Columbia Global Centers

2011-04-11T21:35:00.000-07:00

2011-04-07T10:48:00.000-07:00

On March 16, Columbia's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) launched Studio-X Rio, the sixth in a series of Studio-X laboratories that consider the challenges of urban development in cities around the world. The other labs, located in Amman, Beijing, Moscow, Mumbai and New York, facilitate collaboration between Columbia students and faculty and the best architects and urban developers in the host country. The labs have been described by GSAPP Dean Mark Wigley as "the first truly global network for real-time exchange of projects, people and ideas between regional leadership cities." Studio-X Rio hopes to continue in this tradition, offering students, educators and developers the opportunity to collaborate and creatively address the most pressing problems arising from urbanization. The schedule of opening events at the launch included a welcome with Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio, and workshops similar to those that will be offered at the laboratory. Brazilian architect Pedro Rivera, the director of Studio-X Rio, described the layout of the laboratory: "The basic concept is very simple-- an empty space with an espresso machine." He also hopes to organize lectures, workshops and exhibitions to complement the studio work accomplished at Studio-X. To learn more about the Studio-X project, and the Rio lab specifically, please click here. You can also check out photos of the launch on our Facebook page.

Are we done with the humanities?

2011-03-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

Columbia students know the rigor of a liberal arts education. Through the University’s famed Core Curriculum, every Columbia College undergraduate is exposed to the best of history’s literature, philosophy, art and music, from Homer to Dante, Plato to Nietzsche, and everything in between.

In an increasingly technology-driven world, however, the question remains: how far will a humanities-based education get you? In a recent article for TechCrunch, Vivek Wadhwa, director of research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at Duke University, argues that liberal arts sensibilities may be more valuable to the science and technology industries than one might think.

Wadhwa considers arguments from two of the computer industry’s giants—chairman of Microsoft Bill Gates and Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Each man has built a technological empire, but through different philosophies about the type of education needed to get there. While Gates argues that math and science education should be a priority in the interest of job creation, Jobs instead believes that the arts and sciences are codependent, and that the graphic designer who designs iPad apps is just as important as the engineers who develop the technology necessary to use those apps in the first place.

Agreeing with Jobs, Wadhwa writes,

…even though I believe that engineering is one of the most important professions, I have learned that the liberal arts are equally important. It takes artists, musicians, and psychologists working side by side with engineers to build products as elegant as the iPad. And anyone—with education in any field—can achieve success in Silicon Valley.

At Columbia, the Core Curriculum strives to reach a balance between these two areas of study. In addition to its stringent humanities requirements, the Core requires a minimum of two elective science or math related classes, as well as a freshman seminar called “Frontiers of Science” that introduces students to cutting edge developments in scientific fields as disparate as neuroscience and quantum physics. The University also boasts one of the country’s best undergraduate engineering schools, the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. However, for undergraduates in Columbia College, the most popular majors are still humanities-based, including economics, political science and history.

Can Columbia graduates still be competitive in their chosen fields of work, or should the Core require more math and science? Tell us in the comments!

If you’re interested in learning more, you can read the original discussion from the New York Times here, and also look at Columbia’s core requirements.

Upcoming events from the Committee on Global Thought

2011-03-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

Check out the following upcoming events from the Committee on Global Thought:

What Does "Imperialism" Mean in an Age of Global Finance?

Monday, March 28, 2011 8:00 PM

Columbia University, Schermerhorn 501

A discussion featuring:

C.P. Chandrasekhar, Professor of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University

Duncan Foley, Professor of Economics at The New School for Social Research

Jayati Ghosh, Chairperson of the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning at Jawaharlal Nehru University

David Harvey, Professor of Anthropology at City University of New York

Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development at the United Nations

Prabhat Patanaik, Professor of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University

Sitaram Yechury, Parliamentary Group Leader of the Communist Party of India

For more information and to register, please click here

India During and After the Global Financial Crisis

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 12:00 PM

Columbia University, Uris Hall 301

A lecture featuring:

Kaushik Basu, Chief Economic Adviser for the Ministry of Finance, Government of India

Prabhat Patanaik, Professor of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University

Y.V. Reddy, Former Governer, Reserve Bank of India

Amartya Sen, Thomas W. Lamont University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University

Joseph Stiglitz, Co-Chair of the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University

For more information and to register, please click here

The Fourth Annual Arrow Lecture: "Time and Persons in the Economics of Climate Change"

Tuesday, April 12, 2011 6:00 PM

Columbia University, Low Library Rotunda

A lecture by:

Sir Partha Dasgupta, Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Cambridge

with discussants

Scott Barrett, Lenfest-Earth Institute Professor of Natural Resource Economics at SIPA and the Earth Institute, Columbia University

Geoffrey Heal, Garrett Professor of Public Policy & Corporate Responsibility at Columbia Business School

For more information and to register, please click here

Chunjie Zhang to speak on March 24

2011-03-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

Please mark your calendars for the following talk by Chunjie Zhang, INTERACT Postdoctoral Fellow at ICLS.

August von Kotzebue's Transnational Melodrama: Sentimentalism, Sexuality, and Refusal of Trajedy in
Brother Moritz, the Stranger, or the Colony on Pelew Island (1795)

Thursday, March 24, 2011, 3pm to 5pm
Common Room, Heyman Center (directions)

Café ARC: COLUMBIA GLOBAL CENTERS | EUROPE

2011-03-14T10:49:00.000-07:00

Café ARC
COLUMBIA GLOBAL CENTERS | EUROPE
Actualité-Recherche-Communication
REID HALL, 4 rue de
Chevreuse, 75006 Paris

NEW RESEARCH
Thursdays at 18:30
FRENCH GLOBAL THOUGHT IN AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Columbia in Paris invites you to a series of interdisciplinary
conversations on the global dimensions of French and Francophone
cultures from the Middle Ages to today. Faculty from Paris
universities and visiting scholars from the United States will present
current research in fields including Political Science, History, Art
History and Literature.

Le programme de Columbia à Paris vous invite cordialement à une série
de conversations pluridisciplinaires autour du rayonnement global des
cultures françaises et francophones du moyen âge jusqu’à nos jours.
Des professeurs d’universités à Paris et des checheurs en visite
présenteront leurs recherches en cours dans des disciplines telles que
les sciences politiques, l’histoire, l’histoire de l’art, et les
études littéraires.

