Home for Today's Professionals & Tomorrow's Leaders

VIPP's mission is to provide transformative learning experiences to international professionals and organizations by connecting people, knowledge, cultures and ideas.

Our goal is to provide cutting-edge professional training and exchange programs for international organizations, professionals, and emerging leaders in a variety of fields for the purpose of enhancing the institution and human capacity and forging long lasting relationships that could become a powerful tool for addressing some of the biggest global challenges. We achieve this goal by leveraging the academic excellence of Michigan State University as well as the expertise of local, regional, and national organizations in both public and private sectors.

Download the VIPP Program Brochure or view as e-book to learn more about our program offerings, and how we can help you reach your professional goals.

Our Values:

Quality, Community, Impact

Our Culture:

Agile, Innovative, High-Performing

History of the Visiting International Professional Program

Founded in 1991, VIPP has trained over 4,000 professionals from 30 countries including South Korea, China, Japan, Mongolia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Russia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Turkey, and many more.

VIPP is the brainchild of Dr. Gill-Chin Lim, the former Dean of International Studies and Programs at MSU. Dr. Lim recognized the need for professionals from around the world to have access to MSU's diverse educational resources. To fill that need, Dr. Lim developed VIPP as a non-degree professional education program.

           Dr. Gill-Chin Lim in a classroom with several of his students.

Dr. Dae-Bong Kwon served as the first Director of VIPP from 1991 until the summer of 1993. When Dr. Kwon was working at the MSU College of Education as an Assistant Professor of Educational Administration, he proposed VIPP to provide lifelong learning opportunities for international professionals in business, industry, and government. Dr. Kwon was  President at Joongbu University and Professor Emeritus at Korea University in South Korea.

Under the leadership of Drs. Lim and Kwon, VIPP enjoyed its initial success and began its journey to becoming a world leader in executive education and international professional development.

Since hosting its first group of eight participants, VIPP has expanded to include distinct long-term programs with more than 200 participants each year, as well as tailor-made short-term executive workshops on various topics. VIPP has a network of over 4,000 alumni in more than 30 countries. Our alumni are leaders of their professions and work hard every day to make their workplaces and their communities better.