Following the growing trend toward globalizing education, last month, the U.S. Department of Education published a new international education strategy for 2012-2016.
This strategy comes on the heels of the second International Summit on the Teaching Profession held on March 14-15, 2012 in New York and the 13th annual International Education Week,November 12-16, 2012.
The goal of the 2012 Summit was to explore three specific topics: 1) developing school leaders; 2) preparing teachers for the delivery of 21st century skills; and 3) preparing teachers to work and succeed where they are most needed.The U.S. Department of Education, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Education International (EI), the global federation of teacher unions, together with U.S.-based organizations—the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Asia Society, the Council of Chief State School Officers(CCSSO), the National Education Association (NEA), and public broadcaster WNET as well as the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) participated in the summit.
Over 130 students, staff and faculty gathered in the Waples Mill Conference Room for VIU’s traditional Thanksgiving Lunch. The annual event was started in 2007 to introduce our international students to an integral part of American culture and make all of our students, staff and faculty feel at home.
VIU Vice-President Sue Ann Myers started off the event by sharing a little about the history of the holiday. Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States and Canada on the fourth Thursday of November (USA) and second Monday of October (Canada). While accounts of when and how the first Thanksgiving occurred vary, it is traditionally a holiday when people give thanks for the things they have. “Now, we give thanks, we eat a large meal and watch football,” Sue Ann laughed. Thanksgiving celebrations had varied in the different United States from the time of our Founding Fathers,until Abraham Lincoln made a proclamation that Thanksgiving was to be celebrated on the same day throughout the United States, de facto making it an official American holiday.
Whether you aspire to be a marketing guru, a Wall Street financier or the founder of the next Google, you just realized you want an MBA. But in this new high-paced globalized world with thousands of programs to choose from how do you get an excellent education that will prepare you for business success without breaking the bank?
According to Business Insider, there are two important factors students must consider when selecting an MBA program: which key business skills students need to succeed in their career, and what kind of network they would like to build. “Globalization, Innovation and Flexibility are three main pillars of a successful business,” says Dr. Sergei Andronikov, Dean of Virginia International University School of Business, “Today’s leaders must be prepared to creatively conduct business across comfortable borders, with international teams and within a global environment.”
For some time now, we have been featuring student voices on the VIU Website and Blog. It is a nice change of pace to gain faculty perspective on what makes VIU unique, and a wonderful place to study as well. One of our instructors, Jason Cherubini, talks here about his experiences teaching in the School of Business at VIU:
“Teaching at Virginia International University (VIU) is as much a learning experience for me as it is for the students. VIU is unlike other universities where a similar mix of students sits in every class; at VIU every class is different. By having to adjust and modify the lectures every semester it ensures that the material is always fresh, and I am forced to find multiple ways to explain material to best suit the different cultural learning styles.
One of the lesser known facts about our institution are the financial benefits that we provide to different individuals. VIU is n authorized provider of Veteran’s benefits to the US Armed Forces. We are able to offer great opportunities for students to come and study at our institution while receiving great benefits in funding from the US Government and our institution. We also offer Workforce Investment Area program discounts to students who are in need of bettering their skill sets and reaching their career potential. One of our students that has participated in these funding opportunities, Brenda Callahan, has shared her experience with us below:
I heard about VIU through the Virginia Unemployment Office under the Workforce Investment Area (WIA) program. The WIA is a program that assists unemployed personnel with a “certain amount of funds toward a skill through a listed school. Upon completion, participants receive a Certificate of Learning that aims to help in gaining a better job.
Virginia International University (VIU) and the University American College Skopje (UACS), located in the Skopje, Republic of Macedonia entered into an Academic Collaboration on June 18, 2012, during a signing ceremony hosted at VIU’s campus in Fairfax, Virginia. The agreement focuses on on educational and scholarly cooperation between the universities, as well as in research and other mutual interests.
