Traditionally, student exchanges between Nepali universities and varsities abroad haven't been very substantive or visible. But this may be changing new private and public universities emerging on the national scene.A team of four representatives from Midwestern University recently visited six universities in the US. The team consisted of Vice Chancellor Kali Prasad Pandey, Registrar Mahendra Kumar Malla, program coordinator Prakash Sharma, and the university's US-based Regional Director of International Relations, Uttam Gaulee.
According to Registrar Malla, during the nine-day long visit (July 17-26), Midwestern University signed officials signed formal memorandum of understanding (MoU) on exploring potential areas of collaboration and further developing policies and programs for student exchange with American universities.
Midwestern University signed the Mousse with University of Massachusetts - Amherst (Massachusetts), University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), University of Louisiana - Monroe (Louisiana), and University of Florida (Florida).
The visit was coordinated by Gaulee, a former teacher from Surkhet and doctoral scholar of higher education administration at the University of Florida.
One of the prominent aspects of the MOU's is student exchange, which will involve a robust program for American students to study in Midwestern University. While other programs are being developed and details fleshed out, the agreements include exchange of faculty and experts; organization of joint academic research and outreach projects/activities; organization of joint conferences and symposia; and exchange and collaborative publications, including scientific and scholarly resources.
"At two other institutions where the visit was informal -- Stony Brook University (New York) and Temple University (Pennsylvania) -- we had substantive conversations with American scholars and high-level administrators who are interested in student, faculty, and expert exchange with Nepal," said VC Pandey.
Locals from the Midwestern development region had waited for years to see their own university in Surkhet. The new collaboration with the universities abroad is adding a new dimension to this emerging public institution in the region.Because of alleged irregularities in the past, this is welcome news for students and scholars of the region. Initiatives like this by the new leadership are likely to help build new trust and confidence.
Related story
Japan tops list as 80 percent of Nepali students opt for study...
