Technology

New Report Finds Education Abroad Strengthens Leadership Skills

Published

4 hours ago

July 1, 2026

A new AIFS Foundation and IIE report examines how international education experiences shape career pathways, leadership identity, and workforce readiness across more than 20 industries.

STAMFORD, Conn., July 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — International education experiences help develop leadership skills that shape long-term career growth across industries, according to Passport to Leadership: The Influence of Education Abroad on Career Pathways and Leadership Development Across Industries, a report by the AIFS Foundation and the Institute of International Education (IIE).

Presented at the NAFSA 2026 Annual Conference & Expo in Orlando, Florida, the report is the latest in the Global Education Research Reports series between the two organizations and draws on survey responses from 44 industry leaders and five follow-up interviews. The study explores how international education experiences shape leadership capacity across sectors, including science and technology, medicine, the arts, sports, business, law, military service, education, public service, and nonprofit.

Participants described education abroad as an early turning point that influenced how they approached leadership, decision-making, and cross-cultural collaboration throughout their careers.

“As technology reshapes the modern workplace, the skills that are hardest to automate—leadership, communication, cultural intelligence, and adaptability—are becoming increasingly important. This report demonstrates how global education experiences help cultivate those skills and prepare participants to lead across industries and sectors,” said Melanie Fench, Executive Director of the AIFS Foundation.

Previous research has examined the relationship between education abroad and career outcomes. Passport to Leadership extends that conversation by exploring how leaders across sectors describe the long-term influence of international experiences on their leadership development, professional identity and career pathways.

Among the key findings:

Education abroad supports career growth. All 44 surveyed leaders reported personal or professional benefits from their international educational experiences, with 98% citing impacts on their professional growth, career trajectories, and skill development.International experiences shape leadership identity. Respondents said their experiences abroad contributed to greater self-awareness, confidence, adaptability, and the ability to lead across cultural and organizational contexts.Global exposure strengthens cross-cultural leadership. 96% of leaders said going overseas widened their mindset and supported the development of cross-cultural communication skills.International experiences strengthen strategic thinking. 78% of leaders reported that their international academic experience helped them develop a global, systems-level perspective that broadened their strategic thinking.

Brittany Hardy, monetized policy lead at Google, described how international experience has shaped her approach to leadership: “International experience is a fundamental necessity for success in the tech industry. […] In this industry, a leader who has navigated foreign environments is better equipped to anticipate how a global policy might land differently in various markets, ensuring that products remain safe and relevant for everyone. This mindset allows a professional to move from simply executing tasks to providing the strategic, inclusive leadership required to manage a worldwide user base.”

For higher education institutions, employers, and students, the findings underscore the importance of designing, supporting, and clearly articulating education abroad experiences as pathways to career readiness and leadership development.

The full Passport to Leadership report is available to read on IIE’s website and features additional findings and participant perspectives from professionals across more than 20 industries.

About the AIFS Foundation

The AIFS Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity established in 1967 with the assistance of the late Senator Robert Kennedy. The Foundation works to help young people from many nations and diverse cultures better understand one another. In partnership with corporations and foundations, the AIFS Foundation provides grants and scholarships to students participating in study abroad programs and offers grants to high schools and higher education institutions to encourage international education and travel.

About the Institute of International Education (IIE)

The Institute of International Education (IIE) is an independent, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded in 1919. IIE helps people and organizations leverage the power of international education to thrive in today’s interconnected world. Its work focuses on advancing scholarship, building economies, and promoting access to international exchange.

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SOURCE AIFS Foundation

Technology

U.S. Customs to Auction 12,000 Tons of Seized Aluminum in Riverside, California

Published

22 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

RIVERSIDE, Calif., July 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), through its sales agents Amentum and CWS Marketing Group, will conduct the second and final public auction of approximately 12,000 tons of seized aluminum profiles on July 23, 2026, in Riverside, California.

