By: José Luis Rodríguez R. (Universidad del Norte - Uninorte)
As part of the Internationalization strategy of the 4U Alliance, Kris Acheson-Clair, creator and director of the Center for Intercultural Learning, Mentorship, Assessment and Research - CILMAR, at Purdue University, visited the four universities (Icesi University, Universidad EAFIT, Universidad del Norte, and Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administración) from November 20 to 25, 2024, with the purpose of strengthening capabilites on issues related to experiential learning and interculturality.
The agenda at Uninorte (November 25), organized by the Directorate for International Cooperation and Development and the Language Institute, included strategic meetings, workshops and conferences involving professors, administrative staff and researchers.
“I am very happy to be invited and to tour the universities of the 4U Alliance for several reasons. One of them is to present some ideas and models of projects and initiatives we have related to intercultural learning and comprehensive internationalization. In addition, it was an opportunity to network and find points of collaboration between the four universities and Purdue,” Acheson-Clair said in room 41J of the Language Institute.
Her academic agenda in the 4U Alliance universities focused on three key activities aimed at strengthening internationalization and intercultural learning. These included an interactive workshop for faculty members from various disciplines, focused on incorporating intercultural competencies into the curriculum. In addition, she held a master session for administrative staff, where she addressed the comprehensive internationalization of higher education, and brought together researchers to share interests and projects in a space for interaction and strategic collaboration.
According to Lourdes Rey, dean of the Language Institute (at Uninorte), this visit has a direct impact on the cross-cutting competencies of interculturality and diversity that Uninorte promotes from its curricular reflection process. "Her feedback, review and vision on what we are doing at Uninorte has been key. It is not only the training, the 'curricularization' of the competency, but that this process of internationalization and interculturality is something transversal to all institutional strata," she stressed.
A collaborative approach to major challenges
The 4U Alliance seeks to strengthen local capacities and position itself as a strategic partner to address global challenges such as food security and water sustainability.
“Colombia is a country of interest to Purdue, not only because of its location in a developing region, but also because of its ability to contribute to international projects on global issues. In addition, the strong STEM focus of the 4U Alliance makes it an ideal partner for developing joint curricular programs, exchanges and research collaborations,” explained Acheson-Clair.
The goal is for “everyone in the institution to gain intercultural skills, attitudes and knowledge, from students to faculty, staff and alumni”. Her day at Uninorte ended with an interactive workshop for faculty, where she demonstrated experiential learning activities applied in various disciplinary contexts at Purdue.
Click here to read the original version of this article in Spanish.
