Steger Center strengthens its role as hub for global collaboration

“To address any big challenges facing humanity, we have to work with international partners. The Steger Center is a major catalyst for these connections in Europe.” That’s how Dan Sui, Virginia Tech’s senior vice president for research and innovation, described the Steger Center for International Scholarship during a visit this summer to southern Switzerland.

From advancing health and security to driving new technologies, solutions that make the world safer and more connected are rarely created in isolation. They depend on strong partnerships — and Virginia Tech is investing in the places and programs that make those partnerships possible.

Perched near the shores of Lake Lugano and just a few miles from the Italian border, the Steger Center, part of Outreach and International Affairs, has long served as a gateway for transformative study abroad experiences as well as a venue for global research collaboration. Last year, for example, the center hosted the Coding Theory and Cryptography Workshop and the Pandemic Prediction and Prevention Workshop, bringing together international teams to strengthen cybersecurity and public health strategies.

That tradition continues to grow thanks to leadership from the provost’s office and faculty champions such as Catherine Amelink, associate vice provost for academic affairs. Amelink has worked with Outreach and International Affairs to align the center’s capabilities with universitywide priorities such as the Destination Areas 2.0 initiative. She encourages faculty who receive these awards to explore opportunities at Virginia Tech’s domestic and international centers to strengthen their research through global partnerships.

Sui’s visit coincided with the Global Teaching Scholars Workshop, a faculty development program Amelink supports in partnership with the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, the Global Education Office, and the Steger Center. The program brings early and mid-career faculty to Switzerland for a week of immersive planning focused on place-based and community-engaged study abroad courses.

“If we want to be a world leader in science and technology, Virginia Tech faculty must be engaged globally,” Sui told participants. “What you’re doing here directly ties in with our Global Distinction aims.”

Global Distinction, one of Virginia Tech’s presidential priorities, aims to empower impactful research, scholarship, and creative activity, especially by expanding and strengthening networks and partnerships through place-based engagements like those hosted at the Steger Center.

Sui’s remarks echoed what President Tim Sands told Global Teaching Scholars participants during his visit in 2023: “The priorities that are key to the university’s future intersect here at this workshop in Switzerland.”

Sui also shared that the model has inspired him to begin exploring a similar initiative for research faculty — a concept still in its early stages.

While in Switzerland, Sui joined discussions between faculty in the Department of Population Health Sciences in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and their counterparts at the Università della Svizzera Italiana. He also toured the Swiss Drone Competence Center, where he explored opportunities for research partnerships in the Alps-based drone park.

“We’re excited about the possibility of working with Virginia Tech,” said Niklaus Stocker of the Swiss Drone Competence Center. “Our location offers a unique environment for testing and advancing drone technology, and collaborations like this can accelerate innovation on both sides.”

These kinds of exchanges reflect the Steger Center’s mission, Executive Director Sara Steinert Borella said.

“By pursuing these types of connections, the Steger Center is growing as a research incubator — a place where ideas, partnerships, and programs can take root,” she said. “By reserving the month of July for faculty initiatives, we guarantee dedicated time for scholars to work together, away from the distractions of home and in close connection with our European partners. This synergy generates new opportunities.”

That vision aligns with Virginia Tech’s broader global strategy, said Guru Ghosh, vice president for Outreach and International Affairs, which co-funded faculty participation in the workshop.

“The Steger Center is more than a location,” he said. “It serves as a catalyst for collaboration, where faculty and international partners can spark ideas that lead to real-world solutions.”