In celebration of their 10^th anniversary, the accrediting body ASIC (Accreditation Service for International Schools, Colleges & Universities) has scheduled its first international conference. AIU was invited to participate in this conference alongside other respected and dedicated higher learning institutions around the world. The first ASIC International Conference 2017 was held from September, 20^th to the 21^st in modern Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

               ASIC’s renowned accreditation has extended worldwide and gathered institutions from all over the world. The West and East met in one room, representing educational institutions from places such as America, Mexico, Guatemala, England, France to the Middle East, China, Australia, and Malaysia as the hosting nation already home to a vibrant mix of cultures and traditions as well as an economic epicenter in South East Asia. This represented a great opportunity to share ideas and connect with global peers in one important topic, and the key theme of the conference this year: Internationalization.

               Internationalization, or as we are bit more familiarized with the term of Globalization, was utilized to highlight the growing demand of abroad educational experiences. Whether it is via online or on campus, everyday more and more students are seeking to expand their education beyond their own national borders. This allowed for new agreements and partnerships between schools to be arranged in order to collaborate in the exchange of students seeking to study abroad. Among the newly established partnerships, the Association of Arab Universities signed an agreement to work with them to develop QA systems throughout the region and international partnerships between their members and institutions worldwide. Similarly, other partnerships such as with the International Academic and Management Association of India will allow ASIC to continue expanding its global reach.

               AIU was glad to accept ASIC’s invitation and participate in their first international conference in Malaysia, where we emphasized our innovative Andragogic and Open Curriculum principles via distance learning. AIU has been pioneering in the Internationalization concept by offering students from all over the world the option to pursue a top quality educational experience with an American institution from the comfort of their homes. AIU continues to expand its global recognition with ASIC’s accreditation and by always providing a modern practical custom-tailored and high quality academic experience to all of our students.