OU Administration takes a trip to Cuba for a collaborative learning workshop.
When the flight from Miami, Florida, to Havana, Cuba, landed, two Ohio University administrators took a tour bus into the city of Cienfuegos, Cuba.
Their final stop was a four-day workshop from Oct. 27-30.
After accepting an invitation and registering for the Civitas workshop, Jenifer Cushman, the Zanesville campus dean and an associate professor of German, visited Cuba to present and collaborate with others at the conference.
“My presentation was: 'Collaborative Online International Learning and Global Learning for Under-Resourced Students,'” Cushman said. “I discussed global competence as a 21st century skill.”
The global competence can be made accessible to students who cannot afford to study abroad through connecting technologically with international partners in the classroom, Cushman said.
Catherine Marshall, the director Office of Global Opportunities (formerly the Office of Education Abroad), did not present at the workshop but tagged along with Cushman.
Marshall mentioned that the Office of Global Opportunities has been planning to set up a study abroad program in Cuba for a while now.
“This workshop provided an excellent opportunity to meet potential partners, learn about best practices for operating in Cuba and networking with folks who have been collaborating with Cuban universities,” Marshall said.
Both administrators agreed that the workshop was a really great learning experience.
“In addition to learning from the presentations both by US and Cuban academics, US participants gained an impression of the town and university of Cienfuegos, Cuba,” Cushman said. “Participants also gained an overview of opportunities for partnerships with Cuban institutions of higher education.”
Marshall said they had the opportunity to experience the Cuban culture and to make connections with individuals.
Cushman added that she has followed up and is in an email dialogue with two faculty members at the University of Cienfuegos who are interested in connecting technologically with OU Regional Higher Education and participating in Zanesville courses.
“We are in the beginning stages of matching courses and will then work through logistics with faculty who have been selected as COIL Fellows,” Cushman said.
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Marshall said the office anticipates expanding opportunities to include Cuba in the 2016-17 program offerings.
She added that Lori Lammert, associate director in the Office of Global Opportunities, is going to Cuba from Jan. 3-9 with five other faculty members from across the university looking to develop programs for students in a range of academic areas.
“Cuba is a unique operating environment, which we are learning more and more, and so, a visit to better understand that landscape and what the university needs to do to operate there in an appropriate fashion is important,” Lammert said.
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