UM’s Mansfield Center hosts 18 international scholars for summer program | Education

Many of the US Institute (SUSI) researchers in the “2022 Institute for Youth, Workforce Development and Closing the Skills Gap” arrived in a part of America most of them had never seen or heard of before – Montana.

“I had another friend from Trinidad and Tobago who picked up and got New York as their location. I also wanted New York because I had heard about it before and wanted to visit, but New York is for history. I took Montana because I am focused on education and development,” said Dr. Alvinelle Matthew, a SUSI researcher from Trinidad and Tobago. “I loved Montana 150%. It was great and varied in experience.”

The SUSI program was the first in-person program since 2019 hosted by the University of Montana’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center. It took place over five weeks from July 6 to August 10.

The SUSI program book states that the purpose of the program is to “emphasize the importance of thinking critically across disciplines and debating difficult questions in the quest to define American culture and society, while reflecting on how similar issues play out in other countries. of the origin of researchers”.

18 international researchers from 18 different countries were present. Among the countries represented were Mozambique, Ivory Coast, Bahrain, Israel, Mongolia, Argentina, Moldova, etc.

The SUSI program is through a three-year competitive grant from the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs that the University of Montana received. It is funded by federal dollars that are invested back into local Montana hotels, restaurants, transportation and more. It is an all-inclusive program, including flights, accommodation, travel, meals and a stipend.

“We are truly honored to host SUSI scholars because Montana has a unique style of hospitality to offer these scholars, unlike somewhere like New York,” said Anne Hanson, program manager at the Mansfield Center. “We are rich with local history. There’s Glacier and more. That’s wonderful. When they leave they say that Americans are kind and helpful people who always have a smile.”

The University of Montana manages this grant, which also includes three other institutes. At New York University, SUSI scholars focus on American culture and society; at the University of Delaware, SUSI scholars focus on foreign policy; and at Arizona State, SUSI scholars focus on media and journalism.

Montana’s SUSI program highlights the state’s range of educational institutions, particularly community colleges, and their role in preparing students with the right skills to enter the workforce. The 18 scholars spent time at Missoula College, Helena College, Flathead Valley Community College, Highlands College and Salish Kootenai College.

While in Montana, the group also met with representatives of the private labor sector (LumanAd), government (Montana Department of Labor and Industry), and Anaconda Job Corps.

SUSI scholar Matthew is vice president of human resources and lecturer at the Trinidad and Tobago College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts. She holds a PhD in philosophy in social policy with an emphasis in human resource development from the University of the West Indies and two master’s degrees in human resource management and counseling psychology.

Another SUSI international researcher was Dr. Akhtar. Akhtar is a professor and director of the Blended Learning Center at Daffodil International University in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He has been a driving force behind the country’s Blended, Online and Digital Education (BOLD) with his unique background in both IT and education. He is the founding professor and head of the ICT and Education Department of Bangladesh’s first digital university, Bangabandhu Digital University (BDU) and the founder of IUTOnline Education.

“I believe that (the SUSI program) is a great opportunity for us in developing countries. Bangladesh is moving forward and will be a developed country by 2041,” Akhtar said. “I came here for the excellent education system in the US at various levels starting from primary education to higher education and to learn how they are working, especially during the Covid and post-Covid situation.”

Akhtar recently published an opinion piece in the Daily Sun reflecting on how higher education institutes in Bangladesh can access various revenue streams to boost the economy through blended online education.

“Online education does not have a very good perception in the community (Bangladesh). People don’t like online education, but because of Covid, they are learning what is important for us in the days to come,” said Akhtar.

Both Matthew and Akhtar were surprised by America’s opportunities for high school students to earn college credits or take college courses, and both wanted to implement initiatives like these in their countries to close the skills gap. .

For Matthew, time spent at Kootenai Salish College and on a reservation in Montana was a highlight of the program.

The 18 scholars visited a buffalo range, where they watched the documentary “In the Spirit of Atatice” about the National Bison Range northwest of Missoula with Kootenai Salish faculty.

