This summer marked a major milestone for language education at UW–Madison with the launch of the inaugural WISLI Digital Badge. Offered through the Wisconsin Intensive Summer Language Institutes (WISLI), a unit under the Language Program Office, the new micro-credential is the very first to be implemented under the International Division’s broader Global Badges framework.
Designed for language learners looking to extend their learning beyond traditional coursework, the badge recognizes WISLI participants who reflect on their linguistic progress, build professional networks, and map out long-term career goals. Participation has exceeded expectations, with an inaugural cohort of 12 language scholars opting into the program.
While completing an intensive WISLI program requires sustained focus and dedication, articulating the full value of that experience to future employers or graduate admissions can be challenging. The WISLI Badge solves this by offering a verified, portable micro-credential issued by the Division of Continuing Studies. Rather than simply confirming course completion, the badge highlights the specific skills, co-curricular engagement, and practical application behind a student’s language proficiency, which makes it easy to share on LinkedIn, Handshake, resumes, and digital portfolios.
“This digital badge will be great to showcase my language experience,” said WISLI participant Naomi Galindo, a graduate student studying Urdu who is preparing to head to Uzbekistan on a Fulbright award. “I challenged myself by taking a language outside of my region of focus, and I think about how I can use this language in the future and how to merge two regions that I’m interested in. So I think the badge will be a great way to talk about my language experience.”
To earn the badge, students complete a series of purposeful, career-focused activities within four months of finishing their summer courses:
- Professional Development Programming: Students actively engage in specialized workshops hosted by experts across the Language Institute and International Academic Programs (IAP), including career-building sessions on skill articulation and international career planning, as well as post-WISLI autonomous language learning.
- Skill Assessments: Using ACTFL Can-Do Statements and Proficiency Benchmarks, candidates evaluate their own abilities alongside a parallel assessment from their instructor, giving them a clear picture of their current strengths and room for growth.
- Mentorship & Consultations: Participants connect directly with multilingual professionals, faculty mentors, workshop facilitators, or regional experts to gain real-world advice on applying their language skills in professional settings.
- Reflection & Creative Outreach: Earners capture their journey through a reflective narrative and create a public-facing digital artifact—such as a blog post, podcast segment, or video reel—to share the story and value of intensive language study with a wider audience.
The badge combines structured self-assessment with career mentorship which gives summer language scholars a clear, compelling way to demonstrate how the WISLI Program prepares them for future careers and global engagement. As the first micro-credential launched under the International Division’s Global Badges initiative, this successful inaugural cohort paves the way for future badging opportunities across campus.
For more information about the WISLI Badge or how to participate in future cohorts, please contact Ryan Goble at wisli@lpo.wisc.edu or visit the official WISLI Digital Badge Page.