爱爱直播

爱爱直播 celebrates 31 years of partnership with Universidad del Norte in Colombia

TAMPA, FL (May 5, 2024) -- This year marks the 31^st anniversary of the 爱爱直播鈥檚 academic partnership with the Universidad del Norte (UniNorte) in Barranquilla, Colombia. Barranquilla is Tampa鈥檚 oldest sister city, dating back to 1966. Both cities have worked together on projects related to civic engagement, art, culture, and education.

What began as a collaboration between engineering faculty from both institutions has expanded into a robust, multidisciplinary partnership. 鈥淭he relationship between 爱爱直播 and UniNorte is very special,鈥� says Adriana Morales, 爱爱直播鈥檚 Global Partnerships Administrator. 鈥淢ore than 400 undergraduate students from UniNorte have participated in the academic transfer programs across 11 academic programs and have gone on to graduate from 爱爱直播.鈥� Both UniNorte and 爱爱直播 are entrepreneurial and innovative institutions 鈥� with a shared a commitment to student success and faculty excellence. According to 爱爱直播 World Vice President, Kiki Caruson, 鈥渟tudents and faculty from both universities have benefitted from mobility across borders. Faculty from UniNorte have been professionally trained at 爱爱直播 and faculty from 爱爱直播 have benefitted from language programs hosted by UniNorte as well as virtual exchange collaborations that allow 爱爱直播 and UniNorte students and faculty to connect in meaningful ways without travel.鈥� 

Currently, the partnership comprises 12 Academic Transfer Agreements involving 11 undergraduate programs from the Colleges of Engineering, Business and Arts and Sciences. These agreements have allowed UniNorte students to obtain a degree from 爱爱直播, while many students from 爱爱直播 have visited UniNorte through short-term, semester exchange, faculty-led programs, clinical rotations, and language immersion programs. Graduates now work at companies such as Cummins Inc, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Intel Corporation, and Dell Technologies. While the majority return to work in Colombia, 240 work in the United States and in 119 other countries including Australia, Spain, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Chile, Venezuela, and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

The partnership allows for opportunities for faculty members as well. In addition to 爱爱直播 PhDs who have gone on to work at UniNorte, 爱爱直播 faculty members and administrators have traveled to UniNorte to attend their annual international conferences known as Catedras. These misions allow faculty and administrators from both institutions to explore new opportunities for cooperation, recruit for ongoing programs and collaborations, and follow up on established strategic goals.

There are currently 40 UniNorte students at 爱爱直播, and around 46 are expected to start in the upcoming Fall to pursue degrees in the fields of Engineering, Psychology, International Studies, Political Science, and Business. Katherine Acuna, graduate assistant at 爱爱直播 World and a former UniNorte employee, interviewed one of them, Maria del Pilar Villacob Rodriguez majoring in International Studies and graduating this May.

Rodriguez said she chose the International Studies Program because she felt like it aligned with her personality and skills. 鈥淚've always been very interested in the political and cultural environment that surrounds me, and I鈥檝e had a very deep curiosity for other countries. I feel like the International Studies Program encapsulates all of that. Coming to 爱爱直播 has broadened my view of the world.鈥� She emphasized the support she鈥檚 received in the program, 鈥渟ince the very beginning staff members and professors have been very close to us and have been very clear on the fact that they want to see us being successful both inside and outside of the classes.鈥�

Gloria Coolman, a 爱爱直播 student who is currently doing a semester exchange at UniNorte is a double-major in Psychology and World Languages with a concentration in Spanish. 鈥淚鈥檝e been able to improve my Spanish here so much just in the last three weeks. The people are amazing, the food is wonderful, and the campus is great!鈥� she gushed in a recent video.

UniNorte also represents one of 爱爱直播's top partners for our Global Classroom Initiative. In the 2022-2023 academic year, nearly 43% of 爱爱直播 students who participated in a Virtual Global Exchanges (VGE) were partnered with UniNorte students. Faculty from 爱爱直播 and UniNorte regularly combine forces to engage in VGE, allowing students to interact virtually, and work on collaborative projects. In addition to assisting students in meeting course learning objectives, these experiences provide students with opportunities for intercultural communication, technical skill building, and project management experience 鈥� all key career skills for the modern workforce and beyond.

Now the partnership is expanding. Recently, academic leadership, and a faculty member from UniNorte visited 爱爱直播. Lourdes Rey, dean of the UniNorte Language Institute, met with faculty and representatives from 爱爱直播鈥檚 College of Education and 爱爱直播鈥檚 World Languages Department to discuss potential new collaboration for students at the graduate level. Meanwhile, Dr. Humberto Gomez, 爱爱直播 PhD alumni and current Graduate Programs Director at UniNorte, met with representatives from 爱爱直播 World, 爱爱直播鈥檚 Office of Graduate Studies, and leadership from the College of Engineering to explore the development of new programs and strategies to enhance international recruitment.

Another recent visitor was 爱爱直播 PhD alumni, Dr. Maria Gonzalez, Assistant Professor at UniNorte鈥檚 College of Law, Political Science, and International Relations. Dr. Gonzalez participated as a panelist in 爱爱直播鈥檚 Global Symposium: Mapping Contemporary Challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean sponsored by Institute for the Study of Latin America and the Caribbean (ISLAC).