“Meeting the natives and hearing their stories about how they don’t have the same opportunities shows that they’re not living the rich and better lives that other Americans are,” Matthew said. “They’re not necessarily in a state of grief over what was taken, but they’re trying to keep their culture and language alive and preserve their land. It’s a sad story. They are moving forward. (It is) similar to the colonization of Trinidad and Tobago under British rule and other colonizers such as Spain.

Glacier National Park was a highlight for many of the researchers, some of whom had never seen snow before.

“It’s amazing, Glacier Park. I really liked it there. We played on the ice, went to the top of the hills and made videos,” said Akhtar. “How beautiful.”

Before COVID-19, SUSI researchers would spend a weekend with a host family in the Missoula area to further immerse themselves in the Montana way of life. This year they spent only one day with a host family.

One thing that struck Matthew about many Americans was the constant urge to improve and better one’s community through cooperation.

“During the exchange, we were given bikes to rent and a bike company in Missoula came together to improve trails around Missoula just for the betterment of the community,” Matthew said. “This theme was present in every lecture and the academics that the US is oriented and oriented towards partners”.

The SUSI program served as a foundation for many of the researchers to form partnerships with each other and Montanans and to collaborate on future projects and research. Matthew spoke about future research in collaboration with Dr. Theresa Floyd, academic director of this SUSI program and Associate Professor of Management at the University of Montana College of Business.

Alice Rwamo, a SUSI researcher from Burundi, hoped to have a fair trade partnership as part of her project. Floyd connected her with a buyer at the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center (JRPC) and now they are helping Rwamo navigate the fair trade status process for her to sell handmade items made by women in Burundi at JRPC .

“Alice was absolutely thrilled by this opportunity to help Burundian women,” Hanson wrote in an email. “This partnership will unfold in the coming months.”

On the last day of the program, the researchers presented their project ideas. Matthew presented “Co-Start Training Institute – six-week training program to get people back into work that is available to the whole community”, and Akhtar presented “Work-integrated learning through an online and blended approach”.

The next day, the researchers boarded the plane, taking the knowledge and skills they learned from their time in Montana back to their home countries.

Congress passed an act in 1983 to establish the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center. Mike Mansfield was a U.S. Representative and Senator who served as Senate Majority Leader from 1961 to 1977. After retiring from the Senate, Mansfield also served as the longest-serving U.S. Ambassador to Japan and adviser to East Asian affairs for Goldman Sachs.

“The Mansfield Center was founded to ‘foster globally minded leaders of integrity,’ and we focus closely on the state of Montana for many of our programs because of the role Mike Mansfield played in Montana,” said Deena Mansour, executive director of the Mansfield Center. . “He was the greatest statesman of our nation. He cared a lot about the people of Montana, and what we try to address is the needs that Montanans have for global education. That could mean sending Montanans overseas or it could mean bringing international opportunities to Montanans.

The center is the only organization in the state that supports a diverse range of exchanges from the high school, university and professional levels. Less than 1% of the center’s funding is provided by the State of Montana and the majority is from private donors and applications for competitive federal grant opportunities.

“What we’ve been doing in the last few months is really taking on the tremendous international exchange activity that we’re known for,” Mansour said. “We have had no international participants in the country since November 2019 and have supported the exchange of more than 200 people in the last two months.”

Mansour served as a diplomat in Indonesia for four years. While overseas, she saw firsthand the value of international programs, and in 2009, she approached the Mansfield Center about housing several international programs. Since 2010, Mansour has brought in $26 million in funding for the center.

“Most students will never study abroad, but bringing home these international experiences is incredibly rewarding,” Mansour said. “My parents are Egyptian. I’m a first-generation American, so I see first-hand how the American dream changes lives, changes my family’s lives, and changes the lives of people who come here just for a glimpse of it in a short-term program.”

“As professionals, it’s important to have experiences like (the SUSI Program) every three to five years because it broadens perspectives,” Matthew said. “The cultural diversity of 18 people from 18 different countries opens minds and we go home with different perspectives because each person brings a different perspective. There is no reason to put people into right or wrong boxes.”