24 March
Michael Gorra (Smith College)
'Not a Pretty Thing': Joseph Conrad on the Conquest of the Earth.
Salle de Conférence

Pour plus d'information sur cette série pluridisciplinaire, veuillez
consulter le document ci-joint. Merci de réserver en avance votre
place pour cet événement en cliquant ici.

Tony Blair Discusses Globalization & the Future of Higher Ed

2011-03-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

Tony Blair may no longer be making news as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, but his life post-politics has continued all the same. Mr. Blair has been teaching at Yale University here in the United States and contemplating the relationship between globalization and higher education. On Sunday, BBC News covered an interview with Mr. Blair on that topic.

Columbia Global Centers promotes and supports the engagement of the university world-wide, so we were obviously excited to hear Mr. Blair optimistically speak about emerging trends in higher education. Throughout the interview, he makes it clear that globalization will impact universities and already has. He argues, “It is now up to institutions of higher education to engage directly on these issues - not only their students, but current world leaders in politics, finance, and international diplomacy, along with the general public.”

He sees a more open and equal future where university content is available online for free and universities of developing nations in South America, Asia, and Africa improve the quality of their education, gaining prestige and influence amongst Western academic peers.

The world he describes is different from the world today, but not hard to imagine. As countries rise in economic influence, it is only natural to expect a similar transition for their universities. Beyond that natural rise, prominent, established universities like Columbia can and do reach out, build long-term relationships, and generate a new international dialog. If Mr. Blair is correct (and it appears that he is), we can all look forward to an exciting and enriching future for Columbia University and higher education world-wide.

------

Topics discussed in the interview:

OpenYale- Yale University’s catalog of coursework and lectures offered free to the general public.

Technologico de Monterrey (Mexico) - Mr. Blair frequently referenced this university for its international engagement and its focus on increasing access to its courses online.

The Tony Blair Faith Foundation’s Faith and Globalization Initiative – The Foundation’s “international network of leading universities exploring the relationship between faith and globalization and highlighting the implications to the wider world.”

International internships: what makes a good one?

2011-03-07T21:09:00.000-08:00

In a recent article for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Charles Gliozzo and Cindy Chalou, both affiliated with the Office of Study Abroad at Michigan State University, discuss the growing trend of international internships and the importance of a global education for American undergraduates. They note that the number of students who intern abroad has increased 133 percent in the six academic years between 2003 and 2009.

According to Gliozzo and Chalou, the key resources necessary to facilitate successful international internships include relationships with local businesses, a clear program structure that integrates the student’s professional and academic experiences abroad, a method for ensuring the academic credibility of the student’s foreign university, and adequate resources to support the program, financial and otherwise.

Columbia’s own Center for Career Education (CCE) offers a comprehensive summer foreign work experience program called Columbia Experience Overseas (CEO). Participants in this program are afforded all the benefits of a traditional internship, combined with the unique opportunities offered by a study abroad program. You can learn more about CEO here.

What do you think makes a good international work experience? What can be gained from working abroad that can’t be found in the U.S.? Have you had an internship abroad? Leave a comment and tell us!

Healing Paradigms and the Politics of Health in Central Asia

2011-03-03T10:37:00.000-08:00

The Culture, Religion, and Communications Unit of the

Global Health Research Center of Central Asia at Columbia University

Presents its First Annual Conference:

Healing Paradigms and the Politics of Health in Central Asia

Kellogg Center, Columbia University

420 West 118th Street, 15th floor

April 8, 2011

PLEASE RSVP TO: https://calendar.columbia.edu/sundial/webapi/register.php?eventID=48012

For more information: http://ghrcca.columbia.edu/en/node/118 or email crc2011conference@gmail.com

Summer Ecosystem Experience in JORDAN

2011-02-18T10:49:00.000-08:00

SEE-U JORDAN

The Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC) at the Earth Institute, Columbia University is excited to announce the launch of a brand new Summer Ecosystem Experience in JORDAN

In partnership with Columbia's Global Center in Amman, the Columbia University Middle East Research Center, undergraduate students of all majors have the unique opportunity to study ecosystems and environmental sustainability in Jordan.

Summer Ecosystem Experiences for Undergraduates (SEE-U)
Jordan: May 21 - June 24, 2011

During this five week, six credit program you embark in the exploration and appreciation of Jordan's ecology through coursework and field research. This location is ideal for biodiversity studies, as a wide variety of flora and fauna are found in Jordan's wetland, marine, freshwater, desert, and forest ecosystems.

To supplement instruction, guest lecturers from Jordanian universities and organizations are incorporated into the curriculum. Focus is placed on understanding Jordan's important environmental issues such as:

- limited natural freshwater resources
- deforestation
- overgrazing and
- desertification

Ecology and biology coursework are integrated with fieldwork taking place at various sites across the country.

You fly into the capital city of Amman, for introductory course lectures over several days. You then travel south to spend time in the coastal southern region of Aqaba, to study coral reef and marine ecology at the Red Sea Marine Science Center. A weeklong stay at the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature's reserves in the desert region of Dana and the Wadi Mujib canyon (part of the lowest nature reserve in the world, bordering the Dead Sea) provides a comprehensive look at the country's biodiversity, as you work alongside Jordanian scientists.

Enrollment at this field site is limited to 15 undergraduates from Columbia College, General Studies, and Barnard College. Interested candidates should complete the SEE-U application available on the CERC website. Selected students will be subject to a competitive, intensive review process, including an interview with staff members.

Click here for more information regarding the SEE-U program and the application process.

More detailed information regarding SEE-U Jordan will be posted soon. Please contact Desmond Beirne at djb2104@columbia.edu if you are interested in this program.

- - -

SEE-U Jordan is part of CERC's Summer Ecosystem Experiences for Undergraduates (SEE-U) program. Other Summer 2011 field sites include:

- Brazil (May 21 - June 25)
- Puerto Rico (May 28 - July 2)
- Dominican Republic (July 9 - August 13)

For more information on the SEE-U Program please visit our website and download our program brochure.
Contact: Columbia University, 1200 Amsterdam Ave., MC 5557, Schermerhorn Extension, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10027

Studio-X: Mumbai

2011-02-18T10:34:00.000-08:00

You're Invited:

To Celebrate the Launch of

STUDIO-X MUMBAI

MARK WIGLEY
Dean, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
Columbia University

and

RAJEEV THAKKER
Director, Studio-X Mumbai

Invite you to the opening events for

ARCHITECTURE OF CONSEQUENCE

February 10 - 13, 2010

Studio-X Mumbai
Kitab Mahal
Fourth Floor
192, D N Road
Fort Mumbai 400 001

Please see below for event details.

