The 深夜看片 (USF) welcomed a delegation of higher education leaders from the Dominican Republic in May as part of NAFSA Partner Day, a program coordinated by USF World for international institutions attending the NAFSA Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla.
Recognizing the strong representation of Dominican institutions among conference attendees, Drs. , professor in the , and Molly Hamm-Rodriguez, assistant professor in the USF College of Education, collaborated with USF World and to create networking and engagement opportunities designed to strengthen academic partnerships between USF and institutions in the Dominican Republic.
The delegation included representatives from Instituto Superior de Agricultura University, Pontificia Universidad Cat贸lica Madre y Maestra, Instituto Superior de Formaci贸n Docente Salom茅 Ure帽a, Universidad Central del Este and the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo.
The visit provided participants with an opportunity to learn more about USF's academic programs, research enterprise and international engagement efforts through campus tours, presentations and meetings with faculty and administrators.
A networking reception brought together more than 40 members of the USF community, including faculty, researchers, staff, students and community partners from across the university and the Tampa Bay area.
"The centerpiece of the reception was an interactive activity designed to spark meaningful introductions across institutional and cultural lines," Martinez Tyson said.
Participants identified potential areas for collaboration, including research opportunities, student mobility, teaching and networking.
"The activity was conducted bilingually in English and Spanish, reflecting the spirit of mutual exchange that defined the day," Martinez Tyson said.
The visit and related programming were supported in part through the Dominican-U.S. Higher Education Network Building Initiative, funded by the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic. The initiative supports the development of sustainable academic partnerships between U.S. and Dominican institutions.
According to Martinez Tyson, the event demonstrated the value of creating opportunities for connection among institutions with shared goals.
"The event illustrated how interdisciplinary collaboration and the exchange of ideas can flourish when institutions come together with a shared commitment to education, research and community," she said.
Martinez Tyson said organizers hope the visit will lead to future opportunities for collaboration.
"It is the hope of all involved that this visit opens the door to future collaborations and opportunities in both research and education for institutions on both sides," she said.