Events - WorldKind Wednesdays, Conferences, Webinars, etc.

Upcoming Conferences & Speaking Events

Meg will be participating in the University of Florida's fall Speaker Series - "Innovations in International Education."

During her time there, she'll be leading faculty in WorldKind's newest training exercise - "When Health Goes South: An Interactive Travel Health Drill in Brazil."

Description: In this dynamic drill exercise, we’ll dive into the Amazons with a scenario that emphasizes the importance of student self-empowerment in creating Health Advocacy Plans—roadmaps to staying safe, proactive, and prepared—while also training leaders to respond to some of the most common health challenges abroad.

Upcoming WorldKind Wednesdays

Topic: Travel Health Essentials: Clinical Experts on Pre-Departure Care

REGISTER HERE: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/x_RRFzvfR_y-5do2FQf-VQ

Join two experienced nurse practitioners who served as subject matter experts for WorldKind's newly revamped Travel Health PRO module. Drawing on their extensive backgrounds in travel medicine practice, higher education, and international travel, we’ll dive deeper inside the module's development while exploring how to teach pre-departure travel health essentials effectively.

What We’ll Cover:

An exclusive look at the updated Travel Health PRO module and the development behind it
Discussion on key pre-departure health interventions – how to focus on what matters most without overwhelming students
Q&A with travel healthcare providers

Topic: Cracking the Code on Faculty Pre-Departure Engagement

Getting faculty truly engaged in pre-departure preparation? It's a perennial challenge in education abroad—and our panel has lived it from both sides.

Join colleagues who've walked in both worlds: as faculty members AND education abroad professionals. They know firsthand the competing priorities and resistance—and more importantly, we’ve got suggestions for what actually works.

Whether you're struggling to get faculty buy-in or looking to elevate your current approach, mark your calendar for WorldKind Wednesday this December. Let's transform faculty engagement from your biggest headache into your greatest asset.

REGISTER HERE: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/s1WI6CkOTCiiR4iovo1LNQ

Topic: What's new with WorldKind Academy?

REGISTER HERE: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/1vIbPJF2SQaN_tt7Gds1Zg

We spent the summer hosting "Listening Sessions" to hear from YOU about what students are struggling with most in relation to their belonging and wellbeing when abroad. We also heard your thoughts about what's been helping most with preparing students to adapt and be resilient abroad. Now, we want to report back to the field on the most common themes we heard in this month's "WorldKind Wednesday."

We'll also be sharing what's new this fall within the Academy. So, whether you're excited to hear updates or whether you've been curious for a while to learn more about what award-winning* WorldKind is all about, please join us in October.

We look forward to sharing more about how we're helping institutions meet duty-of-care obligations through specialized Travel Health & Safety and Global Competency training to prepare over 10,000 students this year before they go abroad.

*WorldKind was the inaugural winner of the Forum on Education Abroad’s InnovateEA prize (2025), won second place in DAGlobal's Innovation competition (2024), and has been a finalist for GoAbroad’s Innovation awards in “Technology” (2023, 2024, 2025), “Sustainability” (2024), and “Diversity” (2025).

Topic: Travel Health Essentials: Clinical Experts on Pre-Departure Care

REGISTER HERE: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/x_RRFzvfR_y-5do2FQf-VQ

Join two experienced nurse practitioners who served as subject matter experts for WorldKind's newly revamped Travel Health PRO module. Drawing on their extensive backgrounds in travel medicine practice, higher education, and international travel, we’ll dive deeper inside the module's development while exploring how to teach pre-departure travel health essentials effectively.

What We’ll Cover:

An exclusive look at the updated Travel Health PRO module and the development behind it
Discussion on key pre-departure health interventions – how to focus on what matters most without overwhelming students
Q&A with travel healthcare providers

Topic: Cracking the Code on Faculty Pre-Departure Engagement

Getting faculty truly engaged in pre-departure preparation? It's a perennial challenge in education abroad—and our panel has lived it from both sides.

Join colleagues who've walked in both worlds: as faculty members AND education abroad professionals. They know firsthand the competing priorities and resistance—and more importantly, we’ve got suggestions for what actually works.

Whether you're struggling to get faculty buy-in or looking to elevate your current approach, mark your calendar for WorldKind Wednesday this December. Let's transform faculty engagement from your biggest headache into your greatest asset.

REGISTER HERE: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/s1WI6CkOTCiiR4iovo1LNQ

Previous Webinars, Podcasts, & Presentations

Access Replay HERE

Overview: Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of WorldKind's new and innovative pre-departure training that was a 2024 finalist for GoAbroad’s “Innovative Technology" and “Innovation in Sustainability” awards. In this replay, you'll learn how the Traveler Trainer PROgram (TTP) on our WorldKind Academy platform can save Education Abroad staff time and resources with its pre-built AND yet still customizable modules.

