ACE’s Center for Internationalization and Global Engagement (CIGE) collaborated with the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador to organize a two-day seminar for Ecuadorian higher education leaders, “Comprehensive Internationalization: Developing a Model to Fit Your Institution,” April 17-18 in Quito.
The Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission, Robin Meyer, opened the seminar by affirming the importance of higher education in maintaining a strong U.S.-Ecuador bilateral relationship. Adrián Bonilla, Ecuador’s undersecretary for higher education, greeted participants and discussed the Ministry of Education’s goals for achieving greater postsecondary access and success for Ecuadorian students. Vice-rector Fernando Berredo Heinert of Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, where the event took place, welcomed the group to the university’s campus in Quito.
CIGE invited ACE Internationalization Laboratory advisors Susan Carvalho, associate provost and dean of the Graduate School at the University of Alabama, and Anthony Pinder, associate vice president of Internationalization at Emerson College (MA), to serve as expert facilitators for the seminar, which was conducted in Spanish. Along with CIGE associate director Heather Ward, Carvalho and Pinder led sessions on aligning internationalization with institutional mission, the ACE Model for Comprehensive Internationalization, and conducting an internationalization review or audit.
Ana Villavicencio, who serves as EducationUSA’s regional educational advising coordinator for the Andean region, provided an overview of key differences between U.S. and Ecuadorian higher education. The group also learned about the Universidad San Francisco de Quito’s (USFQ) longstanding partnership with the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill to jointly operate the Galápagos Science Center, during a dialogue with Alexandra Velasco, USFQ’s director of international programs.
Seminar participants said they were interested in making stronger connections between internationalization and broader institutional strategy, and in achieving greater impact from international activities like study abroad or partnership agreements. According to one attendee, “The seminar helped me understand that internationalization should cut across activities of the institution, and that all members of the university community should be part of the process and committed to it.” Participants included directors of international relations, rectors, and vice-rectors from about 18 higher education institutions, both public and private, throughout Ecuador.
The ACE seminar was the third in a series of workshops sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador to build capacity and advance internationalization strategy among Ecuadorian universities. The Ecuadorian Ministry of Education, or SENESCYT, has recently proposed a new set of accreditation standards that includes internationalization.
The workshop was coordinated in partnership with REIES, an emerging network of international education leaders, and SENESCYT.
Susan Carvalho, associate provost and dean of the University of Alabama Graduate School; Nazanin Berarpour, assistant cultural affairs officer, U.S. Embassy Quito; Heather Ward, ACE; Anthony Pinder, associate vice president for internationalization, Emerson College (MA); Ana Villavicencio, regional educational advising coordinator for the Andean Region, EducationUSA.