Employee Professional Development

Heartland Community College offers a variety of employee professional development opportunities both internally and through external partnerships. 

Goals

Professional Development in global education at Heartland Community College is coordinated by the Committee for Global Education and intends that all opportunities allow for the participants to demonstrate:

• Familiarity with specific other cultures, countries, and regions  
• Discipline-specific knowledge and skills related to internationalized content presented throughout the course 
• Appreciation for the importance of culture and context in decision-making 
• Successful navigation of cultural and linguistic differences  

Faculty Academy III: Internationalizing Your Curriculum

Every spring, this workshop will help you highlight the parts of your curriculum that can facilitate cross-cultural interactions and promote students' global understanding. Internationalization does NOT require holistic course revisions but can also be accomplished with short and targeted interventions, which can explore and foster critical thinking and diversity throughout the college. A small stipend will be provided for participants.

• This FAIII will be facilitated by Wayne Bass  

Site Visits

• Seville, Spain (March 2026)
  • Spend 10-days learning about the student program to the International College of Seville! The program is available in the summer, fall and spring and is designed for students interested in learning more about Spanish culture and history while experiencing the the bustling capital of southern Spain’s Andalusia region. 

• Tuscania, Italy (June 2026)
  • Spend 10-days immersed in the beuaty and history of this hilltop town located on the border of the Tuscany and Lazio regions of central Italy. Students will study at the Tuscania campus of the Istituto Lorenzo de’ Medici (LdM), where the curriculum has been designed to promote the historical, artistic and cultural qualities that make this part of Italy unique. Thus, courses in local History and the Culinary Arts, which reflect Tuscania’s connection to the agricultural cycles and traditions of the area are essential components of the program experience.

• Morioka, Japan (June 2026)  
  • This 2-week program is intended to provide immersive language learning where the goal is to make language come alive through experience. Students will attend Japanese language classes taught by faculty at Morioka University and take part in many cultural activities in the town so that participants can learn about the culture and civilization of Japan. 

• Toronto, Canada (July 2026) 
  • This is a professional development program open to faculty and administrators at academic institutions who want to integrate Indigenous knowledge and practices into education and engagement, and understand the relevant history of colonialism in higher education and its legacy in the present day.

• Two-Week Exchanges with Finland and the Netherlands
  • This international exchange program matches U.S. faculty and administrators with counterparts from Finland and the Netherlands with the goal of engaging in intercultural understanding, professional development, and promoting global understanding.
    
    • Overseas partners from Finland will be in the U.S. October 12-26, 2024
    • Overseas partners from the Netherlands will be in the U.S. from October 19-November 2, 2024
    • U.S. participants will travel to Finland and the Netherlands from May 10-24, 2025

Internal Resources

Employees have many opportunities to support and interact with international students through the following:

• Academic English Language Program
• Committee for Global Education
• Faculty Academy 2: Teaching non-native English speakers
• Faculty Academy 3: How to Internationalize your Curriculum
• Global Student Union

External Resources

Heartland's partnership with the Illinois Consortium for International Studies and Programs (ICISP) offers many valuable opportunities for those who wish to expand their international education experience including:

• 2-week academic exchange to Finland, Netherlands, and China
• semester faculty liaision positions to England, Ireland, and Spain
• summer liaison positions to Costa Rica, France, Ireland, Italy, and Spain
• international site visits to all our study abroad destinations
• webinars & training opportunites

Learn more about the external options available to employees through our participation in the Illinois Consortium for International Studies and Programs.