As part of United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF)’s Fullbright Scholars Programme, 14 international education administrators from universities in the US visited IIIT-H on 20 March to explore research opportunities, collaborations and exchange programmes.
These administrators were mostly decision makers in their institutions like Provosts, Chief International Officers etc and were keen on expanding educational ties with India. There is currently tremendous interest in collaborations and partnerships and in the course of the seminar the team explored the possibility of study abroad; faculty exchanges; framing and delivery of curricula by a consortium of universities; student exchanges and so on.
The discussion focused on how the institute has established itself, especially its unique and strong history. The purpose of this seminar was to provide U.S higher education administrators first-hand knowledge of the higher education sector in India to enable them to make better informed decisions with regard to potential academic and institutional collaborations in India. The participants got an opportunity to visit institutions and meet individuals and learn about policies that play a key role in the planning and administration of higher education in India. This is an exciting and dynamic time to be engaging with higher education in India and we are excited to be hosting this seminar.
The seminar explored and took into account key issues of expansion, access and excellence that inform the salient debates on higher education reforms in India today. The size and scope of the challenges as well of course the opportunities that provide impetus to the globalization of the knowledge economy, specifically in the Indo-U.S. context, constituted the basis of discussions, visits and presentations. The seminar itinerary included visits to different kinds of education institutions (central universities,
affiliated colleges, and non-governmental organizations) as well as meetings and interactions with higher education administrators, teachers, students and policy planners.
The USIEF Team consisted of Dr. Peter Cahn, Provost for Academic Affairs at the MGH Institute of Health Professions; Dr. Jannette Flores, Dean of Curriculum and Assessment at Cedar Valley College, a community college of the Dallas County Community College District; Ms. Meggan Ford, Assistant Dean for undergraduate academic services and a business foundations faculty member, School of Business at George Mason University; Ms. Tineka Lebrun, Manager of the education abroad advising team in the Office of Global Programs, Penn State; Ms. Amy Marrion, An International Programs Manager, School of International Service (SIS) at American University (AU), Washington DC; Dr. Richard Nader, Chief Research and International Officer responsible for advancing LIU’s research and international portfolios; Ms. Susan Niedzwiecki-Pham, Director of Study Abroad, Winona State University, Winona, Minnesota; Dr. Karen Petersen, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and professor of political science, Middle Tennessee State University; Ms. Amela Malkic, Director for Global Engagement, University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee; Dr. Esther Rumsey, Director of International Studies, Sul Ross State University; Dr. Robert Sanders, Associate dean of the Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies, Appalachian State University; Dr. Hamin Shabazz, Vice president for Academic Affairs, Lincoln College in Lincoln, Illinois; Dr. Nicole Tami, Executive Director of Global Education Initiatives, University of New Mexico and Mr. Jay Wilkinson, Director of International Education, Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa.