Prime Highlights
- USF hosted Dominican Republic education leaders at NAFSA Partner Day to explore academic partnerships.
- The visit was backed by the Dominican-US Higher Education Network Building Initiative.
Key Facts
- USF is a public research university in Tampa, Florida, with dedicated international engagement offices.
- The delegation represented four Dominican universities and the US Embassy in Santo Domingo.
Background
The University of South Florida welcomed a delegation of higher education leaders from the Dominican Republic in the third week of May, as part of NAFSA Partner Day, a programme organized by USF World for foreign organizations coming to the Orlando NAFSA Annual Conference.
The delegation included representatives from the Instituto Superior de Agricultura University, Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, Instituto Superior de Formación Docente Salomé Ureña, Universidad Central del Este, and the US Embassy in Santo Domingo.
The visit was organised by USF College of Public Health professor Dr Dina Martinez Tyson and USF College of Education assistant professor Dr Molly Hamm-Rodriguez, in collaboration with USF World and USF Health International. The two faculty members identified the strong presence of Dominican institutions at the conference and created targeted engagement opportunities to build academic ties.
The delegates were involved in activities such as campus visits, faculty discussions and administration, and seminars on topics such as academic programs at the USF, the research environment, and international engagement. In excess of 40 people from different segments of the USF community participated in a networking event to develop contacts.
A unique event of a bilingual nature took place that involved both English and Spanish. Participants identified potential areas for collaboration spanning research, student mobility, teaching, and networking.
The visit was supported in part through the Dominican-US Higher Education Network Building Initiative, funded by the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic, which promotes sustainable academic partnerships between institutions in both countries. Organisers said they hope the visit opens the door to future research and education collaborations.
