GoAbroad Innovation Award Nominations | GoAbroad Corporate Blog

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AWARD NOMINATION DETAILS

Nominations for the 2026 GoAbroad Innovation Awards are now CLOSED!

Winners in all categories, except Innovation Student Video and People’s Choice, will be selected by a committee of international education professionals known as the GoAbroad Innovation Award Academy.

You may nominate an individual (including yourself), or an office, institution, or organization.

You and/or your office, institution, or organization do not need to be NAFSA members to be nominated or to win. Additionally, you do not need to be present at the conference to win, but we hope you will be there!

The top five finalists in each category will be provided with a “GoAbroad Innovation Awards Finalist” badge to display on their NAFSA booth and website (if applicable).

The purpose of the Innovation Awards is to:

Commend leaders. There are incredible individuals working hard every single day to move our field forward. We not only want to honor them, we aspire to uphold their work ethic and creativity in our own professional lives.
Recognize excellence. Some of our colleagues set the bar for our field. Let’s recognize and honor those high standards!
Throw a party. Who doesn’t love to clink glasses, shout “Cheers!”, dance, and laugh for hours with our colleagues turned friends? After a long week of networking and sitting in on presentations, we don’t mind using our reception as an excuse to let loose and relax with other professionals in the field.
Say thank you. We wouldn’t be who we are—as a business, as professionals, as individuals—without the ongoing support from our partners. Thank you ALL for your contributions to our field and the success of GoAbroad. It’s fun to connect users to programs when they’re as awesome as our partners’ programs are.

AWARD CATEGORIES

The GoAbroad Innovation Awards are divided into the following categories (see detailed criteria below):

Innovation in Philanthropy, Sponsored by the GoAbroad Foundation
Innovative Marketing Campaign
Innovation in Artificial Intelligence
Innovative Travel App
Innovative Program of the Year
Innovation in Global Citizenship
Innovation in Accessibility, Sponsored by Fund for Education Abroad
Innovation in Climate Action, Sponsored by Sustained Travel
Innovative Collaborative Partnership
Innovation in Adventure-Based Programming
Innovation in Ethical Programming
Innovative Student Video
Innovation in Global Respectful Disruption Leadership, Sponsored by Compear Global Education Network
People’s Choice (Study Abroad, Intern Abroad, Volunteer Abroad, TEFL/Teach Abroad), Sponsored by Nomad eSIM

Nominations are evaluated on their originality, creativity, and contribution of exceptional ideas. An institution or organization may nominate themselves. We encourage your organization and participants to apply for these prestigious awards.

Award Criteria

Innovation in Philanthropy, Sponsored by the GoAbroad Foundation
This award recognizes philanthropic efforts that have impacted an individual, group, or local or global community. Sponsored by the GoAbroad Foundation, the award seeks to honor organizations that demonstrate innovative corporate responsibility and philanthropy. We encourage submissions that profile significant charitable donations or fundraisers, corporate volunteer programs, unique philanthropic campaigns, or any event or program that demonstrates an organization’s philanthropic commitments. Nominations will be evaluated based on originality and the estimated impact on an individual, group or community.

Innovative Marketing Campaign
This award recognizes a creative and groundbreaking marketing, advertising, or digital media campaign. The academy will pay special attention to visionary approaches and original ideas. Your submission must detail a specific outreach campaign, social media campaign (i.e. Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Blogging, etc.), change in website design or user experience, new print materials, videos, or other strategy. Nominees are evaluated based on originality of campaigns, creativity, and overall success.

Innovation in Artificial Intelligence
This award honors a standout use of artificial intelligence that meaningfully advances international education. It recognizes initiatives that apply AI in innovative, responsible, and ethical ways to support participants, improve program implementation, strengthen operations, and enhance learning or engagement, showing how technology can be thoughtfully integrated across the global education experience.

Innovative Travel App
This award recognizes a travel-focused mobile or web application that enhances the international travel or education experience. The winning app demonstrates thoughtful design and innovation by providing practical tools, useful information, or supportive features that help travelers plan, navigate, and engage more confidently before, during, and/or after their journeys abroad.

Innovative Program of the Year
This award recognizes an exceptional international program that has been active for at least 12 months and demonstrates outstanding overall impact. The winning program excels in participant experience, meaningful engagement, and effective program management, supported by authentic and verifiable participant feedback, while delivering strong learning and cultural outcomes and setting a high standard for excellence in the field.

Innovation in Global Citizenship
This award recognizes an organization whose alumni’s actions demonstrate a strong commitment to global citizenship and lasting positive impact. It highlights an individual who has applied their international education experiences to create meaningful change through leadership, engagement, and contributions that positively affect communities on a global scale. Submissions require a video created by an organization that showcases the alumni’s impact and broader contributions to global citizenship.

Innovation in Accessibility, Sponsored by Fund for Education Abroad
This award recognizes strategic efforts to expand international educational opportunities to traditionally underrepresented groups. We encourage submissions from organizations focusing on providing equal access and services to a wide variety of communities including LGBTQIA, diverse abilities, minorities, and other non-traditional groups. Nominations are evaluated on their creativity and scope to promote, provide equal access, and give specialized support to these groups.

Innovation in Climate Action, Sponsored by Sustained Travel
This award honors commitment to environmental conservation and/or sustainable community development projects through an organization’s programs and day-to-day operations. Nominees are assessed on overall impact, groundbreaking strategies, and integration of their message.

Innovative Collaborative Partnership
This award recognizes an innovative collaborative partnership that demonstrates the power of working together to create meaningful impact. The partnership should set an example of creative and effective collaboration, bringing together organizations, teams, or stakeholders to develop new ideas, expand opportunities, or enhance experiences through a shared vision.

Innovation in Adventure-Based Programming
This award recognizes a tour, expedition, or outdoor learning program that delivers meaningful educational and cultural experiences. The winning program demonstrates strong planning, responsible leadership, and engaging on-the-ground execution, offering participants hands-on learning, immersion, and active involvement through travel and exploration.

Innovation in Ethical Programming
This award celebrates innovative approaches to ethical program design in international education and travel. Nominees are evaluated based on how effectively they embed ethics into their procedures, cultural immersion practices, and community impact, demonstrating intentional and responsible engagement with people, places, and cultures.

Innovative Student Video
This award recognizes a student-created video that captures the true essence of an international education program. Videos should highlight the program experience, demonstrate global awareness, and show active student participation. Finalists will be selected, and the winner will be determined by the video receiving the most likes on GoAbroad’s Instagram. Videos must be five minutes or less and are evaluated for content quality, creativity, and artistic merit.

Innovation in Global Respectful Disruption Leadership, Sponsored by Compear Global Education Network

This award honors organizations, institutions, and individuals in global education and beyond who exemplify bold leadership in challenging conventional paradigms. It celebrates equity-driven innovators who foster systemic change while advancing diversity, inclusion, and justice through the principles of Respectful Disruption Leadership.

Nominees lead with respect, courage, creativity, and compassion, developing initiatives, programs, or policies aligned with these principles.

People’s Choice (Study, Intern, Volunteer, TEFL/Teach), Sponsored by Nomad eSIM

This award recognizes the top organization in each GoAbroad program directory, including study abroad, intern abroad, volunteer abroad, and TEFL. It celebrates organizations that resonate most with the GoAbroad community for their programs, impact, and overall experience, with winners selected through a popular vote.