Rice enhances international outreach

By Andrew Ta     1/20/14 6:00pm

Since the formation of the Vision for the Second Century, Rice has prioritized internationalization efforts, according to Sonny Lim, special assistant for international collaborations in Rice University's Office of the President. 

"Internationalization efforts will be consistent with [the] V2C and will aim to enhance the quality of teaching, research and service on our home campus," Lim said. "In general, Rice will seek to deepen the quality of certain strategic partnerships in the next few semesters, with a focus to enhance learning abroad, research and career platforms, student and faculty opportunities, as well as our growing alumni networks here and abroad."

New Programs

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As a reflection of Rice's efforts, numerous international programs have been established in the past year, Lim said.

"Our innovative faculty members have recently led new study abroad programs in Cuba for art and Hispanic studies, in the United Kingdom for English language studies, and in China for cultural communication and Mandarin language programs," Lim said. "New exchange programs have been established in France, South Korea and Denmark."

There are also new programs and centers on campus, Lim said.

"In the past academic year, we launched Brasil@Rice to strategically expand and promote academic and cultural mobility to and from Brazil, a dynamic society and rapidly developing economy," Lim said. "With this center in place, our faculty launched a dual [doctoral program] with Brazil's UNICAMP, expanded our visiting doctoral and undergraduate student programs, and awarded travel grants to faculty members who are conducting collaborative research."

Brasil@Rice joins other initiatives at the university inspired by the V2C, Lim said.

"The V2C has also inspired and attracted the creation of the Chao Center for Asian Studies, a new Jewish studies major and a major in Latin American studies, just to name a few," Lim said. "Following up on the V2C, we have significantly deepened our ties in Latin America and Asia, two rapidly transforming and powerful regions. In particular, Rice has both built and strengthened relationships with some of the very best institutions in Mexico, Brazil, China, Japan, Denmark and South Korea, among others."

Chao Center photographer Arthur Cao said he believes the center is a good representation of Rice's international collaborative efforts.

"Every single project that I have seen at Chao Center has an international perspective to it," Cao, a Jones College sophomore, said. "Many of the projects ... are done with the cooperation of other institutes of higher education; some domestic, some foreign. I think the Chao Center is a strong and positive force in Rice's internationalization efforts."

Study Abroad Ambassador Fernanda Pierre, who enrolled in La Universidad de Buenos Aires and La Universidad Catolica de Argentina as part of IFSA-Butler's Argentine Universities, said promoting international ties between students is important.

"Just talking from my own personal experience, I can say that I have a lot more international ties that I had before," Pierre, a Jones senior, said. "Especially living in a metropolitan area like Buenos Aires, I made friends not only from Argentina, but from Chile, Spain, Denmark and Canada. These were the kinds of friends where you could have meaningful conversations about your worldview and bounce back ideas on how the environment in your home countries comes into play in such outcomes."

 

New Website

According to Adria Baker, the associate vice provost for international education, the international proportion of Rice's population has grown significantly since the turn of the century in accordance with the V2C.

"Internationalization has infiltrated everything: campus life, research, classes, curriculum," Baker said. "It's a part of the campus at this point."

Lim said 11 to 12 percent of this year's enrolling undergraduate student body was made up of international students and that there is no set target proportion for international students.

To help with the larger focus on internationalization and the bigger international population, a new website was recently launched at international.rice.edu, Lim said.

"The website was created to help current and prospective students and parents, Rice faculty and visiting scholars and staff, alumni and partners, and the general public," Lim said. "It will, for instance, present a central place for those who are searching for Rice programs or offices with key international resources and responsibilities."

According to Baker, resources relating to internationalization were previously spread out across many different departments.

"It wasn't centralized before," Baker said. "You'd have to apply in admissions, then do something somewhere else. You'd have to go to each different department. The website doesn't repeat any information, but it's a place to link to all of the many offices."

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