Crossing Borders to Develop an International Mindset

Author: 
Slater Charles, González Josué, Colón Muñiz Anaida & López Gorosave Gema
Publisher: 
CONAHEC
Year of Publication: 
2008

A panel of representatives from four universities in the US and Mexico will discuss programs for international exchange. The objectives are to help students develop an international mindset to solve local problems through student and faculty exchanges, language study, and joint research projects. The students confront issues of culture and identity, which also become topics for reflection and investigation. For the last seven years, the Education Doctoral Program at Arizona State University has been preparing educational leaders to work locally by having them participate in international experiences, especially in Mexico. Chapman University in Orange, California has just begun an exchange of students and professors with La Escuela Normal-Ensenada. The program promotes mobility of students and faculty to identify best practices, undertake joint research, and work toward transferability of coursework in higher education. California State University Long Beach (CSULB) is cooperating in doctoral studies with the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC). A CSULB professor is a dissertation advisor at UABC and participates in workshops and presentations. The doctoral student will spend a semester in residence at CSULB.

Event Information
Event Title: 
CONAHEC's 12th North American Higher Education Conference - Monterrey 2008
Event Description: 

Join leaders and practitioners of higher education, business, government and students in the city of Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico for CONAHEC’s 12th North American Higher Education Conference! North Americans share many historical, cultural, and linguistic bonds and many common issues to face. With the signing of NAFTA in 1994, our region has become inextricably linked by growing economic ties. Leaders in North America recognize that regional and individual community prosperity depends largely on the global competencies of our future professionals -- today's students. Governmental and educational leaders acknowledge that higher education institutions in North America must be more proactive and offer students opportunities to gain international expertise by becoming more internationally oriented while strengthening local connections in their teaching, research and public service functions.More than a decade after NAFTA was launched, it is increasingly evident that our region cannot isolate itself, but must rather develop stronger and more productive linkages both internally and with other world regions. Higher education has an important role to play in connecting North America with the rest of the world. Together, we will revitalize the North American higher education collaborative agenda for the new political, economic and educational context in which we live today.