Your Guide to the European Institute Sessions & Speakers

​Explore the full schedule for the European Institute, featuring engaging sessions led by expert speakers, each with detailed descriptions, learning outcomes, and speaker bios. From discussions on conflict and well-being to the impact of AI on study abroad, this program is designed to spark meaningful dialogue and innovation in the field.

Schedule at a Glance

Sessions will be held in one room with all institute attendees at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS):
Via Beniamino Andreatta, 3, 40126 Bologna, Italy​

Wednesday, November 12, 2025 (Recommended arrival date)​

• 18:30 - Casual attendee gathering (no-host event)

Thursday, November 13, 2025

• 8:00 - Registration Desk Opens
• 9:00 - Opening Remarks 
• 9:30 - Session: Gen Z and Education Abroad: Strategies for Resilience, Communication, and Learning (Coffee Break from 10:20 - 10:50)
• 12:30 - Lunch at local restaurants on your own 
• 14:30 - Session: Conflict and Wellbeing as Tools for Powerful Learning (Coffee Break from 16:00 - 16:30)
• 17:30 - Close 
• 18:00 - Welcome Reception at I Portici Hotel (Via Indipendenza 49) 

Friday, November 14, 2025

• 8:30 - Registration Desk Opens
• 9:00 - Session: Artificial Intelligence, Legal Framing, Human Rights and Opportunities: Reimagining Study Abroad in an Algorithmic Age (Coffee Break from 10:20 - 10:50)
• 12:30 - Lunch at local restaurants on your own
• 14:30 - Open Forum Dialogue (Coffee Break from 16:00 - 16:30)
• 17:30 - Closing Remarks
• 18:00 - Close

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Session Descriptions and Institute Speakers

Opening Remarks

In this opening session, leaders from The Forum on Education Abroad, the European Association of Study Abroad (EUASA), and the Association of American College and University Programs in Italy (AACUPI) will welcome attendees and set the stage for an engaging and collaborative European Institute experience.

Marissa Lombardi, Ed.D.
Vice President and Chief Learning Officer, The Forum on Education Abroad

Stephen Robinson, Ph.D.
Chair, EUASA
Director and Professor, Champlain College Dublin

​Fabrizio Ricciardelli
President, AACUPI
Director, Kent State University Florence

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Gen Z and Education Abroad: Strategies for Resilience, Communication, and Learning 

By examining Generation Z, we will explore the characteristics and expectations of today’s study abroad students. We will also examine how the study abroad experience is framed and how to prepare them for the realities ahead. From interpersonal relationships, housing, academics, to cultural differences, mental health and the influence of social media, we will discuss ways to equip students and staff to navigate differences with agency, open lines of effective, intercultural communication, and find strategies to maximize learning and development abroad. 

At the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Identify key characteristics of Generation Z and analyze how their expectations shape their experiences.
• Assess the impact of mental health challenges and discuss strategies to support well-being abroad.
• Assess how social media shapes student expectations and experiences, and explore its use as a tool for learning and managing expectations.
• Discuss practical strategies for engaging and supporting Generation Z in ways that promote agency and balance staff effort.

Kelly Bohan
Program Coordinator, Brown University in Paris

Joanne Maddux
Founder & Professional Counselor, Centered Counseling and Educational Services

Megan Griffin
Assistant Director, Student Conduct & Engagement, Florida State University International Programs

Margaret Mary (Mags) Runge
Wellness Counselor, Kent State University Florence
​Instructor, CEA CAPA Education Abroad

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Conflict and Wellbeing as Tools for Powerful Learning

Conflict and wellbeing are essential for learning. How do we balance both? International educators working onsite are responsible for student wellbeing and navigate complex conflicts on a daily basis. Understanding how ‘feelings have taken over the world’ including in politics and across social media is essential in balancing wellbeing and conflict in the service of learning. We begin the session with self-assessments and activities to connect with our physical and emotional responses to conflict. By examining ways that our brains, bodies, and emotions react and relate to the excitement and stress of global learning experiences we gain insights into how we can adapt our work to optimize challenge and support. With these perspectives we examine where and how we can refine education abroad policies, programs, and practices to foster well being and to make generative conflict a tool for powerful learning.

At the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Describe the roles of wellness, wellbeing, comfort, and conflict in learning spaces. 
• Recognize how our bodies and emotions respond to conflict. 
• Explain pervasiveness, intractability, and negativity of conflict in contemporary culture.
• Identify the aspects of education abroad that facilitate or inhibit wellness and wellbeing.
• Practice building policies, programs, and practices that facilitate wellbeing and make conflict more generative.

