FROM AROUND THE WORLD
ECU hosts delegations at Global Partners in Education conference
A unique international alliance aimed at preparing students to succeed in diverse cultures will meet at East Carolina University next week for the fifth annual Global Partners in Education Conference.
An estimated 60 participants from more than 25 academic institutions and 17 countries will attend the conference in the Global Classroom in ECU’s Science and Technology Building May 7-11.
“The Global Partners in Education organization promotes global cultural exchanges for university students like no other system throughout the world of which we are aware,” said Dr. Austin Bunch, senior associate provost at ECU.
“ECU is the central hub for this initiative and has received national and international recognition for the innovation of the global understanding program. This conference allows the key people in the partner institutions to meet face to face to enhance their relationships and continue to build a global network of colleagues.”
The group held its first conference for attendees in person at ECU after starting as an online educational alliance examining new possibilities in learning around the world. The conferences have been held in locations from Peru to China, and will be in Poland next year, Bunch said.
Presentations and seminars will focus on leadership and leadership development, international and global relations and collaborative projects.
ECU’s strategic plan, ECU Tomorrow, calls for the university to “prepare our students to compete and succeed in a global economy,” Bunch said. “In order to do that, one has to understand other cultures.”
The organization was born out of ECU’s Global Academic Initiatives program as a way to provide an international educational experience to ECU students unable to travel abroad. The program included construction of the Global Classroom, and development of Global Understanding, a course that gives students one to one interaction with their peers from universities around the world. ECU also engages with partners through lecture exchanges, joint courses, and international research.
The opening banquet will be held Monday night at the Murphy Center featuring keynote speaker Tommy Spaulding, a 1992 ECU alumnus and leadership consultant who served as the university’s first Leader in Residence.
For more information on the conference, contact Rosina Chia at 252-328-6277.