An international sabbatical promotes professional and personal development and can increase an individual’s value to the university, as demonstrated by several College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) faculty who have pursued such opportunities to study and conduct research in a foreign country. 

The College of ACES supports its faculty taking an international sabbatical in line with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign guidelines and for the purpose of acquiring additional knowledge and competency in their respective fields.

To support faculty who may consider such an experience in the future, the ACES Office of International Programs hosted a panel discussion that included four ACES faculty members who have recently taken international sabbaticals.

The panelists agreed they have realized overwhelmingly positive outcomes from taking a semester or year to work in a foreign country, including having access to world leaders in their respective fields, learning about a new culture, making lasting research connections, and even taking their research in new directions. 

The panelists and their respective areas of study included: 

Angela Kent, professor in the Department of Natural Resource and Environmental Sciences, is currently on sabbatical at the Institut Agro Digon, INRAE, in Dijon, France working on plant-associated microbiomes and sustainable nitrogen cycling. She joined the event via Zoom. Kent found her sabbatical connection while participating in the ACES Global Academy, and her visit is partially funded by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).  

Alexander Lipka, associate professor in the Department of Crop Sciences, took a sabbatical during early 2024 at the Roslin Institute in Scotland, where he learned how to perform forward-in-time simulations, a method that has already greatly impacted his work to accelerate the development of high-performing crops. “This method involves simulating a population of plants, and then selecting individual plants to cross for the next generation, simulating the resulting offspring, and then selecting individual offspring plants to cross, etc.” he explained.

Carena van Riper, associate professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, took a sabbatical during the 2022-2023 academic year at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) in Vienna, Austria. She collaborated on “Multiple values of parks and protected areas,” a project identifying pathways for protected area communities – in Austria and the U.S. – to become better positioned to adapt to global environmental change. 

Sandy Dall’erba, professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award for a sabbatical during the 2022-2023 academic year to work with colleagues at the University of Zaragoza, Spain, and the University of Toulouse, France, where he conducted a comprehensive exploration of the characteristics of the water required for the global food system and identified  opportunities for specific countries to save water resources.  

After sharing their specific individual experiences, the panelists answered questions from the audience on how to handle moving spouses and partners, children, pets, and other concerns about leaving one's residence for an extended amount of time.

Although there are challenges to such an extended stay, Lipka assured the audience, “This was a great experience for my entire family.” 

The panelists provided sound advice on how to approach the experience.

“Allow yourself some time to adapt to the culture," advised Dall’erba.

All agreed, “Don’t spread yourself too thin,” and instead focus on building meaningful relationships rather than trying to meet too many people. 

“Ideally this should be a restorative experience,” added Kent. 

Though it is more difficult to advise graduate students from abroad, the panelists agreed it is easier now that virtual meetings have become commonplace. 

“In my absence, I had to give my students more responsibility, and they ended up appreciating this opportunity to take on a management role in a research project,”  noted van Riper. 

Lauren Karplus, assistant director of ACES Office of International Programs, moderated the panel.  

“The ACES Office of International Programs will continue to support our faculty as they pursue opportunities for international sabbaticals. We maintain a list of updated funding opportunities and practical information to consider,” she said.