Key Past & Upcoming Events

Academic Connections Events

All activities for students and educators are at no cost and delivered online in a communicative, dialogic format.

Event Formats

As an emerging non-profit, Academic Connections currently is offering student and educator COIL opportunities in the following formats:

School Break 5-Week Projects offer content focused learning opportunities with discussions for First, Second, or Additional Language speakers of English with a range of proficiency levels that are middle school, high school or university students. A CEFR A2 Level is sufficient for passive participation with minimal active participation. A CEFR B1 Level and above are sufficient to fully actively participate based on the students’ level.
Quarterly Book Reading Groups offer sustained, discussion-oriented learning spaces where participants engage with scholarly and practitioner texts. These groups foster reflective dialogue, intercultural understanding, and the collaborative examination of ideas that inform educational practice and social change.
Author/Practitioner Q & A Salons offer conversations with author scholars or practitioners that contextualize key texts and ideas within cultural, educational, and professional settings. These interactive sessions provide participants with opportunities to engage directly with expert perspectives, ask critical questions, and deepen understanding through dialogue.
Other Formats coming.

Recent Events

Student Focused Events

Upcoming event

Event Planning in Progress. Details to come soon.

2025 Winter Break COIL Project, November 30, 2025 - January 4, 2026- a five week online Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) forum with communicative oriented lessons on How Macro Media Shapes Us; Prominent Author and Activist Voices for Social Justice, Patriotism as Nation Branding, Journeys of Students and Educators, The Power of Education in Building Transformative Citizenship and Identity Assemblage and Multilingual Affinities as Students and Teachers.

Educator Focused Events

Winter Guest Presenter Webinar, March/April 2026 (tbd), TItle Add, Viktoriya Stavesky, EdD. The webinar shares doctoral work on the phenomenon of underrepresentation of women in executive-level academic leadership positions in higher education institutions in the Western United States, accompanied by breakout rooms and open discussion on i) the current status/recent changes of female leadership in higher education in attendees’ countries, and ii) the applicability of the recommendations from the research in their countries (i.e., opportunities, possibilities and/or challenges.

Winter 2026 Author/Practitioner Q & A Salon II, February 22, 2026, tba Event Planning in Progress. Details to come soon.

Winter 2026 Book Reading Group II, February 8 - 15, 2026, ‘Hidden in Blackness, Being Black and Being an Immigrant in U.S. Schools and Colleges’ by Chrystal A. George Mwangi & Adaurennaya C. Onyewuenyi, brings participants together for structured reading and facilitated dialogue examining the intersection of race, immigration, and education in the U.S. An exploration of how Black immigrant students navigate identity, belonging, and systemic inequities across K–12 and higher education contexts, fostering reflective discussion on equity, inclusion, and educational practice.

Winter 2026 Author/Practitioner Q & A Salon I - January 7, 2026 - a moderated conversation with a Pakistani or Afghan (still considering which one, maybe two Male and female, or only female) scholar, educator, and cultural practitioner, providing contextual insight into the sociocultural, educational, and historical environments reflected in Malala: Finding My Way. The salon emphasized regional perspectives on identity, education, resilience, and global citizenship, offering participants regional and cultural insights.

Winter 2026 Book Reading Group I, January 10 - 31, 2026, - ‘Malala, Finding My Way’ by Malala Yousafzai - A 4 week, engaging participants in guided discussion and reflective dialogue that explored the themes of identity, education, resilience, and global citizenship.

Fall 2025 Author/Practitioner Q & A Salon - January 4, 2025 - Open dialogue with co-author, Songmi Han, of ‘Greenlight to Freedom’, providing the unique experience to speak firsthand with a North Korean author and refugee regarding the book content.

Fall 2025 Book Reading Group, October 5 - September, 13, 2025 - ‘Greenlight to Freedom’ by Songmi Han & Casey Lartigue - A 12 week, discussion-oriented academic reading circle, with members, accompanied by one co-author joining weekly to enhance the weekly reading understanding and reflective dialogue on the experience of a North Korean refugee account of her escape to South Korea.

Summer 2025 Author/Practitioner Q & A Salon - September 21, 2025 - Open dialogue with author, Dr. Ondine Gage, of ‘Sustainability Education’, affording insights and background understanding of her work in Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and the book content.

Summer 2025 Book Reading Group, June 22 - September, 14, 2025 - ‘Sustainability Education, Collaborative Intercultural Learning for Positive Change’ by Ondine Gage - A 12-week, discussion-oriented academic reading circle, with members engaging in structured weekly readings, reflective dialogue, and collaborative sense-making around sustainability education and intercultural learning.