The TTP is now being used to train over 9,000 students on campuses across the U.S., and you'll hear from staff at Case Western Reserve University and Texas A&M University on our partner panel as they discussed their experiences this year with using the TTP.

Access Replay HERE

Overview: In this episode of Changing Lives through Education Abroad, host Zac Macinnes sits down with Meg Ramey, Ph.D., founder and Executive Director of WorldKind, to explore how instructional design and gamified eLearning are transforming pre-departure orientations. With a background in academia, international education, and instructional design, Meg shares insights on making pre-departure training more engaging and effective in reaching today’s students. From overcoming the limitations of traditional orientations to the power of scenario-based learning, this episode is packed with actionable strategies for education abroad professionals.

Access Replay HERE

Overview: How does an education abroad office get institutional buy-in for an academic credit pre-departure course? During this WorldKind Wednesday, we were joined by a panel of Education Abroad directors to discuss how each runs their academic credit PDOs at their institutions.

Panel included:

· Jackie Palmer, Program Coordinator of International Education (Howard Community College)

· Valerie Rambin, Assistant Director of Education Abroad (Case Western Reserve University)

· Dr. Ramona Kirsch, Director of Global Learning (Hollins University)

No replay is available, but please contact us if you're interested in having WorldKind present on this topic at your upcoming event.

Overview: Unleash the power of technology to transform your Education Abroad (EA) advising! This session explores how to leverage existing digital tools to streamline communication, manage resources, and enhance the student experience. Discover best practices for conducting engaging virtual orientations, applications elements, and cultural training sessions. We'll delve into using mobile apps to provide real-time support and boost student engagement throughout their journey. Plus, explore the power of digital storytelling and social media to create a richer EA experience for all.

We used part of WorldKind's new Graphic Novel "Life of Liz" as the basis for our drill exercise and are are no working on developing it as a resource that more institutions can use to train their faculty.

Here was the teaser for the session . . .

When Liz lands in Santarém, Brazil, her luggage with all her medication is missing! As the week unfolds, her anxiety mounts as compounding factors affect her entire group.

In this dynamic tabletop exercise, we’ll dive into the Amazons with a scenario that helps students build Health Advocacy Plans—roadmaps to staying safe, proactive, and prepared—while also training leaders to respond to health challenges abroad. Don’t miss out on these real-life scenarios with a dash of worst-case whimsy.

Access Replay HERE

Overview: Kevin Sullivan, Assistant Director of Education Abroad (Case Western Reserve) and WorldKind Advisor on Accessibility along with Dr. Kathleen Burt, Director of Institutional Research and Client Services and Head of Accessibility Projects (WorldKind) share their lived experience and discuss how to improve accessibility abroad. Kathleen also walks us through the philosophy behind WorldKind's "Accessibility Abroad" module and gives a great overview of what's included in it.

Access Replay HERE.

Overview: The UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a meaningful and unitive lens for helping students recognize global challenges encountered abroad, such as poverty, inequality, and sustainability. This session explores ways to incorporate the SDGs into programming and training. Through case studies, we’ll discuss leveraging the SDGs in programming to increase retention for at-risk student groups and using the goals to build and assess global competency skills. We’ll also share gamified and virtual tools that educators can use to introduce and raise awareness of the SDGs.

Access Replay HERE l Passcode: 2!G9da9y

Overview: Still wondering what the UN’s “Sustainable Development Goals" (SDGs) are and would like a fun and easy introduction to them? Or, are you looking for ways to incorporate the SDGs into your programs, curriculum, or strategic goals?

In this replay, you can learn more about the SDGs and how to use WorldKind’s free trivia tool designed to raise "pub"lic awareness of the SDGs as you spin the wheel along with our star-studded cast of professionals from across the International Education field. Interspersed between the trivia questions, our guests highlight examples of how their organizations are working to promote the SDGs through different programs and initiatives that you can join or potentially replicate at your own institution.

