,000-word paper representing original research relevant to the conference theme, as well as an up-to-date CV.
Selected participants will be invited to present their paper at the Summer Institute. Selected papers will also be considered for publication in a future edition of听CIHE Perspectives.
The paper submission portal will open in early January 2026. Papers will be due by February 15, 2026. Selected participants will be informed by March 15.
* Early-career professionals are eligible if they completed their terminal degree within the past five years.
Registration Fees
No registration fees will be collected. All accepted participants can attend the event, free of charge. Space is limited.
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2024 Summer Institute Proceedings
We are delighted to present the 2024 Proceedings of the WES-CIHE Summer Institute, a joint听initiative of World Education Services (WES) and the听Center for International Higher Education (CIHE) at听Boston College.听
The theme of 2024鈥檚 Summer Institute was听Equitable Higher Education in Times of Disruption. By focusing on this听theme, our aim was to foreground new empirical and听conceptual work that seeks to advance higher education equity, profiling work from around the world听that highlighted the experiences of a diverse range of听stakeholders faced with a broad range听of 鈥渄isruptions,鈥� at the local, national and international听levels.