	EXHIBITION PREVIEW Thursday, February 10 6:30pm Reception 7:00pm SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN DESIGN with OLE BOUMAN Director, Netherlands Architecture Institute MARK WIGLEY Dean, Columbia University \| GSAPP EXHIBITION OPENING Friday, February 11 6:30pm Reception with opening remarks by THE HONORABLE AHMED ABOUTALEB Mayor of Rotterdam MARK WIGLEY Dean, Columbia University \| GSAPP WORKSHOP PRESENTATION AND PANEL Sunday, February 13 2:30pm Special guest critics will review the proposals of three design charrette groups comprised of local architects and activists from DCOOP, ARCHITECTURE BRIO, SP+a & RITU MOHANTY-PADORA and URBZ, Dutch designers from VENHOEVEN CS, KUIPER COMPAGNONS and NAi, and directors of GSAPP's STUDIO-X RIO and SAO PAULO LAB for how architecture can build social value and bring a positive effect to three different neighborhoods in Mumbai. 4:30pm SOCIO-ECONOMICS OF URBAN INDIA with JYOTI HOSAGRAHAR Director, Sustainable Urbanism International \| GSAPP SMITA SRINIVAS Director, Technological Change Lab \| GSAPP

Social Work Masters Fellowship Program in Jordan

2011-01-13T09:17:00.000-08:00

The Social Work Masters Fellowship Program for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan deadline is fast approaching.

Please remind your colleagues and students of the wonderful opportunity (information & application attached).

ELIGIBILITY
The Program does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, or
disability. The competition is merit-based and open to those meeting the following criteria:

1. Resident of Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
2. Hold an undergraduate degree (4 or 5 year) at application deadline with an excellent academic record;
3. Proficient in spoken and written English at the time of application;
4. Able to demonstrate professional aptitude and leadership potential in social work;
5. Committed to returning to home country after completion of the program.

NOTE: It is NOT required that you have a bachelors degree in social sciences in order to apply.
All questions should be directed to Matt Wilson: mwilson@sorosny.org

Global perspectives on the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize

2010-10-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

The recent Nobel Peace Prize award has garnered all kinds of reactions from every corner of the globe. From the highest circles of socio-political commentary down to grassroots-level netizens, shouts of praise and cries of indignation have flooded nearly every media outlet imaginable.

Amidst the swell of this reaction, a write-up was done in the Communique, a student publication at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, which reflected some of the breadth of this spectrum through the voices of globally-minded Columbia graduate students from China, the Chinese diaspora, and the West. Read more on the Communique article here:

www.columbiacommunique.org/?p=852

Particularly as part of this article features a quote from one of your humble Global Centers blog authors, I encourage you to keep as objective a viewpoint as possible in considering the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize results. Was this decision non-partisan? To what degree do we need to contextualize our understanding in terms of macro-level factors and polarized interests?

An important thing to remember in this evaluation is the actual purpose of the Prize. According to its website, the Nobel Peace Prize seeks to award: “...the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”. How well does this year’s selection reflect this mission? More emphatically, does this year’s selection actually further its mission of encouraging “fraternity between nations” and “promotion of peace congresses”?

Thanks to the Communique and Thomas Chen for allowing the inclusion of their article.

Fund Unpaid Internships!

2010-10-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

Learn how to fund your unpaid internship this summer!

Join Center for Career Education and Fellowships Office staff at two workshops this fall:

October 27^th from 12 – 1 pm in the CCE Conference Room

November 9^th from 2 – 3 pm in the CCE Conference Room

Taking an unpaid or low-paying internship in a field you love doesn't have to break the bank. Attend this presentation to learn about how to find and apply for funding for unpaid opportunities, and about other strategies to make ends meet. The Summer Interns Living and Learning Program (SILLP), the Alumni & Parent Internship Fund (APIF) and the Work Exemption Program (WEP) will also be discussed. The Fellowships Office will join us to share helpful tips and resources.

To learn more about how to fund an unpaid internship, please visit our website.

Casual Attire.

Registration suggested in advance, but not required. To register, click here.

Resume not required.

Eligibility: This event is open to all Undergraduate and Graduate students at the following schools: Columbia College, School of General Studies, Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of Architecture, Preservation and Planning, School of Continuing Education and School of the Arts.

Additional Questions? Contact Liz Wang at ew2261@columbia.edu.

Geng Xiao on China's Next 20 Years

2010-09-23T08:21:00.000-07:00

Executive Director of the East Asia Global Center and non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Geng Xiao, was recently featured in a number of international media venues (CCTV, China Daily, “China: The Next Twenty Years of Reform and Development”, etc.) discussing his views on the economic challenges and likely policy responses for China in upcoming years.

According to Professor Xiao, in the broadest sense the macroeconomic challenge facing China today revolves around managing its exchange, interest and inflation rates to facilitate the stable and “harmonious” growth that has been so heavily emphasized by Chinese leadership, as Western economies shrink in size relative to emerging markets.

He points to prices in Chinese non-tradable goods— unskilled labor wages, property values, etc.— rising in comparison to tradable goods, whose price are dictated by the global market. Following this trend, he predicts that over the next few decades Chinese price levels will converge toward those of the US through structural inflation or structural revaluation of the yuan— or both.

Here Professor Xiao takes a stand: that structural inflation is the better of the two avenues, and that China must in fact permit a reasonable degree of structural inflation.

As a positive claim, this approach prioritizes employment, productivity gains, wage growth and price liberalization, while preserving the benefits of a stable exchange rate in curbing speculative capital inflows and the short-term shocks that they often carry.

In a more negative sense, Professor Xiao calls on the troubled experience of Japan in prematurely appreciating its currency during the Plaza Accord of 1985, and indicates that currency appreciation as a means of adjusting trade imbalances— a common stance among US policy-makers— is a misguided notion. The huge potential for cross-border investment and debt financing between the US and China, and the potentially larger size of cross-border capital flows as compared to trade flows between the two countries over time, encourage a stable exchange rate as being in both countries’ longer-term interests. Moreover, structural inflation will ultimately lead to a real revaluation of the RMB, which will then facilitate the shift to a flexible exchange regime along the way.