Access Replay HERE. It is episode 84 "IDOL World & WorldKind Internships with Meg Ramey"

Overview: "In this podcast episode, I'm chatting with Meg Ramey. Meg is an IDOL Academy member, she is the owner of WorldKind and she is also a leader of one of our IDOL World projects. IDOL World is a volunteer section of our academy to place instructional designers with nonprofit and volunteer opportunities. Tune in to hear about the importance of real world experience and the things that make a good volunteer." Robin Sargent, Ph.D. and Founder of IDOL

Access Replay HERE

Overview: The Pennsylvania Council for International, Being Well Abroad, and WorldKind co-hosted a "Mental Wellbeing Mixer" and discussion. It was a unique virtual professional event that fostered conversations and collaboration around supporting student and staff mental wellbeing. We shared a few of our own WorldKind initiatives to help support students and staff in the education abroad space and exchanged ideas, strategies, and best practices in creating a positive and supportive environment for mental wellbeing.

Access Replay HERE

Overview: At the Forum on Education Abroad's 2020 conference, Dr. Meg Ramey was part of a panel called "Acknowledging the Elephant in the Room: Engaging Religion in Education Abroad" that discussed how to appreciate religion as an aspect of cultural awareness in education abroad programming. The presentation reviewed best practices in preparing students for engagement with religion in their host countries and how to develop meaningful cultural experiences that honor the host countries.

Access Replay HERE.

Overview: On June 18, 2024, Dr. Kathleen Burt, WorldKind’s Director of Institutional Research and Client Services, and some of our wonderful partners and experts presented at the 15th Annual Health, Safety, Security and Risk Management Institute hosted by the Forum on Education Abroad.

As WorldKind has developed its pre-departure orientations, we have increased our incorporation of animated scenarios in our modules. In consultation with subject matter experts, on this panel, we have found that we can convey complex information more efficiently through storytelling than through paragraphs of text. In this session, we look at how scenarios keep our students engaged, learning efficiently, and retaining this understanding as they apply it to their personal preparation.

Panel: Kathleen Burt, Ph.D.; Martin Rosales, M.Ed. (Assistant Director, Global Initiatives, Department of Global Engagement, Texas A&M University); Patty Sagasti Suppes, Ph.D. (Director of Global Engagement, Office of Global Engagement, Stockton University); Sandra Halbruner, DNP (Assistant Teaching Professor, College of Nursing, Penn State University)

Given the sensitive nature of these "Town Hall" discussions, no recordings were permitted.

Overview: As International Education professionals, we pride ourselves on bridging cultural divides and promoting intercultural learning, and yet we inherently face various ethical dilemmas that contradict and constrain our ideals and goals. This interactive session is an opportunity for frank dialogue about how we cope with and reconcile some of our own contradictions. Our panelists will unveil a series of ethical quandaries involving the WHO, WHERE, HOW, and WHY embedded in Education Abroad as we discuss, and perhaps tip over, a sacred cow or two. Rather than tiptoe around the taboos, we will ask session attendees to share in what may prove a cathartic airing out of our field's innate paradoxes.

WISE (2025) Panel Included:

Todd Lee Goen (Global Puzzles)

David Puente (WorldStrides)

Meg Ramey (WorldKind)

Forum (2025 Panel Included:

Ann Hubbard (University of Minnesota)

David Puente (WorldStrides)

Meg Ramey (WorldKind)

Chris Thompson (Compear Global Education Network)

No replay is available, but please contact us if you're interested in having WorldKind present on this topic at your upcoming event.

Overview: Traveling and studying abroad from the U.S. almost always requires long-distance international flights. Since these unavoidable flights are not environmentally friendly, we can engage in carbon offsetting, but that only goes so far. Once students arrive in their host countries, we can encourage them to use "aviation alternative" transportation modes that are more carbon-light than short-haul flights during independent travel times.

Additionally, as part of igniting a slow travel movement, WorldKind has recently developed a free, open-access carbon calculator tool that allows students to compare the carbon emissions of planes, trains, automobiles, and more using a familiar game--Travel Bingo--to help them learn more about each mode! The easy-to-use tool is designed to help students discover the carbon footprint of various modes of transport - from flying to biking. And the accompanying "Travel Bingo" card encourages students to earn a "Bingo" by trying out more carbon-friendly transport methods than short-haul flights every chance they get, and to post their travel stories on social media to help spread the slow travel movement.

No replay is available, but please contact us if you're interested in having WorldKind present on this topic at your upcoming event.

Overview: How does a Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) manage to be both representative of and relevant to the diverse student population who may participate in Education Abroad? Does the extent to which students interact with materials they feel represent them have an impact on their self-perception of their readiness to study abroad?

In this session, presenters share how their online PDO approaches inclusion and representation.Looking at various identity-based markers, they assess the impact of identity on student preparedness. Communication, representation, and relevancy were all assessed by student users in an exit survey, and this institutional research enables WorldKind to assess whether the PDO has met (or not) student needs.

No replay is available, but please contact us if you're interested in having WorldKind present on this topic at your upcoming event.