The agreement between the two institutions of higher education opens the door for faculty exchange, student exchange, and equally important – the exchange of scholarly thoughts and ideas in the form of research, conferences, and more. Further, the collaboration opens the door to potential joint-ventures between the universities. VIU is excited about the opportunity to work with universities beyond our borders and to engage in the promotion of higher education alongside the University American College Skopje.
Virginia International University is developing in such a dynamic way. We are improving our cooperation with other universities and educational institutions both domestically and internationally. As VIU builds concrete relationships with universities outside of the United States, we enable many prospective students to receive high quality education that fulfills their special needs. VIU representatives are putting forth a great deal of effort to expand our collaboration with universities abroad. I would like to highlight a few of the recent events VIU has taken part in overseas in recent months.
VIU in Casablanca, Morocco
At this time one of the VIU representatives Idris Ulas, Director of Marketing Department, has been attending international educational fairs in Morocco. He is also put on presentations about our programs and admission process at such events as education workshops, seminars, and many others. Mr. Ulas met about 300 students in Morocco, all of which have the unique desire to study at a U.S. University like VIU. “Young adults of Morocco are excited about VIU’s affordable tuition fee, great location, and scholarship opportunity,” said Mr. Ulas. Lastly, he sends his warm greetings to his colleagues and students at VIU from magnificent city, Casablanca in Morocco.
On March 17, 2012 the Rock N Roll Marathon Series came to Washington, DC. The Rock N Roll Race series travels around the country and allows participants to run in either a half- or full marathon. Additionally, the tour goes to parts of Europe as well. Perhaps, what is really interesting about the marathon series is that they partner with various well-known charities, including the ASPCA, St. Jude’s, Lukemia and Lymphoma Society, and Susan G. Komen to name a few. Since 1998, these charities have raised more than $266 million for their causes through the Rock N’ Roll Marathon Series! The race came to Washington this past March, and a few of VIU’s staff members were eager to be involved! Staff members Emily Leighty, Yobi Park, & Prashish Shrestha all participated in the half marathon on the 17th. Here is what they had to say about their experience in running 13.1 miles!
“The race was a great experience. We were lucky enough to be running on a perfect spring day, and the course took us by some of the monuments and other D.C. landmarks. What means the most to me is that I completed something I can really be proud of. When we signed up for the event in October I couldn’t make it one mile – let alone thirteen! This was a test of determination and endurance and dedication. Another special part of it for me was getting to know my co-workers and teammates better. Yobi and Prashish are both talking about doing it again; I haven’t decided yet if I will let them convince me to do the same. There has also been talk of signing up for a full marathon (crazy) or climbing Mount Everest (crazier). I’m hoping these ideas are the result of the adrenaline high.” – Emily Leighty
Louis Armstrong’s signature piece, “What A Wonderful World” filled the auditorium as hundreds filed in for Dr. Jennifer Bailey’s lecture “Is World Power Shifting East?” on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Silver Spring, Maryland. At the front of the auditorium, Dr. Bailey stood resplendent in a technicolor, gold-embroidered, silk sari that fully captured the rich international perspective she was about to share with her audience. Bailey, one of the Virginia International University’s (VIU) acclaimed professors, teaches graduate courses in Strategic Management, Export & Import Management and International Business for the MBA Program. Dr. Bailey is also founder and executive director of the Bailey Institute, a global organization using technology to combat illiteracy in the United States, Liberia, Nepal and Trinidad and Tobago.
Twenty students from Dr. Bailey’s Strategic Management class and 200 area residents attended the lecture. The audience was treated to a plethora of research and analysis covering seven decades: The post-world war two economic rise of the U.S.; the re-building of European economies in the 1950s; the accelerated rise of China, India, Russia and Brazil over the past two decades driven by economic globalization; the steady decline of aid-recipient countries in Africa and parts of Asia by-passed by globalization; a decade of stagnant and declining European economies stuck with again populations and un-innovative economies. To simplify the vast body of research covered, Dr. Bailey established four global perspectives for assessing the premise that world power may be shifting East.