Of course, tolerating structural inflation will necessitate policymaking that will mitigate distortions and shocks that will occur during the adjustment process. Chinese policymakers must deal with property and stock-market bubbles currently being formed. As Professor Xiao makes clear, this will require raising Chinese interest rates (which currently lie at dangerously low, and even negative rates in real terms), and improving capital-control mechanisms as greater capital inflows ensue.

Review of “The Great Brain Race: How Global Universities are Reshaping the World” (Princeton University Press, 2010)

2010-09-09T15:37:00.000-07:00

In The Great Brain Race, Ben Wildavsky, senior fellow at the Kauffman Foundation, guest scholar at the Brookings Institution, and former US News & World Report education editor, delivers a comprehensive overview of the globalization of academia.

Beginning with an introduction of the phenomenon and an outline of his basic project, Wildavsky dives into an examination of international student movement, the expansion of universities into a transnational context, and the development of competitive, world-class universities around the world. Key factors at work in this examination are the sheer number of students studying abroad, the dynamic globalization models of universities such as NYU and regions such as Qatar’s Education City, and the impressive rise of top-notch universities in non-traditional locales ranging from China, to India, South Korea, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia.

Wildavsky then turns to the global spread of university ranking systems, from the well-known US News & World Report, to up-and-comers like the Academic Ranking of World Universities, a research-focused publication by Shanghai Jiaotong University, and the arguably UK-centric Times Higher Education. Following the exploration of these metrics, he then assesses the rise of for-profit and online education facilities, which carry the benefits of providing readily accessible, career-oriented learning options, but suffer from questions regarding the quality of their educational services and their positive or negative impacts on the education systems around them.

While The Great Brain Race does an excellent job of examining the various angles at work in academic globalization, and while it provides many interesting facts regarding this ongoing movement, readers may find the book to be lacking as far as a core argument or motivational purpose. The introduction and final chapter of the book take a stab at establishing this sort of motivating theme, where Wildavsky discusses his worries about the obstacles facing academic globalization, and his support of its many benefits, which he stylizes as being part of a positive-sum “free trade in minds”. Despite this attempt, and in large part due to the dynamic nature and incredible breadth of his project, the book falls somewhat short of introducing a unique premise, and may instead be highlighted for its strengths as a broad-based survey and referential resource to better understand the globalization of the academic field.

Opportunities with the Global Centers in New York

2010-09-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

Are you interested in getting more involved with international events and activities on campus? The Global Centers is hiring two workstudy-eligible students for administrative and communications support positions. We are also looking for new bloggers to help develop the content on the blog. For all of the new students coming to campus, this is a great opportunity to learn about international studies opportunities, meet new people, and make Columbia a better place.

Contact Monique Smith at mds2180@gmail.com

Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships

2010-08-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

Global Centers Wins NRC/FLAS Grant

2010-08-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

Columbia Global Centers is pleased to announce that it has recently been awarded a major grant by the United States Department of Education to establish a National Resource Center for Global Studies at the university. This is a significant step toward strengthening Columbia’s already robust set of international courses, events, and outreach activities. In the next four-year grant cycle, the Office of Global Centers will be implementing an array of programs including a major initiative to bring the World Leadership Forum to local K-16 schools via webcast. Funding will also be directed to the libraries, language teaching, several conferences on global topics, and course development grants.

Next month, as a part of this new program and in coordination with the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, the Harriman Institute, the Committee on Global Thought and the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, the Global Centers will launch the International Network to Expand Regional and Collaborative Teaching (INTERACT), which will bring 5 postdoctoral fellows to campus to create innovative courses on global topics for undergraduates.

For the 2010-11 Academic Year, Columbia Global Centers has awarded Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships to 2 undergraduate and 3 graduate students. Please contact mds2180@gmail.com for more information on Summer FLAS opportunities

Why Branch Campuses May Be Unsustainable

2010-06-29T07:35:00.000-07:00

In this article published in International Higher Education, Dr. Philip Altbach discusses some of the reasons to think twice about the branch campus model of international expansion. Among his concerns are questions of sustainability, quality control, and long-term impact. Columbia has adopted the Global Centers model in response to the "mushrooming" of these university campuses abroad, and it is a model that addresses many of Altbach's concerns.

http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/cihe/newsletter/Number58/p2_Altbach.htm

Beijing EVENT: Incorporating Public Health Policy into Healthcare Management

2010-06-02T11:59:00.001-07:00

China-US Center on Medical Professionalism Seeks Grant Applications

2010-05-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

The China-US Center on Medical Professionalism will fund 4-5 research projects by Chinese academics in 2010. This year we are making a commitment to the intersection of administration, business and medicine in China, and are soliciting applications for projects in the following areas of interest:

Conflict of interest in research and clinical practice.
How medical professionalism can contribute to health policy.
The impact of payment models and physician salaries on medical professionalism.
Approaches and solutions to medical error: how to study error and foster trust amongst administrators and physicians.
The role of professional medical associations in promoting medical professionalism.
The role of hospitals in promoting medical professionalism.

The amounts awarded will range from 65,000RMB to 100,000RMB annually. The project period could be 1 or 2 years. For more information on the Center and application details, visit http://www.imapny.org/home/china_application. Questions can be sent to china_usmedprof@yahoo.com.

Applications close on June 20^th, 2010. PLEASE NOTE: grants will only be given to academics based in China.

The Continuing Financial Crisis: Perspectives from the North and the South

2010-04-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

We have all read articles, seen pictures, listened to shows, and read blogs on the impact of the Great Recession. But somehow when you have leading economists (current and former) from the World Bank, the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and international universities describe the consequences of the recession it becomes a more profound social and political force.

On March 25, 2010 four economists joined Columbia's Committee On Global Thought for an afternoon discussion entitled, "The Continuing Financial Crisis: Perspectives from the North and the South." Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development at the UN, Justin Yifu Lin, Chief Economist at the World Bank, Prabhat Patnaik, Professor of Economis at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University shared unique perspectives on how the financial crisis has impacted both developed and developing nations.

