Background & Leadership
ICLHE's origins date back to the margins of conferences in the 1990s. Discussions at these conferences led to a series of symposia culminating in a major ICLHE conference in Maastricht (Netherlands) in 2003. This conference was followed by a second one in 2006 which led to the establishment of a loose community for people with an interest in integrating content and language in higher education.
Today, we're a fully registered association that provides a platform for the exchange of opinions, initiatives and research concerning the interface between content and language in higher education
Meet the Board
Our 2022-2024 Board
Voting for new board members takes place at each ICLHE conference

Association Chair
Ute Smit
I am a professor of English Linguistics at the University of Vienna, Austria. My main research interest lies in English (as medium of instruction) in (higher) education from the perspectives of English Medium Education in Multilingual University Settings (EMEMUS), English as a lingua franca, classroom discourse, participant beliefs and language policy research. My publications include “ROAD-MAPPING English Medium Education in the Internationalised University” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), “Conceptualising Integration in CLIL and Multilingual Education” (Multilingual Matters, 2016) and “English as a Lingua Franca in Higher Education” (de Gruyter, 2010).
For more information:
ORCID: 0000-0003-1577-0860

Association Treasurer
Patrick Studer
I am a professor at the School of Applied Linguistics in at the University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland. Over the past ten years, I have coordinated various research and teacher training projects in the area of EMI and internationalization in higher education. I take a particular interest in language sociological questions, especially in language ideologies and attitudes. Selected publications include Internationalizing Curricula in Higher Education: “Quality and Language of Instruction” (Swiss Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2018); “Ideological Conceptualizations of Language: Discourses of Linguistic Diversity” (Peter Lang, 2013) and “Linguistic Diversity in Europe: Current Trends and Discourses” (de Gruyter Mouton, 2012).
For more information:
ORCID: 0000-0002-7326-298X

Association Secretary
Emma Dafouz
I am a professor of Applied Linguistics at Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. My research focuses on English-Medium Education (EME), Classroom Discourse Analysis, Content-and-Language-Integrated Learning (CLIL), Disciplinary Literacies and Teacher Professional Development. I have published edited volumes and numerous book chapters and articles in journals such as Applied Linguistics, Modern Language Journal, System, Language and Education, etc. I have also served as Policy Advisor for Curriculum Internationalisation in my university (from 2014-19) and as member of the Spanish Rectors’ Conference in the workgroup for Language Policies and Internationalisation. At present, I am Principal Investigator of a research project known as SHIFT (https://www.ucm.es/shift/ ) which aims to explore students’ views of the internationalisation of higher education and their understanding and development of disciplinary literacies in EME.
For more information:
ORCID: 0000-0002-2396-7391

Compliance Officer
Anja Schüppert
I am an associate professor at the Center for Language and Cognition Groningen, The Netherlands. A psycholinguist by training, I use experimental settings to collect real-time data on language processing and in 2010, I co-founded the conference series "Experimental Approaches to the Perception and Production of Language Variation". I have guest edited special issues in Lingua ("New horizons in sociophonetic variation and change", 2012) and Linguistics ("Experimental approaches to the mutual intelligibility between closely related languages", 2015). While I have specialised in receptive multilingualism over the past 15 years, my current research interests include teacher and student performance in English-medium higher education. In my recent studies, I make use of eye tracking and keystroke logging technology to trace student performance in L1- and L2-taught education.
For more information:
ORCID: 0000-0002-7077-7881

SIG & RG Officier
Annette Bradford
I am a consultant and researcher at Oxford EMI and special advisor for education and policy at the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies (YCAPS). I am also an adjunct fellow at Temple University Japan. My research interest lies in the internationalization of higher education and focuses particularly on English-medium education in Japanese Universities. I am passionate about helping teachers and students succeed in international environments through professional development and intercultural learning. I was formerly co-editor for the Routledge Focus on English Medium Instruction in Higher Education series and my publications include the co-edited volume (with Howard Brown) “English Medium Instruction in Japanese Higher Education” (Multilingual Matters, 2018).
For more information:
ORCID: 0000-0001-9025-8440

Communications Officer
Jennifer Valcke
I am an Educational Developer for the Unit for Teaching and Learning (Undervisning och Lärande, UoL) at Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden). My role includes teaching, training and advising on issues related to sustainable education, intercultural/international education, English-Medium Education (EME) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). I provide support and prepare teaching staff for the challenges of the multilingual and multicultural learning space, as well as advise leadership on strategy.
For more information:
ORCID: 0000-0002-1570-0750

Communications Officer
T.J. Ó Ceallaigh
I am a teacher educator at Mary Immaculate College (MIC), Limerick where I direct a blended learning ICLHE postgraduate program. My main research interests focus on the pedagogy required for the successful integration of language and content instruction and on teacher development, with particular reference to language immersion contexts. Recent publications include articles in the International Journal of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education, Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, International Journal of Elementary Education as well as a co-edited volume on teacher education and professional development for immersion and content-based instruction (Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 2018). I participate actively in Irish and international immersion communities, serve as a consultant to immersion programs and speak regularly at conferences.
For more information:
ORCID: 0000-0002-6303-5425

Communications Officer
Julie Walaszczyk
I work as an ICLHE advisor and e-learning project coordinator for the Language and Internationalisation Unit (Faculty of Translation and Interpretation) at the University of Mons in Belgium. Since 2015, I have been supporting and facilitating evidence-informed teaching practices and approaches in EMI courses for senior faculty professors, lecturers and teaching assistants across all academic disciplines. I have been actively involved in the (re)design of English-taught courses at the faculties of Medicine and Pharmacy, Architecture, Psychology and Educational Sciences, Science and Engineering. My current fields of interest include teacher training and CPD in ICLHE, internationalisation of the curriculum and horizontal internationalisation, digitalisation of HE, collaborative online international learning (COIL) and innovative ICLHE teaching and assessment methods.
For more information: https://staff.umons.ac.be/julie.walaszczyk/pubsfr.html

Past Chair
Robert Wilkinson
I have been working at Maastricht University, the Netherlands, since 1984. An applied linguist, I was a member of the team under Prof. Geert Hofstede that started the first complete English-medium degree programme in the mid-1980s. Successful experience with this degree led to my involvement in the design and implementation of many other programmes in a wide range of disciplines, with a focus on language competences and instructional design to facilitate the learning of both content and language. The experience of Maastricht University stimulated me to publish on the process of instructional change from Dutch-medium to bilingual instruction to English-medium. In 2003, I initiated the ICLHE conference series, which has eventually led to the ICLHE Association and a series of publications. Although in phased retirement, I continue to work for Maastricht University, currently as visiting research fellow, and pursue various research projects on aspects of ICLHE and English-medium instruction.
For more information:
ORCID: 0000-0002-8737-3357

Past Board Members
Kevin Haines
2016-2019
University of Groningen, Netherlands
Joyce Kling
2016-2021
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
​
Inmaculada Fortanet Gómez
2016-2022
Universitat Jaume I, Castelló, Spain
​