This auction represents the final offering of aluminum profiles seized by CBP in 2017. The first auction successfully sold approximately 10,000 tons, with this event offering the remaining inventory of more than 24 million pounds.

The aluminum is located at the Amentum Consolidated Storage Facility (CSF) in Riverside and consists of approximately 161,409 non-functional “pallets” stored outdoors in 623 shipping containers, which are included in the sale. The material is predominantly 6000-series high-grade aluminum alloy, with a small percentage consisting of A356 alloy. Independent laboratory analysis confirmed the aluminum is suitable for recycling and remelting for use in manufacturing across a variety of industries, including aerospace, construction, automotive, and transportation.

The July 23rd auction will feature one bulk lot totaling more than 24 million pounds of aluminum stored in shipping containers. The sale will be conducted live in Riverside, California, with online bidding available through CWS Marketing Group for those who cannot attend in-person. Participation is limited to CBP-approved buyers.

A refundable $100,000 earnest-money deposit is required for auction participation. Inspection appointments are available at the Riverside facility on July 8, July 15, and July 22, 2026. Interested bidders must schedule an appointment in advance. Appointments can be made online at cwsmarketing.com.

The controlled liquidation of federally seized materials supports responsible asset management while returning forfeiture proceeds to federal law enforcement and victim assistance programs. Recycling aluminum also provides significant environmental benefits, using approximately 95 percent less energy than producing primary aluminum.

For additional information, bidder registration, or inspection appointments, visit CWSMarketing.com

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SOURCE U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Technology

Robinhood Chain Launches and Adopts Chainlink To Unlock Access to the Onchain Economy for Millions of Users

Published

22 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

Now live on mainnet, Robinhood Chain has adopted Chainlink as its official data and cross-chain oracle to power Robinhood Stock Tokens, including NVDA, GOOG, AAPL, and more.

NEW YORK, July 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Robinhood Chain, Robinhood’s Ethereum-based layer 2 blockchain, has adopted Chainlink as its official data and cross-chain oracle infrastructure powering Robinhood Chain and all Robinhood-issued assets, including Stock Tokens like NVDA, GOOG, AAPL, and more. As part of the strategic integration, Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), Data Streams, and Data Feeds are now live on Robinhood Chain mainnet from day one, delivering verifiable data for tokenized RWAs and unlocking secure interoperability across the multi-chain ecosystem. Via Chainlink, millions of users now have unlocked access to onchain products within the Robinhood Chain ecosystem.

As one of the world’s largest financial apps going all-in on blockchain infrastructure, this marks a major milestone for the mainstream consumer adoption of onchain finance. Through Chainlink, Robinhood Chain is now natively connected across chains and able to offer its users highly secure real-world assets at scale — all powered by market-leading infrastructure that secures over 70% of DeFi and has enabled more than $31 trillion in transaction value.

Without institutional-grade oracle infrastructure, tokenized assets cannot scale or maintain the security required by regulated market participants. Operating as an Ethereum layer-2 network built on Arbitrum’s Orbit technology, Robinhood Chain addresses these inefficiencies with Chainlink by establishing an environment built specifically to unlock advanced onchain finance use cases for everyday Robinhood users.

“We’re excited to see Robinhood Chain adopt Chainlink as the official data and cross-chain oracle infrastructure powering Robinhood Chain and unlocking access to the onchain economy for millions of users. This is how the world’s largest financial services apps accelerate the transition to an onchain financial system powered by Chainlink.” — Thodoris Karakostas, Director of Global Partnerships, Chainlink Labs

“Robinhood Crypto is building the foundation for the future of investing by delivering secure access to all of our financial products directly onchain, through Robinhood Chain. We chose Chainlink as the oracle provider for Robinhood Chain because its institutional-grade security and reliability are already trusted by the world’s largest financial institutions to scale onchain ecosystems.” — Gaëtan Thabot, Director of Product, Robinhood Crypto

About Chainlink
Chainlink is the industry-standard oracle platform bringing the capital markets onchain and the market leader powering the majority of DeFi. The Chainlink stack provides the essential data, interoperability, compliance, and privacy standards needed to power advanced blockchain use cases for institutional tokenized assets, lending, payments, stablecoins, and more. Since inventing decentralized oracle networks, Chainlink has enabled tens of trillions in transaction value and now secures the vast majority of DeFi.