Stiglitz joined the conversation

While some, myself included, may focus on how the recession affects their own job, neighborhood, or local school district, the economists showed important evidence on why it is critical that politicians and organizations pay greater attention to the global impact of the economy.

Unbalanced international economic systems made Southern nations the "innocent victims" of the recession, shared Sundaram, explaining that today's international systems exclude and constrain the poorest nations. He noted that the, "G7 means 171 other countries are not included." Developing nations have had to deal with the blow of unemployment, unproductive investments, decreased remittances, and higher borrowing costs.

Despite the hurdles, the economists noted that there were several avenues for improving the economic situation including more careful foreign direct investment, better international coordination between the developed nations, and strong stimulus policies.

For more detailed information on the expert's opinions and ideas watch a video of the event that will be posted here shortly. For more information visiting the Committee on Global Thought's website.

President Nicolas Sarkozy Comes to Columbia University

2010-04-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

On Monday, March 29th, President Nicolas Sarkozy, sixth president of the Fifth Republic of France, delivered an address to the Columbia University community in the Rotunda of Low Memorial Library. The Maison Française and the Columbia-Paris Alliance Program cosponsored this World Leaders Forum event. After having been introduced by Columbia’s President Lee C. Bollinger, President Sarkozy jogged onto the stage and, discarding his prepared speech, told the audience that he wanted to “speak from the heart, as a friend.”

The French president then went on to stress that Europe, the United States’s “European friends,” wanted to be heard and listened to by the United States, and that “Europe and the United States of America must work together” to stabilize the world’s economy, fight terrorism, and redesign the structure of the United Nations Security Council and world governance.

President Sarkozy expressed the idea that the United States needs to be more aware of the fact that the economic crisis has had an impact worldwide, and that the “world is totally interdependent and interlocked.” He emphasized that “we can no longer accept a capitalist system where there are no rules,” and called for a system that held its players responsible both when things go well and when things do not go well. He argued that capitalism cannot be defended when there is injustice present in it.

He also declared that it is the United States’s and Europe’s responsibility to regulate the world economy, and to gage the economy differently in order to support sustainable growth. President Sarkozy made the argument that the market economy has become a “speculative economy,” where there should be a “productive economy,” meaning that people should earn their money based on their ability to produce, rather than to speculate.

President Sarkozy went on to point out to the audience that not only are there no Arab, African or Latin American countries with permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council, but also that India and Japan do not have permanent seats on the UN Security Council. He argued that it was unacceptable to operate on an exclusionary model, and proposed that every region of the world should have two to three representatives with permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council, because “everyone has to be on board the world [governance].”

Finally, President Sarkozy concluded with an emphasis on the fact that the fight against terrorism involves everyone in the world, using the recent attacks in the Moscow subway as an example. He ended his address with a direct appeal to Columbia University students, saying “you must never turn your backs on the world.”

President Sarkozy’s remarks were followed by a brief question and answer session, in which he provided the audience with some final thoughts on international universities, health care in the United States, and the role of Europe in the current economic crisis. He ended the question and answer session with a declaration of his intent to fight for the establishment of a new international world monetary system and the regulation of currency fluctuations.

Special from the Record: STUDIO-X

2010-02-25T09:39:00.000-08:00

The the Ibrahim Hashem House Preservation Project

2010-02-18T13:07:00.000-08:00

Beginning in March of 2009, the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation’s Historic Preservation Program has been steadily working on the documentation of a small villa given to the GSAPP by the city of Amman in Jordan in the Ibrahim Hashem House Preservation Project. Leading this project is Professor Andrew Dolkart, who is working alongside a group of GSAPP students, as well as Professor George Wheeler and Dean Mark Wigley of the GSAPP.

This project is a part of a more general effort for Columbia University to make Amman a global center for Columbia. The subject of the project—the abandoned villa in Amman, Jordan—was built in 1935 for one of Jordan’s first prime ministers. The municipality of Amman gave the villa to Columbia and facilitated the work for the Ibrahim Hashem House Preservation Project.

The first step in the project began last spring, when Professor Dolkart selected five students based on their individual talents to work with him to restore the villa. These students had the opportunity to present their work to Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, advisory board member of the Columbia Global Center, at the March launch of the Center. The students continued working on the house through the summer of 2009.

When the Ibrahim Hashem House Preservation Project is completed, it will provide another venue for Columbia University in the city of Amman that has the specific function of developing collaborative projects between Columbia University and local and regional architects, planners, and preservationists.

Professor Dolkart and his team of students and colleagues hold as the final goal of this project the rehabilitation of the villa. They hope that the finished project will provide a residential center for visiting scholars in Amman, as well as a site for discussion, and the sharing of ideas about what Professor Dolkart calls the “built world.” The team hopes to add a café and a gallery to the villa, but the specifics, according to Professor Dolkart, will have to be worked out as the design proceeds.

Interacting with Columbia Interactive

2010-02-09T12:24:00.000-08:00

Your Wish List:

A class on America and the Muslim world
An interactive network dedicated to international affairs
A complete history of New York Architecture
Links to all of Columbia’s publications from the Fed to Columbia’s Journal of Law and Social Problems
A class on the wonders of Nano-science

You’re in luck. You can reach all this and more from your desk with Columbia Interactive, Columbia University’s online learning site. The site combines online resources such as websites and webcasts, e-seminars, online e-courses for credit, and new media initiatives. By pooling a wide-range of online resources in one accessible site members of the Columbia community have a world of information at their finger-tips.

Its online e-seminars are short courses that cover a wide range of topics in the arts, sciences, business, and journalism. The free e-seminars focus on diverse issues from "

America

and the Muslim World" to "Biography of the AIDS Epidemic."

By utilizing current technology the site connects scholars, educators, and students that may otherwise be separated by geography or time. With a computer and internet connection Columbia students or staff could hear "The Future of English" a seminar taught by David Crystal, leading language expert and resident of Holyhead, United Kingdom. In addition, the classes have found meaningful ways to engage their learners wherever they may be. The course, "News Reporting: A Fire Scenario" takes students through a two-hour journalism simulation to cover a five-alarm raging fire.

Find out how you would cover this....

Columbia Interactive also focuses on connecting the Columbia community to many resources that are already on the web. Faculty interviews, articles, and databases are just a click away from their website. Their listing of Columbia’s journals and newsletters means that students and alumni can keep in touch with new findings no matter where they may travel.

