Dear
Following a recent survey, we are pleased to announce that the name of ACU Champions has changed to ACU Ambassadors. The ACU Ambassadors Network was introduced in 2019 to create a community of contacts at member universities that helps support the flow of information between the ACU and its members. Since then, over 190 Ambassadors have been recruited across the ACU’s diverse network of 500 + universities across the Commonwealth. Each month, an individual at a different ACU member institution is invited to write the introduction for this newsletter, providing an opportunity to highlight different perspectives. This month, Dr Preeti Nair, Director of the International Relations Cell at Parul University, India, and ACU Ambassador, writes for us. India has faced the COVID-19 pandemic with fortitude and a spirit of resilience and self-reliance. Self-reliance can be achieved through interdisciplinary collaboration and learning. Growing networks and building connections is integral to this. As a proud ACU Ambassador, I represent my university’s priorities within a network which connects me with fellow members. The ACU has supported fellow ACU Ambassadors and me with various opportunities to help address internationalisation challenges. One such opportunity was the first ACU Ambassadors Summit on 15 October 2020. This was an opportunity to meet ACU colleagues and other ACU Ambassadors, whilst discussing the transformations that are changing the way we work in international education. The breakout rooms enabled me to personally engage with staff from other ACU member universities about challenges and opportunities, and how the internationalisation priorities of each institution have changed. It proved to be a great platform for connecting and learning and I look forward to the next Champions Summit on 9 December 2020, which will explore Virtual Engagement and International Student Exchange. These Summits have inspired me to advance our strategic internationalisation goals through more intra-ACU member collaboration activities. The International Relations Cell at Parul University has also adapted to the vision of becoming self-reliant by striding through the new normal with several initiatives, be it virtual international symposia, online short-term courses offering prominent discipline expertise to partner universities, online semester exchange with partners, tailor-made summer schools for national and international students on relevant areas such as wellbeing and yoga or artificial intelligence, joint courses with partner universities, or new collaboration partnership models across the UK, USA and Canada to name a few. In recent months, we have made 11 new partnerships with international universities and more than 350 students have received opportunities for virtual international exposure. With the ongoing ACU initiatives and as a proud ACU Ambassador myself, I am sure that many members across the globe will be looking way ahead to their goals being achieved in internationalisation and mobility programmes. Let us all strive together to create a better tomorrow with the resources and collaboration needed to become more self-reliant and resilient. Dr Preeti Nair,
Director of the International Relations Cell
Parul University |
