Participants in IIE programmes – over half of whom were women – were up by around 5,000 compared to the previous year, the non-profit’s annual report shows.

“We’re very proud of how we can help governments, foundations and corporations to invest in international education”

Growth was driven largely by inbound mobility through programmes such as the Brazilian government-backed Brazil Scientific Mobility Program, with the largest student cohorts coming from Brazil, Pakistan, Indonesia, China and Saudi Arabia.

“We’re very proud of how we can help governments, foundations and corporations to invest in international education,” Daniela Kaisth, vice president for external affairs and IIE initiatives, told The PIE News.

Just over half – 52% – of IIE’s revenue came from foreign governments and overseas organisations last year.

A further third came from US government agencies, and 7% from foundations and research organisations.

Outbound numbers are also up slightly, with 5,386 US students given financial backing by IIE to study abroad in 2014.

India, Brazil and China were the most popular destinations for scholarship recipients.

IIE has seen a marked interest in international education both in the public and private sectors in recent years, Kaisth said, and continuing steady support from the US government in the last year through scholarships such as the Fulbright Program, the government’s flagship educational exchange programme in partnership with foreign governments and bi-national organisations around the world, which IIE administers.

“Interest in international education is growing, we find, in terms of the transformational impact it can have on the individual and on the world, which is wonderful for IIE,” she said. “We’re just seeing increasing interest and energy and we really welcome that and want to do more.”

Outbound mobility has been a particular focus for IIE in the last year, during which it launched its Generation Study Abroad initiative to double outbound student mobility to 600,000 by 2019.

“Interest in international education is growing, in terms of the transformational impact it can have on the individual and on the world”

“We’re very proud of Generation Study Abroad – it’s really galvanised many universities, NGOs and governments,” Kaisth said, adding that IIE is aiming to increase private sector participation in 2015.

In addition, IIE also provided financial support enabling two-way exchange for 111 US and 1,261 international teachers in 2014 through schemes such as Fulbright and the Japan-US Teacher Exchange Program.

The report also notes that for the seventh year in a row, independent evaluator Charity Navigator awarded IIE four out of a possible four stars for excellence in nonprofit management.

“Only 2% of charities have received at least six consecutive 4-star rating, indicating that IIE outperforms most other charities in America,” it notes.

Writing in the report, chairman of the board and IIE president Thomas Johnson said that the organisation’s work is “more necessary than ever”.

“By empowering people with knowledge and giving them the opportunity to study and conduct research outside of their cultures and comfort zones—as well as saving the lives of scholars who are caught in the crossfire of conflicts—we can contribute every day to making the world safer for all,” he said.

His comments foreshadowed the launch of IIE’s Artist Protection Fund, supported by a $2.79m grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The three-year pilot fellowship programme will place artists who face persecution in their home countries in universities and arts centres around the world.