One problem that arises in using the website is that many of the links or resources are outdated. Excitedly clicking on links often led me to warnings of “Page No Longer Exists.” Perhaps the site is awaiting a spring cleaning. In 2003 the website received a Web Award for Outstanding Achievement in Website Development from the Web Marketing Association. The competition was sponsored by Google, Internet World, and Advertising Week, and featured entries from 19 countries. An update could make it equally useful in the new decade.

Academic Commons: Deposit Your Electronic Research!

2010-02-05T18:29:00.000-08:00

Columbia University Libraries/Information Services invites you to deposit your electronic research materials into the University's online repository, Academic Commons. This secure preservation service is offered free of charge to the CU community, and includes a permanent URL for every item deposited as well as the option to maximize your work's visibility via Google Scholar and RSS feeds. Eligible content includes (and is not limited to): theses, dissertations, articles, working papers, conference materials, journals, monographs, data sets, and multimedia files.

Those who deposit receive advice on copyright and permissions information for their work and support for compliance with funding-related archiving requirements. Authors can specify levels of access to their work public to Columbia-only to “none” (on a time-limited basis). For more information and to begin depositing your materials, please email Sarah Holsted at sholsted@columbia.edu, or call her at 212-851-7339.

Job Opening: Director for Europe (Loc: Paris)

2010-02-04T08:03:00.000-08:00

Columbia University
Office of International Relations
Director

Reporting to the Office of Global Centers in New York, the Director is responsible for leading the Columbia Global Center for Europe, located in Paris.

Responsibilities:

Establish a vibrant academic Center in Europe and link that Center's programs to Columbia University's network of global centers around the world.
Strategically communicate to Columbia faculty and administrators the activities and services offered by the Center and effectively build teaching and research programs that advance the core mission of the University.
Work closely with academic colleagues and institutions across Europe, and reach out to Europe's policy and business communities.
Maintain and enforce the Center's identity standards including editorial and visual guidelines.
Work closely with the Vice President of Global Centers to set policies, assist with strategic planning.
Work closely with the Director of Administration in New York to ensure Center compliance with all the financial, legal, tax policies and rules.
Work on fundraising in close collaboration with the Office of Alumni and Development.
Manage the strategic direction of the Center's website.
Is responsible for the financial management of the Center.
Supervise administrative and program staff.
Other duties and projects as assigned.

Bachelor's degree required. Seven years' related experience required.

Prior experience living and/or working in Europe. Fluency in English, and at least one other major European language. Five years experience at a senior level in academic administration, program development and financial management, preferably in Europe. Proven entrepreneurial talents and achievement in an institution-building setting. Superior interpersonal skills with proven ability to successfully interact and collaborate with varied constituencies in a professional manner. Excellent written and oral communication skills, demonstrating tact and diplomacy working with a wide variety of personalities. Must be a team player and innovative self-starter. Willing to accept multiple year commitment in Paris, France.

For a full job announcement and to apply, please visit our web site: jobs.columbia.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=117757

Columbia University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.

EVENT: Global Poetry Reading

2010-01-21T11:50:00.000-08:00

In our efforts to make the humanities play a significant role in globalizing the curriculum, the International Council and Global Cultural Studies are arranging a series of events. First in the series is what we’re calling a “Global Poetry Reading,” with Abena Busia, Meena Alexander, and Marilyn Hacker on March 25, 2010 in the Library of the Casa Italiana (1161 Amsterdam Avenue) from 6:00p-8:00p, to be followed by a reception and book signing. Rosalind Morris will be the discussant.

The Bridge Between Columbia and Africa

2010-01-15T15:57:00.000-08:00

The number of international students at Columbia from Africa has been on the rise since 2004, according to data provided by Columbia University’s International Programs and Services (ISSO) office, which provides support for visas and other documents for international students who come to Columbia University. ISSO is responsible for international students who enroll in and/or intern at Columbia, and the students whose place of origin is Africa make up 2.7%. There are 195 African students enrolled in and interning at Columbia University for the 2009-2010 academic year.
Of these African students, 1.1% of Columbia’s international population hail from West Africa, 33 of the 147 enrolled students are from Nigeria, 10 of the 48 interns are from Morocco, and at 39 total students, Nigeria is the country of origin for 20% of the total number of international students at Columbia whose place of origin is Africa.

However, according to Dean Kathleen McDermott, the director and assistant Vice President of Columbia University’s Office of Global Programs, there is still a lack of general cohesion among Columbia’s various affiliation attempts with the African continent.

Columbia’s various units—such as the Business School, the Mailman School of Public Health, the School of International and Public Affairs, and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences—each have their own respective programs through which they send students to Africa, but according to Dean McDermott, there is very little communication between these programs unless a problem—such as a safety issue in one of the countries—arises, making it very difficult to form comprehensive plans to increase Columbia’s correspondence with African countries.

The Office of Global Programs itself does not currently run very many programs in Africa that are solely through Columbia University. However, through outside schools and programs it sends students to North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa every year. Many of the programs that students travel through are field study programs, research programs, and volunteer programs. Students who are interested in research and/or volunteering in Africa have access to several summer programs that are located in most countries throughout the continent. Dean McDermott would like to establish more of its own programs in African countries; they are currently discussing a program that it will have in affiliation with Senegal.

Through the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, the African Consortium, which is affiliated with Columbia University as well as the Universities of Cape Town in South Africa, Ghana, Ibadan in Nigeria, and Nairobi in Kenya, has conducted a series of pilot courses and strategic policy discussions, and is currently developing a program of language-based socio-cultural studies. The Consortium also includes a student exchange program with the University of Ghana.

The Mailman School of Public Health’s International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP) and the Earth Institute’s Millennium Villages Projects operate in the region with large staffs and a substantial number of established programs in affiliation with African countries. ICAP takes a ‘family centered approach’ to its mission to fortify health systems through programs that address the issue of HIV/AIDS and other related health concerns. It was founded in 2004, and it has already provided access to HIV care to over 750,000 people, and provided HIV treatment to about 358,000 people.
ICAP’s staff, led by Global Director Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, consists of around 1,200 people, with approximately 1,000 physical sites across 13 African countries, with no current plans to expand. This vast staff as well as various students and medical professionals who work through ICAP’s programs provides services such as monitoring and evaluation of HIV programs, research on epidemiology, prevention and management of infectious diseases, real-time data collection and reporting, training and mentoring of medical professionals and students, education, medical equipment and supplies, HIV care and antiretroviral treatment (ART) for children and adults, HIV testing, prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), treatment adherence and psychosocial support, and care and treatment for related diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.

