U.S. CENTRAL ASIA EDUCATION FOUNDATION
Supporting the quality of - and affordable access to -
Western business know - how and practices in Central Asia
Enterprise Faculty Fellowships
Summer 2007 Pilot
American Councils and the Foundation agreed that the creation of a summer 2007 pilot program would help facilitate important analysis that would contribute to a longer-term strategic plan.
Five professors from two of the Foundation's partner universities in Central Asia (the American University of Central Asia, Bishkek, KG, and the International Business School, Tashkent, UZ) were selected to participate in the Summer 2007 Pilot.
The Summer 2007 pilot was conducted over five weeks in Minneapolis, Minnesota in conjunction with the University of Minnesota, selected for this program by American Councils for its unique ability to combine world class business education through the Carlson School of Management with cutting edge faculty teaching and learning through the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Digital Media Center. The collaborative approach of the University of Minnesota paired Faculty Fellows with a Carlson School faculty mentor in an integrated program designed to develop core competencies that were expected to produce tangible outcomes for use by the Fellows in their home universities.
The desired outcomes included:
- Techniques and skills to better prepare students for the global economy;
- Innovative and interactive classes;
- Activities within the business community and with business leaders to enhance the learning experience; and
- Integration of real-life materials into the core curriculum.
Faculty Fellows concluded their summer study in Washington, D.C. and each made a presentation regarding experiences, learned skills, and commitments upon return to their home universities.
Assessment and Next Steps
Faculty Fellows who participated in the Summer 2007 pilot praised the program and offered suggestions for its further development. American Councils’ assessment includes not just this input, but also involves University of Minnesota staff and includes formal surveys, interviews, site visits, debriefings, focus groups, and regular monitoring of Faculty Fellows both during the summer and afterwards, when they return to their home universities.
The Foundation, American Councils, and the University of Minnesota agreed that an important next step is a January 2008 regional training workshop to take place in Central Asia that would be open to a larger group of faculty and produce important additional information to help identify concrete goals and desired outcomes. This input would further the design and implementation of the Faculty Fellow Program and assist with measuring and achieving the defined objectives. In this way, the Foundation will assure that the Faculty Fellowship program goals are well understood and supported by the selected universities.
Plans For The Future
The principal objective is to develop a meaningful, measurable set of goals and a multi-year plan to implement them. To achieve this, plans include:
- For American Councils to arrange an in-region faculty workshop, working with the Carlson School of Management and the University of Minnesota’s Center for Teaching and Learning and Digital Media Center, in January, 2008 for business faculty from all three partner universities;
- To compile information learned from the 2007 Pilot Program and the January Workshop, in particular the input from participating faculty, and to develop specific goals for the Enterprise Faculty Fellowship and build a strategic plan to achieve them with metrics to assess effectiveness; and
- To discuss proposed goals and plans with partner universities within the region to obtain their input and support before finalization and implementation.
Depending on the progress of establishing longer-term Faculty Fellowship Program goals and the multi-year program, the Foundation will either continue with an expanded 2008 Summer Faculty Program at the University of Minnesota or postpone the summer program until 2009.