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Troy Gordon, Ph.D.
Director of Global Teaching & Learning, Syracuse University Abroad

Margaret Mary (Mags) Runge
Wellness Counselor, Kent State University Florence


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Joanne Maddux
Founder & Professional Counselor, Centered Counseling and Educational Services

David Wick, Ed.D.
Associate Professor; Program Chair, International Education Management
Middlebury Institute of International Studies​ at Monterey

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Artificial Intelligence, Legal Framing, Human Rights and Opportunities: Reimagining Education Abroad in an Algorithmic Age 

​As Artificial Intelligence rapidly reshapes the global landscape, how can international education remain not only relevant but vital? This workshop brings together experts in law, human rights, pedagogy, and cross-cultural competence to explore the transformative intersections between AI and study abroad. From the EU's pioneering legal frameworks and the ethical tensions between innovation and human rights, to practical applications in the classroom and the future-readiness of globally mobile graduates, this session invites participants to engage with AI not as a threat, but as a catalyst for a more reflective, equitable, and visionary international education paradigm.

At the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Identify key legal and regulatory developments in AI governance within the EU and their relevance to the field of international education.
• Evaluate the ethical implications of AI in relation to human rights, with a focus on privacy, discrimination, and access to education.
• Apply practical strategies for integrating AI tools in class and in study abroad curricula to enhance immersive learning and critical engagement.
• Articulate the role of study abroad in preparing students for an AI-influenced global job market.

Christine Bakker
Lecturer, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna Pisa, James Madison University Florence, and Syracuse University Florence

Laura Fenelli, Ph.D.
Immersive Learning Coordinator, Syracuse University Florence

Gian Franco Borio
Attorney at Law in Florence, Italy
Legal Counsel to AACUPI and EUASA

Sasha Perugini, Ph.D.
Director of Global Innovation and Director of Syracuse Florence, Syracuse University Abroad

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Open Forum Dialogue

Enhancing Cross-Cultural Communication: Supporting Sponsors for Stronger Internship Outcomes 
Marta Brambilla 
This session outlines a workshop model designed to enhance communication between interns and host sponsors by addressing cultural differences in workplace norms. Based on the IES Abroad Milan experience, the workshop focuses on implicit vs. explicit communication, encourages peer exchange, and highlights the importance of setting clear expectations. Participants will gain practical tools to support more effective, culturally aware internship experiences. 
 
Supporting Students, Sustaining Staff: Redrawing the Boundaries of On-Site Care 
Erin Tschupp 
In the field of study abroad, on-site staff are proud mentors, problem-solvers, and first responders. Increasingly, however, students also expect staff to be travel agents, therapists, and personal assistants. When demand is constant and expectations high, how we can set compassionate boundaries and protect staff wellbeing? Using real examples and experiences from the UK, this talk seeks to reframe student support across Europe, not as 24/7 service, but as sustainable, student-centered care. 
 
Climate Action is Our Business: Why International Educators Hold Unmatched Power to Cut Emissions 
Margherita Pasquini 
Climate change is everyone’s problem but international educators have an outsized opportunity to be part of the solution. Every student we send abroad represents a chance to model low-impact travel, rethink ‘who gets to go,’ and leverage our partnerships for systemic change. This talk isn’t about guilt; it’s about recognizing our sector’s unique power to slash emissions where most other service sectors simply can’t. The future of study abroad isn’t just carbon-neutral, it’s climate-justice. 
 
Connecting Art and Community in Florence: Staging Shakespeare in a Nursing Home 
Elisabetta Santanni 
This course is a collaboration between AEF, Verso Oklahoma Theatre, and the Montedomini nursing home in Florence. Students participate in a semester-long theatre workshop alongside elderly residents, culminating in a public, site-specific performance of a Shakespeare play. Using theatre as a tool for connection, the course fosters intergenerational dialogue, community engagement, and student growth in communication, empathy, and teamwork. 
 
“There’s Just Something About Them” Supporting Undiagnosed Neurodivergent Students Abroad 
Shani Smith-St Louis 
This talk focuses on supporting students who may be neurodivergent or facing mental health challenges. We will explore how to respond to student needs in ways that are sustainable for staff and meaningful for student growth and wellbeing. On-site staff are often the first to notice a student’s silent struggle; especially when they arrive without a support plan and may not be actively seeking help. Through real examples and strategies, we’ll reflect on how small actions can make a big difference. 
 
Looking Forward: Wisdom, Leadership and the Future of Global Education 
Lina Rodriguez 
Global education professionals find themselves on a critical threshold. As we shift from the world we knew to whatever future is coming next, we will need to move beyond our usual, strategic skills to incorporate both individual and collective wisdom. How is this wisdom already emerging in our practice? How might we open up to more? While the prior Quick Briefs examine the essential issues of the present, this session enquires about wisdom and the future, aiming to amplify the often-underrepresented voices and wisdom of non-US-based professionals.  ​