The Millennium Villages Project (MVP) is a partnership between the Earth Institute, Columbia University, Millennium Promise, and the United Nation Development Programme. Over a five year period, MVP hopes to help communities and local governments to develop the capacity to continue MVP’s initiatives and build a foundation for sustainable growth. So far, MVP has touched an approximated 400,000 people in 79 villages. It has 12 groups across 10 African countries, which consist of Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Although needs vary from sector to sector, the greatest overall need is funding to launch community-based development projects that have been set up to be self-sustaining after several financial injections. Because of the various agro-ecological zones, MVP’s services also vary from sector to sector, but some of the resources it provides are high yield seeds, fertilizers, medicines, drinking wells, materials to build school rooms and clinics, and access to resources such as agroforestry, insecticide-treated malaria bed nets, antiretroviral drugs, the internet, remote sensing, and geographic information systems.

The study of Africa from an intellectual standpoint is integral to the academic life on campus. One such resource is the Center for African Education (CAE) through Teacher’s College. CAE supports research and teachings about education in African and in the African Diaspora. Another resource is the Institute of African Studies (IAS). Established in 1959, IAS is one of the ten regional institutes at Columbia, and it provides a resource for African-centered academic research, program development, curriculum, student advising, and local, national, and international dialogue and action in Africa. IAS seeks to provide a forum for faculty, students, scholars, and the more general community that is engaged in policy initiatives in Africa.

President Bollinger Discusses His New Book on a Free Press for a Shrinking World

2010-01-08T10:16:00.000-08:00

Click on the link above to hear from President Bollinger on his ideas about global society, free press and the University's global agenda.

From Mumbai: Outward and Onward

2010-01-04T14:21:00.001-08:00

In March of 2010, Columbia will open the newest Global Centers in Paris, France and Mumbai, India, the latest in an expanding international web of research centers. The Center in Mumbai will be an important outpost for scholarly collaboration in India and worldwide.
The new research center is a huge project both physically, in its building, and in its programming. Nirupam Bajpai, economist and Director of South Asian Programs for Columbia’s Earth Institute, will be leading efforts to open the Center. As a renowned researcher in India, he will no doubt be up to the challenge. The Mumbai Center will be Columbia’s fourth hub for global scholarship with three already operating in Beijing, China, Paris, France, and Amman, Jordan. A new center in one of Southern Asia’s leading cities will strengthens Columbia’s research efforts in India.
“Being physically present makes outreach and involvement with local institutions easier while still maintaining a close relationship with Columbia,” explained Bajpai.

Mumbai, India

But it is the opportunity for individuals to collaborate transnationally in Beijing, Paris and Amman that makes this Center exceptional. The arrangements and connections between the four centers will make Columbia’s Global Centers a unique model in comparison to other universities.
As researchers look outward from Mumbai to a web of international research centers they will also look onward to the future. The location in Mumbai will allow Columbia’s Earth Institute to work alongside Indian leaders in sustainability research and policymaking. Researchers may continue working on future-oriented projects such as “India 2047,” a sustainable development initiative recognizing the centennial of India’s 1947 independence. Bajpai explained that having a physical presence in Mumbai is helpful, “not just to impact India but South Asia in general; Nepal, Sri Lanka, and surrounding countries.”
Check back on our blog for more news as the Center’s opening approaches.

Middle East Global Center Institute for Scholars

2010-01-04T09:40:00.000-08:00

Visiting Scholars and Visiting Fellows Program

2010-2011

Objectives

The Institute for Scholars at the Columbia University Middle East Research Center (CUMERC) creates new research opportunities and facilitates scholarly exchanges among Columbia University faculty and researchers and regional partners. The Institute enables members to pursue individual and collaborative research, as well as interact with experts throughout the Middle East. In addition, the Institute contributes to the vitality of the Center’s intellectual community and enriches educational programming. The Visiting Scholars and Visiting Fellows programs provide the backbone of the Institute by establishing funded research slots for qualified academics.

Eligibility

Visiting Scholar and Fellow positions are available to faculty and PhD students of Columbia University and its affiliates, as well as academics who identify as Middle Eastern or live in the MENA region. Candidates from any discipline with any geographic focus are eligible to apply. The Institute welcomes all research areas, including Middle Eastern languages and cultures, environmental studies, education, archeology, sustainable development, political theory, social work, agricultural studies, computer science, geology, management, journalism, and religion. To promote intellectual exchange and cooperation, the Institute also encourages group proposals and collaboration with Columbia University faculty. Funding is available for two to three candidates in each of the following categories:

 Visiting Scholars include faculty members and accomplished writers.

 Visiting Fellows include PhD students and post doctoral fellows. (Preference will be given to candidates with a working relationship with tenured faculty from Columbia University, or an academic institution of its caliber.)

Duration

Visiting Scholars and Fellows will be named for terms consisting of semesters or a full academic year, with the possibility of renewal for additional terms. Exceptions may be made for shorter residency periods, depending on the needs and assessments of the Center and the selection committee.

Expectations

While pursuing their research agendas, Visiting Scholars and Fellows are expected to enrich CUMERC’s intellectual life by participating in activities at the Center and by convening roundtable discussions or conferences related to their subject area. CUMERC will host weekly Institute for Scholars meetings to encourage informal discourse and idea exchange within the CUMERC community and, occasionally, with the public. Whenever possible, CUMERC will also connect Scholars and Fellows to existing academic institutions in the region and facilitate collaboration.

Members of the Institute for Scholars are expected to recognize the Columbia University Middle East Research Center in any publication that draws on knowledge gained or based on work conducted during their stay at the Institute. Scholars and Fellows are also expected to share publications, research findings, and data collected during their residency at the Center.

Award

The Institute for Scholars will provide Visiting Scholars with a maximum annual award of $35,000. Visiting Fellows will receive a maximum annual award of $25,000. Scholars and Fellows may also apply for an additional annual research allowance of no more than $10,000, to cover costs related to fieldwork, symposia, conferences, and acquisition of materials, for example.

