UNC-Chapel Hill Delegation Visits Singapore, Attends APAIE
April 4, 2018
UNC Global Affairs
The UNC-Chapel Hill delegation hosted an alumni reception March 27, 2018, in Singapore.
A delegation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill visited Singapore March 24-29, 2018, where members attended the 2018 Asia-Pacific Association for International Education conference, hosted a Carolina alumni reception and participated in meetings with partners at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
The delegation included Ron Strauss, executive vice provost and chief international officer; Rudi Colloredo-Mansfeld, senior associate dean for social sciences and global programs in the College of Arts and Sciences; Katie Bowler Young, director of global relations for UNC Global; Peter Coclanis, director of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Global Research Institute; Melissa McMurray, international liaison officer for UNC Global; and Jing Liu, program director for Asia and Oceania in the College’s Study Abroad Office.
At the APAIE conference, representatives from universities and organizations around the world came together to discuss current issues in international education relevant to the Asia-Pacific region, explore partnership opportunities and engage in networking and professional development. The 2018 conference theme focused on the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on higher education in the Asia-Pacific.
During the conference, Strauss attended the Presidents’ Roundtable hosted by NUS, which included panel presentations and discussion about how best to prepare students for the workplace of the future. The roundtable was also an opportunity to connect with university leaders from around the world, including from some of Carolina’s partners, such as University College London, Fudan University and the University of Gothenburg.
“I found the Asia-Pacific conference to be an opportunity to link to potential and current university partners in this dynamic region,” said Strauss, “and to deepen our collaborations with the National University of Singapore. It was also a pleasure to see energized Tar Heel support abroad during the alumni and student reception hosted by the active and thriving Singapore Alumni Club.”
The Carolina Alumni Reception brought together approximately 40 Singapore-based alumni, Carolina students studying at NUS and visiting faculty and administrators for a networking opportunity. During remarks, Strauss and Colloredo-Mansfeld highlighted the University’s and College’s global initiatives.
The trip also celebrated Carolina’s partnership with NUS that formally began in 2001 with an undergraduate student exchange program. Since then, partnerships have emerged between Carolina’s College of Arts and Sciences, Kenan-Flagler Business School, Honors Carolina and School of Dentistry, and NUS’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), Faculty of Science, University Scholars Programme, School of Computing, Business School and Faculty of Dentistry. From 2005-2017, more than 530 Carolina students studied at NUS, and more than 275 NUS students studied at Carolina, along with a number of faculty collaborations between the two universities.
“This is a longstanding partnership that has brought significant opportunities to our students and faculty,” said Peter Coclanis, the UNC-NUS partnership liaison and director of the Global Research Institute.
The UNC-Chapel Hill delegation met with Andrew Wee, NUS vice president of university and global relations, and other NUS international leaders to affirm the strong commitment of both institutions to the partnership and to discuss possibilities for continued growth and collaboration. The delegation was also hosted at NUS by FASS Dean Robbie Goh, where discussion focused on the undergraduate joint degree program, as well as opportunities to engage faculty and graduate students in partnership collaborations. Peter Coclanis will be spending the summer in Singapore teaching in NUS’ FASStrack Asia summer school.