Bringing Global Expertise to Advance Innovative and Future-Ready Higher Education

May 18, 2026

By Nadya Maharani

Depok, Indonesia — Dr. Lisa Abendroth, Hoffman Melrose Toro Endowed Professor of Marketing Innovation at the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, USA, joined Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII) as a Fulbright Specialist from April 13 to 28, 2026.

The project was initiated as part of the UIII’s commitment to strengthening graduate education through marketing perspectives. As a relatively new international university, UIII understands the importance of evaluating its academic strategies, improving institutional practices, building stronger awareness among stakeholders about program development, curriculum innovation and program marketing.

Through this collaboration, UIII gained meaningful dialogue, and knowledge exchange from Fulbright Specialist. Throughout two-week program, various strategic sessions were conducted, with different target of audiences, including university leadership, faculty members, students and staff from different units within UIII. The program was not only focused on sharing expertise, but also on encouraging collaborative discussions about how university can adapt to rapid changes in higher education and global educational demands. UIII was very honoured and received insightful knowledge from international expert who facilitate and contribute to UIII capacity building across multiple academic programs and administrative sectors.

The sessions explored emerging issues in global higher education, including graduate program innovation and business impact, strategic program innovation which covered budgeting, budgeting, organization and crisis management, preparing future business leaders in the digital world, digital learning transformation, AI in the context of the global south, curriculum design, program marketing and admissions, capacity building on intercultural competence, marketing thinking on educational leaders and pedagogy audit for teaching quality enhancement. Reflecting on the collaboration, Prof Lisa shared that the discussion was meaningful and closely aligned with her professional background. “The topics that we brought were very comprehensive and they truly reflected my experience and areas of expertise” she remarked.

One of the highlighted sessions was the public lecture titled “Navigating the Digital Divide: A.I. in the Context of Global South,” which explored the opportunities and challenge of artificial intelligence in developing countries and higher education institutions. The lecture encouraged participants to critically examine how digital innovation can be implemented while maintaining ethical and contextual considerations.

In another strategic discussion with the university leadership, the collaboration addressed graduate program innovation, strategic planning, budgeting, organization and crisis management. The session provided insights into strengthening institutional governance and developing strategies in response to rapidly changing global education trends.

Curriculum Design, program marketing and admissions also became some of the most engaging discussions. As a new university, we learned a lot about how to promote programs. UIII learned that how the academic programs are not only developed, but also strategically communicated and positioned to prospective students and wider communities.

Prof Lisa on the Public Lecture on pedagogy Audit in the Faculty of Education.

Other programs also facilitated interdisciplinary engagement across faculties. The Faculty of Islamic Studies (FIS), Faculty of Social Sciences (FoSS), Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), and Faculty of Education (FoE) participated in thematic discussions and guest lectures tailored to their respective academic fields.

Prof Lisa on the Workshop on Capacuty Building on Intercultural Competence

In addition to academic activities, the collaboration included a workshop on capacity building on intercultural competence for university staff. The workshop emphasized the importance of intercultural competence in supporting UIII’s increasingly diverse international academic community.

The immediate outcomes of the program include strengthen international academic networks, enhanced institutional perspectives and the development of strategic recommendation for academic quality improvement and how to market the graduate education. Beyond the formal sessions, Fulbright specialist program fostered meaningful knowledge exchange. The program has demonstrated how international partnership can contribute not only to academic excellence, but also to the development of globally minded educational ecosystems that are responsive to local and global challenges.

UIII leadership expressed appreciation to AMINEF and Fulbright Indonesia for the continued support in facilitating impactful academic collaboration. The UIII-Fulbright Specialist Program marks another important milestone in advancing UIII’s vision of becoming a leading international Islamic university.