Helping Students Gain an International Perspective with the Stevens Initiative
Actualizing Youth Mobility (AYM) to Lead and Innovate in the 21st Century is Ajman University’s (AU) virtual exchange program funded by the Stevens Initiative. It is aimed at fostering closer cultural ties between students in the UAE and the USA. Osama Abu Salah, AU Lecturer and one of the coordinators of the program, talks about the many benefits the program offers to AU students.
Tell us a bit about the Initiative and your role in it?
The Stevens Initiative is an international leader in virtual exchange, advocating for and investing in growth and diversity in the field. Stevens Initiative is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government, and is administered by the Aspen Institute. It is also supported by the Bezos Family Foundation and the governments of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
Being involved last year in one of their other programs us, with the support of the Office of International Academic Affairs to apply for an exchange grant to further expand this initiative to include more students at AU. With the efforts of a small team, we were able to successfully land the grant, the competition for which was intense between universities in the UAE. Only AU and two other universities in the UAE were successful in acquiring a grant. Currently I am coordinating the program along with my colleague Dr. Tizreena Ismail to ensure its success while communicating with our U.S. university partners. This is in addition to teaching three sections from my course Innovation and Entrepreneurship in merged classes with our partner instructors from the U.S.
- Can you share a brief explanation about how the program works?
The program is set to have several sections taught by different instructors from AU in coordination with instructors from partner universities in the U.S. The taught courses will have mutually agreed upon assignments and activities, where students from both sides of the globe work together in international teams to address global issues. The tasks could be cultural-related or course-related tasks.
- How do you think it will benefit Ajman University?
Ajman University is one of the most international and diverse universities in the world. The AYM program by AU will create more internationalization opportunities in addition to strengthening partnership with U.S universities, in addition to opening new opportunities with partners from other countries. Being involved in the program at an early stage of implementing the COIL program will put AU globally as one of the leading universities with merged international teaching experience.
- What are the benefits of this initiative to AU students?
We expect this program to have a huge positive impact on our students in many ways. Creating opportunities for meaningful communication with international students will improve their communication skills, increase their confidence in sharing their culture and interacting with diverse colleagues, foster empathy and understanding of other cultures, and increase their tolerance for diverse perspectives. This will be a great opportunity for students to enrich their personalities.
- As an instructor, your focus area in this initiative is business and entrepreneurship. How do you think the collaboration with US universities will help students from both sides gain new perspectives on the topic?
Students will have the opportunity to experience working in global teams, understanding global business issues and opportunities and gaining an international perspective about entrepreneurship, all of which will improve their employability skills. They will also be awarded a certificate that they can add to their resume.
- As a faculty, how is it helping you gain new perspectives and benefit from them?
This unique experience is proving to be invaluable, in terms of networking with instructors from overseas universities, gaining a better appreciation of diverse students’ needs, or designing unified international courses resulting in alignment with international education standards. I am also enjoying the experience of training and mentoring colleagues to join this wonderful initiative.