Overview: Meg Ramey was invited to speak to the NAFSA Christian SIG about Supporting Students in Education Abroad. Drawing upon her years as faculty leader taking students abroad from a religious-based institution, she focused on three topics:

How do we support each student's own unique spiritual development?
How can intentional programming help to nurture, develop, and also challenge students?
Finally, how do we help student engage ethically and responsibly with cultural and religious diversity while they're abroad?

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At WorldKind, we believe in the power of collaboration and knowledge-sharing to enrich the global education community.

Spring WorldKind Wednesdays

Topic: Using WorldKind's SDG Trivia Wheel

Join us for this hands-on training session and learn how to use and customize the tool for your own SDG presentations!What’s new is that we’re now able to multiply the learning and pass on the code to anyone who wants to embed the tool on their own site! Plus, we've made the tool even more fun by developing a LIVE version of it—now you can host live virtual trivia and let participants compete on their mobile devices! Join us for this hands-on training session and learn how to use and customize the tool for your own SDG presentations!

REGISTER HERE: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/MCb2PXhJSdKs5MdwLbTe4g

Topic: Accessibility Abroad

Kevin Sullivan, Assistant Director of Education Abroad (Case Western Reserve) and WorldKind Advisor on Accessibility along with Dr. Kathleen Burt, Director of Institutional Research and Client Services and Head of Accessibility Projects (WorldKind) will lead us in a discussion about improving accessibility abroad.

Learn from their experience and find out how WorldKind works to support accessibility abroad.

REGISTER HERE:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/NIN_EUVuTRiCSYpU3hQ3qg

*What is the TTP?

Travel Health and Safety training plus so much more . . . WorldKind's "Traveler Trainer PROgram," a 2023 and 2024 finalist for GoAbroad’s “Innovative Technology" award, continues to push the boundaries of conventional pre-departure training and is now being used to train over 9,000 students on campuses across the U.S. this year. The TTP's pre-built AND customizable modules take the heavy pre-departure training off your office by delivering the expert, best practice information you require in a scenario-based, gamified format that students actually like. In a nutshell, the Traveler Trainer PRO helps you equip your students to become travel PROs before they even GO abroad while also encouraging them to think critically and reflectively about how to be good global guests wherever they go in the world.

Summer Listening Sessions

When we first started developing this idea and ran a pilot project over a year ago, our field (and the world in general) was in a very different place, so we want to make sure that we are meeting today’s needs.You can help us by sharing your viewpoint and your expert input.

Join one of our upcoming Listening Sessions this summer, where you will have the opportunity to share insights, highlight challenges, and help us ensure that we’re developing what you need so that the “Belonging and Wellbeing” module is practical, relevant, and impactful. Your voice matters, and your expertise will directly influence the final design.

Be a part of something meaningful. Help us build better training from the ground up.

WorldKind, PBLLC

Learning Events

Conferences, Webinars, WorldKind Wednesdays, and more . . .

Forum on Education Abroad - 2025

Upcoming Conferences & Speaking Events

NAFSA Bi-Regional VIII & X
Philadelphia, PA
Oct. 14-17

University of Florida's "Innovations in International Education" Speaker Series
Gainesville, FL
Nov 20

Upcoming WorldKind Wednesdays

NOVEMBER

When Health Goes South: Clinical Experts on Pre-Departure Care

DECEMBER

Cracking the Code on Faculty Pre-Departure Engagement

FEBRUARY: Training Teens for Exchange: A Case Study with Amideast
02/04 from 12:00-1:00 pm ET

NOVEMBER: When Health Goes South: Clinical Experts on Pre-Departure Care
11/5 from 12:00-1:00 pm ET

DECEMBER: Cracking the Code on Faculty Pre-Departure Engagement
12/3 from 12:00-1:00 pm ET

Previous Webinars, Podcasts, & Presentations

Traveler Trainer PRO Live Demo and Q&A Replay

Leveling Up Your Pre-Departure Orientation: Effectively Preparing Today's Students for Study Abroad
(Podcast Interview on "Changing Lives with Education Abroad with Zac Macinnes")

Academic Credit Pre-departure Courses (WorldKind Wednesday-5/07/25) Replay

Tech-Powered: Leveraging Technology to Enhance the EA Experiences

When Health Goes South: A Travel Health Drill in Brazil

Accessibility Abroad (WorldKind Wednesday-4/02/25) Replay

Scoring a Winning Goal! Incorporating SDGs into student learning, program design, & assessment

U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) "Pub"lic Trivia

IDOL (Instructional Design Online) World
& WorldKind Internships

Mental Wellbeing in Education Abroad

Engaging Religion in Education Abroad

Using Scenario-based Learning and Storytelling
for Pre-Departure Preparation

"Balancing Act"
Walking Ethical Tightropes in International Education

"Igniting a Sustainable Travel Revolution"
Exploring the Path Less Traveled

"Padawan Training": Using JEDI to Support Representation and Preparedness in Pre-Departure Orientation

Supporting Students in Education Abroad
(Presentation for NAFSA Christian SIG-2024)

Subscribe to our newsletter!

