Swiss higher education delegation visits Virginia Tech to discuss partnerships and research

On a recent Friday, 16 faculty members and administrators from 12 Swiss higher education institutions gathered at the Virginia Tech Research Center — Arlington to exchange ideas and knowledge with faculty, program leaders, and deans.

The delegation was particularly interested in how U.S. universities develop and manage research and partnerships with government entities and industry. The group also hoped to lay the foundation for future collaborations.

Graduate School Dean Aimeé Surprenant said Virginia Tech has been connected to higher education in Switzerland for many years as a result of the Steger Center for International Research in Riva San Vitale and the Global Perspectives Program.

“This visit adds a new dimension to the relationship. With our university presidential priority on global distinction providing a focal point, we are working to create and sustain collaborations based on research and scholarship,” Surprenant said. “This visit reinforced the many common interests of our various institutions and we hope will set us on the path toward future collaborations.”

Virginia Tech was one of the first institutions the Swiss delegation visited on its tour of the East Coast. The itinerary took them from Washington, D.C., to Charlottesville, the North Carolina Research Triangle, and Savannah, Georgia.  Participants of the tour came from a diverse range of fields, from theatre arts to business, technology, engineering, social work, and medicine. The study tour is part of an academic leadership training program through the Swiss organization, Higher Education Management.

“We are mainly interested in the way American universities are drivers and collaborators in branches and disciplines which are forefront in developing means to shape the economic, social and political future,” said trip organizer Hartmut Wickert, a former administrator and professor at the Zurich University of the Arts.

Graduate School Associate Dean Barbara Hoopes organized the group’s visit to the D.C. area. She pulled together an equally diverse group of Virginia Tech faculty members and administrators, whose presentations sparked intense interest and conversations with the visitors. Some of the presentations harked to work Virginia Tech researchers were doing with Swiss counterparts, or in other European countries.

Virginia Tech presenters offered an array of projects of interest to the Swiss visitors:

• Graduate education at Virginia Tech, presented by Surprenant
• Core programming and research in the Center for Educational Networks, presented by Jacob Grohs, associate professor of engineering education and director of the Center for Educational Networks and Impacts, College of Engineering
• Engaged policy-transformative public health research and enabling resource infrastructures, presented by Barbara Allen, professor, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
• Virginia Tech’s drone test site, presented by Tombo Jones, director, Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership
• The School of Public and International Affairs, presented by Joel Peters, professor of government and international affairs and director of the School of Public and International Affairs, College of Liberal Arts and Human Science
• Virginia Tech’s collaboration with Swiss hospitality institutions in curriculum development and planning, presented by Mahmood Khan, professor of hospitality and tourism management, Pamplin College of Business
• LINK: the Center for Advancing Partnerships, presented by Patty Tatro, associate director for business development

Small-group discussions focused on educational innovation, partnering with government and public organizations, and partnering with industry. Participants from Switzerland and Virginia Tech found commonalities and shared challenges as well as new ideas, during the animated conversations. Afterward, the group learned about the Innovation Campus and its programs and focus from David Baker, assistant vice president and chief of staff. To wrap up the day, the delegates were given tours of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative and the Center for Power Electronics Systems.

Catherine Sokoloff, Higher Education Management (HEM) tour group leader, called the day “a great joyful visit,” adding that it afforded “plenty of possibilities to connect.”

“The leaders of the Swiss delegation from HEM expressed sincere appreciation for the event.  They are used to having lectures when they visit a campus, but were thrilled to engage with the Virginia Tech community in a more casual setting,” said Hoopes. “The Virginia Tech participants extended true Hokie hospitality, and I can’t thank them enough for sharing their time and research expertise.  Global connections are such a valuable outcome for all involved.”