International education has the power to transform lives, open doors and create connections that last well beyond the classroom. Yet, when the sector talks about its value, personal stories and individual experiences are often scattered across countries, institutions and organisations.
A new global initiative aims to change that. ICEF is proud to be a Founding Partner of Made Impact, an initiative focused on demonstrating the real impact of international education through evidence and lived experience.
At the heart of Made Impact is the Million Stories Initiative, an ambitious project that aims to create the world’s largest archive of international education stories.
The initiative will bring together experiences from students, alumni, education institutions and organisations around the world. By capturing these stories at scale, Made Impact hopes to create a richer and more representative picture of what international education means for individuals, communities and society.
For the international education sector, this presents an important opportunity. Stories about studying abroad, building international friendships, developing new skills and creating global career opportunities can provide valuable insight into the impact of international education.
However, bringing these experiences together in one growing body of evidence could help the sector go further, providing a stronger foundation for conversations about the wider value of international education.
As a Founding Partner, ICEF will help engage its extensive international education community in capturing and sharing stories for the Million Stories Initiative.
This involvement reflects the importance of collaboration across the sector. Education agents, institutions, students, alumni and other organisations all have a role to play in documenting the experiences that demonstrate why international education matters.
ICEF CEO Markus Badde highlighted the importance of bringing these experiences together.
“International education changes lives every day. By bringing together real stories and credible evidence from across our global community, we can demonstrate that impact more clearly and more convincingly than ever before.”
For a sector operating across borders and serving millions of learners, building a stronger evidence base can help ensure that its contribution is better understood by policymakers, education leaders and wider society.
Personal stories have always played an important role in international education. A student describing how studying overseas changed their career, an alumnus explaining how an international experience shaped their outlook, or an institution sharing the long term benefits of global collaboration can all illustrate the difference international education can make.
The challenge is bringing these individual experiences together to demonstrate broader patterns and impact.
That is central to the vision behind Made Impact.
Founder Chris Arnold describes the ambition as moving the sector “away from isolated anecdotes and toward empirical proof of its societal value.”
The Million Stories Initiative is designed to help make that shift possible by creating a substantial collection of experiences that can contribute to a stronger understanding of international education and its impact.
The international education landscape continues to evolve, with governments, institutions and organisations considering questions around student mobility, employability, international collaboration and the contribution of education to society.
Against this backdrop, having credible evidence about the outcomes of international education is increasingly important.
A global collection of student and alumni experiences could help illustrate the many ways international education contributes to personal development, professional opportunities, cultural understanding and international connections.
It could also give the sector a stronger platform for communicating its value to audiences beyond international education itself.
Rather than relying solely on statistics or individual success stories, combining quantitative evidence with lived experiences has the potential to provide a more complete picture.
The Made Impact initiative will take centre stage at the Made Impact Summit, taking place on 31 August and 1 September 2026 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The summit will bring together leaders from across the international education sector to explore how a growing body of evidence can strengthen the global case for international education.
The event represents an important opportunity for sector leaders to consider how international education can better demonstrate its contribution and how shared evidence can support conversations at an international level.
With ICEF supporting the initiative as a Founding Partner, its global community will have an important role in helping build this evidence base.
The Million Stories Initiative is ultimately about participation. Every student experience, alumni story, institutional partnership and educational journey can contribute to a better understanding of the impact of international education.
For education providers and organisations, it offers an opportunity to help showcase the outcomes that sit behind the numbers. For students and alumni, it provides a platform to share experiences that may inspire others considering an international education journey.
As the initiative develops, the collective contribution of the international education community will be key to its success.
ICEF’s involvement as a Founding Partner underlines the importance of working together to demonstrate the value of international education and ensure that its impact is supported by both compelling stories and credible evidence.
Find out more about Made Impact and the Million Stories Initiative at madeimpact.org.
2026 SchoolsandAgents (C) - Developed by Websuccess