November 17, 2009
Internationalization Task Force provides update on work
Purdue's Internationalization Task Force, established by the Provost in late 2008, has been working this past year to review, benchmark, catalog, implement, and update the different facets of University life and operation that define a truly global university.
During International Education Week 2009 (Nov. 16-20), Andrew Gillespie, co-chair of the task force and associate dean of International Programs, provides an update to the campus community on the task force's progress and ideas for further internationalization of Purdue's missions.
Submitted by Andrew Gillespie, task force co-chair
With almost 900 faculty and staff coming to Purdue from 78 nations, and with roughly 6,000 international students representing 126 different nations on our campus, Purdue nurtures an exceptionally international environment for learning, discovery, and engagement. And this international environment contributes a diversity of languages, customs, and ideas to the campus community and to the broader communities with which we work around the globe.
But internationalization is not limited to those from other nations that learn and work among us. From public relations director to academic advisor, from global supply chains to international research fellowships, our administrative, professional, and clerical staff are tasked with international activities on a daily basis.
Faculty collaborate with -- and travel to -- overseas institutions and colleagues every day as well. Each week our students take home important global perspectives from our classrooms and those overseas classrooms with which they are linked through technology.
There is no escaping the need to work and interact globally, and Purdue is moving quickly to establish and strengthen those activities that engender a "Global Purdue."
LAUNCHING TOMORROW'S LEADERS:
Global competencies and learning outcomes
In addition to the disciplinary knowledge that each student needs, working across cultures requires additional skills, knowledge, and perceptions for students to be successful in their careers, and these are the global competencies we wish to instill in each Purdue graduate. To that end, the Internationalization Task Force, in concert with faculty from the College of Education, is working to define specific global competencies that can be incorporated into the different academic programs we have across campus.
And as faculty define student learning outcomes for their courses, these outcomes are being mapped to programmatic outcomes, which are subsequently linked to department and/or college-level outcomes. These several levels of internationally focused outcomes serve to meet Purdue's undergraduate core competency of "Global Awareness," where students will be able to "demonstrate awareness of the cultural, social, political, and economic forces and technologies that shape our world."
An October snapshot of the mapping of outcomes across campus indicates that eight of our 10 academic colleges have programmatic learning outcomes that link to the University's Global Awareness core competency. This involves 53 departments providing 153 globalized undergraduate degree programs, plus several interdisciplinary degree and certificate programs.
The colleges of Agriculture, Liberal Arts, and Science have Global Awareness as part of their college-level core competencies for all undergraduates, and so each of their students is assured of global exposure in their respective curricula.
Use of technology in internationalizing learning
The variety and scope of technologies that allow our Purdue community to interact with colleagues and institutions overseas is growing, and Purdue scholars and students make full use of these innovations. Videoconferencing is becoming standard as technology advances to allow simple cameras and microphones to become standard in our desktop and laptop computers. The use of Skype or Adobe Connect is not uncommon in the defense of dissertations across continents and time zones.
e-Teams, global design class projects with overseas students, web-enabled guest lectures and distance education degree programs, the use of social networking sites and wikis, remotely controlled experiments and simulations, on-line publishing environments -- all are creative examples of how learning at Purdue has been taken to a global level by innovations in technology.
Creation and exploration of the uses of these networked environments is an active area of research at Purdue as well. So we can assume that Purdue will remain at the cutting edge of learning technology applications.
The changing face of study abroad
Currently Purdue sends 1,600 students abroad each year. The sharp increase in student mobility in recent years can be attributed to faculty interest in student success in a "flat world," but the nature of student programs overseas has changed from historical emphases on the liberal arts. Today, all students at Purdue have the opportunity to study overseas in their major, with courses provided by Purdue faculty.
In benchmarking with peer institutions, we see this is a national trend, but the variety of Purdue and peer programs is also growing. No longer is classroom instruction the sole means of international education. Students are now able to undertake research in laboratories and other institutional settings overseas.
Service learning while immersed in overseas communities is more common. And internship or work experience within international companies is being demanded by students seeking to internationalize their portfolios.
With linkages to universities, governments, companies, NGOs, and alumni all over the globe, Purdue will continue to develop this variety of experiences for students, enhancing our learning mission.
Coming Thursday: A task force update on Discovery with Delivery and Meeting Global Challenges.