WorldKind Wednesdays

& Webinars

Spring WorldKind Wednesdays

LEARN MORE
Spring 2025 - Schedule, Speakers, and More Here

March

April

May

Summer Listening Sessions

Learning Events

Conferences, Webinars, WorldKind Wednesdays, and more . . .

Forum on Education Abroad - 2025

Upcoming Conferences & Speaking Events

NAFSA Bi-Regional VIII & XPhiladelphia, PAOct. 14-17

University of Florida's "Innovations in International Education" Speaker SeriesGainesville, FLNov 20

Upcoming WorldKind Wednesdays

NOVEMBERWhen Health Goes South: Clinical Experts on Pre-Departure Care

DECEMBER Cracking the Code on Faculty Pre-Departure Engagement

FEBRUARY: Training Teens for Exchange: A Case Study with Amideast02/04 from 12:00-1:00 pm ET

NOVEMBER: When Health Goes South: Clinical Experts on Pre-Departure Care11/5 from 12:00-1:00 pm ET

DECEMBER: Cracking the Code on Faculty Pre-Departure Engagement12/3 from 12:00-1:00 pm ET

Previous Webinars, Podcasts, & Presentations

Traveler Trainer PRO Live Demo and Q&A Replay

Leveling Up Your Pre-Departure Orientation: Effectively Preparing Today's Students for Study Abroad (Podcast Interview on "Changing Lives with Education Abroad with Zac Macinnes")

Academic Credit Pre-departure Courses (WorldKind Wednesday-5/07/25) Replay

Tech-Powered: Leveraging Technology to Enhance the EA Experiences

When Health Goes South: A Travel Health Drill in Brazil

Accessibility Abroad (WorldKind Wednesday-4/02/25) Replay

Scoring a Winning Goal! Incorporating SDGs into student learning, program design, & assessment

U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) "Pub"lic Trivia

IDOL (Instructional Design Online) World & WorldKind Internships

Mental Wellbeing in Education Abroad

Engaging Religion in Education Abroad

Using Scenario-based Learning and Storytelling for Pre-Departure Preparation

"Balancing Act"Walking Ethical Tightropes in International Education

"Igniting a Sustainable Travel Revolution"Exploring the Path Less Traveled

"Padawan Training": Using JEDI to Support Representation and Preparedness in Pre-Departure Orientation

Supporting Students in Education Abroad (Presentation for NAFSA Christian SIG-2024)

Subscribe to our newsletter!

WorldKind Wednesdays

& Webinars

Spring WorldKind Wednesdays

LEARN MORESpring 2025 - Schedule, Speakers, and More Here

March

April

May

Summer Listening Sessions

NAFSA Bi-Regional VIII & X
Philadelphia, PA
Oct. 14-17

University of Florida's "Innovations in International Education" Speaker Series
Gainesville, FL
Nov 20

NOVEMBER

When Health Goes South: Clinical Experts on Pre-Departure Care

DECEMBER

Cracking the Code on Faculty Pre-Departure Engagement

FEBRUARY: Training Teens for Exchange: A Case Study with Amideast
02/04 from 12:00-1:00 pm ET

NOVEMBER: When Health Goes South: Clinical Experts on Pre-Departure Care
11/5 from 12:00-1:00 pm ET

DECEMBER: Cracking the Code on Faculty Pre-Departure Engagement
12/3 from 12:00-1:00 pm ET

Leveling Up Your Pre-Departure Orientation: Effectively Preparing Today's Students for Study Abroad
(Podcast Interview on "Changing Lives with Education Abroad with Zac Macinnes")

IDOL (Instructional Design Online) World
& WorldKind Internships

Using Scenario-based Learning and Storytelling
for Pre-Departure Preparation

"Balancing Act"
Walking Ethical Tightropes in International Education

"Igniting a Sustainable Travel Revolution"
Exploring the Path Less Traveled

Supporting Students in Education Abroad
(Presentation for NAFSA Christian SIG-2024)

LEARN MORE
Spring 2025 - Schedule, Speakers, and More Here