Many of the world’s largest financial services institutions have also adopted Chainlink’s standards and infrastructure, including Swift, Euroclear, Mastercard, Fidelity International, UBS, S&P Dow Jones Indices, FTSE Russell, WisdomTree, ANZ, and top protocols such as Aave, Polymarket, Lido, Lighter, and many others. Chainlink leverages a novel fee model where offchain and onchain revenue from enterprise adoption is converted to LINK tokens and stored in a strategic Chainlink Reserve. Learn more at chain.link.

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SOURCE Chainlink

Technology

Major Biopharmaceutical Company Files First-in-Human Trial Supported by PAK BioSolutions GMP Purification System

Published

22 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

A major biopharmaceutical company has filed a First-in-Human (FIH) clinical trial application with drug product manufactured using the PAK BioSolutions system. The milestone demonstrates the platform’s performance in GMP clinical manufacturing environments.

Drug product manufactured using the PAK BioSolutions purification system supports clinical trial submission, demonstrating real-world performance in GMP clinical manufacturing.

VIENNA, Va., July 1, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — PAK BioSolutions today announced that a major biopharmaceutical company has successfully filed a First-in-Human (FIH) clinical trial application with drug product manufactured using the PAK BioSolutions system.

PAK BioSolutions system used in GMP clinical manufacturing operations.

The PAK platform was utilized in GMP clinical manufacturing operations, supporting production of drug product used in the clinical filing. The outcome demonstrates the system’s ability to operate within regulated manufacturing environments where consistency, control, and compliance are required.

The successful FIH filing represents a meaningful validation point for the PAK System in clinical-stage manufacturing. Use of the platform in GMP operations aligned with a clinical submission highlights its capability to support drug development programs as they advance toward human trials.

“Supporting a First-in-Human filing is an important step in demonstrating the readiness of the PAK System for GMP clinical manufacturing,” said Joanna Pezzini, CEO at PAK BioSolutions. “This milestone reflects the ability of the platform to meet specifications and deliver reliable performance in a highly regulated environment.”

The use of the PAK System by a major biopharmaceutical company reflects increasing industry interest in continuous manufacturing approaches that can increase productivity and reduce manufacturing costs.

The PAK System is designed to operate multiple steps simultaneously, including:

ChromatographyVirus InactivationFiltrationUFDF

Its continuous manufacturing approach enables over 4X faster production or 4X greater output from an existing facility footprint. New facilities can be built with a 60% footprint reduction and 50% cost reduction.

Organizations preparing for clinical manufacturing are increasingly evaluating platforms based on their ability to reduce costs while maintaining process consistency with scale up. Demonstrated use of the PAK systems in a clinical filing provides an important reference point for those assessments.

For additional information about the PAK System for GMP clinical manufacturing, visit PAKBioSolutions.com.

About PAK BioSolutions

PAK BioSolutions is a bioprocessing technology company advancing continuous manufacturing solutions for biopharmaceutical production. The PAK System enables GMP-grade, scalable, and efficient drug manufacturing across process development, clinical, and commercial applications.

Media Contact

Gregory Isaacs, PAK BioSolutions, 1 (703) 849-4900, gregory.isaacs@pakbiosolutions.com, https://pakbiosolutions.com/

View original content:https://www.prweb.com/releases/major-biopharmaceutical-company-files-first-in-human-trial-supported-by-pak-biosolutions-gmp-purification-system-302816092.html

SOURCE PAK BioSolutions