The Center will also provide Institute for Scholars members with office space, access to institutional resources (IT support, laptop, Columbia University’s online library resources, and CUMERC’s Resource Center), and access to meetings and conference facilities. Scholars and Fellows can utilize the Center’s administrative and research staff, when this support is available, to assist their research endeavors. The Center will also provide support in finding housing and acquiring residency permits.

The Center encourages schools at Columbia University to designate Fellows to pursue projects that develop the school’s presence in the region. Research stipends will not be granted to such Fellows, unless otherwise determined by the Institute’s selection committee.

Selection Process

Applications must be submitted to CUMERC’s Senior Academic Manager, Nisreen Haj Ahmad (nha2104@columbia.edu), by February 28, 2010 and should include the following components:

 CV

 research proposal

 project budget

 two letters of reference from former employers or academics specializing in the applicant’s field

Selection of Scholars and Fellows will be determined by a five-member selection committee composed of CUMERC’s Director, members of CUMERC's faculty steering committee, and a Columbia University faculty member representing the applicant’s discipline. Candidates may be contacted for interviews from the selection committee in spring of 2010. The Institute for Scholars will inform successful applicants and confirm their acceptance of by June 2010.

Selection Criteria

The selection committee will evaluate applicants based on previous publications, strength of research proposals, collaborative research methodologies, relevance to the region, and originality. Awards will be granted not only based on strength of scholarship and coherence of research proposals, but also based on CUMERC’s research priorities and the distribution of disciplines, methodologies, and backgrounds best suited to fostering a vibrant research community.

Job Opening: Beijing Executive Director

2009-12-18T10:20:00.000-08:00

Columbia University

Office of International Relations

Executive Director

Reporting to the Office of Global Centers in New York, the Executive Director is responsible for leading the Columbia Global Center in Beijing.

Bachelor's degree required. Seven years related experience required. Advanced academic or professional degree preferred. Prior experience living and/or working in China. Fluency in Mandarin and English. At least 5 years working in academic administration, program development and financial management. Superior interpersonal skills with proven ability to successfully interact and collaborate with varied constituencies in a professional manner. Excellent written and oral communication skills and demonstrating tact and diplomacy working with a wide variety of personalities. Must be a team player and innovative self-starter. Computer proficiency (including Excel and Access) with expert knowledge of the Windows environment. Willing to accept multiple year commitment.

For a full job announcement and to apply, please visit our web site: https://jobs.columbia.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=117235

Req. # 057445

Columbia University is an affirmative action equal opportunity employer.

Click to Subscribe to the Global Centers Listerv!

2009-12-14T07:04:00.000-08:00

Roaming for Records

2009-12-09T13:29:00.001-08:00

According to Google Book Search, there are over 168,000,000 books in the world. So how does Columbia make sure that its students, faculty, and researchers have access to critical books and primary sources?

One strategy is to partner with researchers and libraries from around the world. Next Saturday, December 14th, Kaoukab Chebaro, a librarian at Columbia’s Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Collection will travel to Columbia University’s Global Center in Amman, Jordan. While visiting Amman, Chebaro will meet with local researchers and librarians to investigate materials that may be of interest to scholars here in New York. New materials, particularly primary resources, could help meet the growing demand here on campus for information on the Middle East and Islam, especially in the Social Sciences departments.

Kauokab Chebaro

While Cairo and Beirut are the traditional publishing hubs of the Middle East, Amman offers a unique opportunity for two-way collaboration between Columbia University and Jordanian libraries. In addition to researching new materials, Chebaro plans to survey local librarians and researchers to see what their needs are. Columbia staff hope to assist Amman’s libraries by creating instructional workshops on current topics in Information Sciences such as the utilization of free internet resources.

“This trip will be really meaningful on both a professional and personal level,” Chebaro, who is originally from Beirut, explained. While Kaoukab’s visit will certainly build research resources for Columbia University it will also help bridge the wide geographic and cultural distances between Amman and New York.

- Shira Weiner

Columbia Global Centers | Amman hosts pre-Copenhagen (Cop15) Environmental Summit

2009-11-15T14:39:00.001-08:00

In the run-up to Cop-15—the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December—more than 100 policymakers, scientists, and business executives gathered at the Columbia Global Centers | Amman this week to discuss the environmental needs of the Middle East and potential summit outcomes. The “Way to Copenhagen 2009” was organized by Jordan’s Ministry of Environment, in partnership with the Embassy of Sweden, the European Commission, and Jordan Europe Business
Association.

As the fourth most water-scarce country in the world, Jordan will face major environmental challenges in the coming years, even though its contribution to the global volume of greenhouse gasses is less than 0.1%.

Several speakers urged developed nations to take on their “fair share” of the climate change burden by providing financial support and increasing technology transfer, for example. Ibrahim Mirghani, head of the Sudanese delegation to the G-77, called on developed nations to establish a fund to “make full and effective repayment of climate change debt” that would amount to at least 1.7% of global GDP of developed countries.

Benoit Lebot, the Climate Change Technical Adviser to the UNDP, admitted that his hopes for major breakthroughs at Cop-15 were not high due to long-standing and well-known political resistances.
However, “we should not wait for global economies,” he said. “There is more happening in some villages in Sweden and in Germany.... We can act now.”

Jordan signed the Kyoto Protocol in 2003 and has committed to increase its usage of renewable energy from 1% to 10% by 2020. But both on the policy level and in terms of daily life, challenges remain. Despite many efforts to make the event “eco-friendly,” it proved impossible to find a local printer who could produce conference materials on recycled paper in the time frame required.

The Century of the City

2009-11-12T14:58:00.001-08:00

Rank the world’s most powerful cities.

What cities did you consider? What factors did you grade them on? What factors were most important? Not quite as easy as you thought? Researchers from The Mori Memorial Foundation (Tokyo, Japan) studied what differentiates today’s metropolises and created the “Global Power City Index 2009,” a ranking of the world’s thirty-five most powerful cities.

Four of the researchers, Heizo Takenaka, Keio University, Hiroo Ichikawa, Meiji University, Takayuki Kubo, Mori Memorial Foundation, and Saskia Sassen, Columbia University, presented their findings to the Columbia University community on Tuesday, November 10th at Avery Hall. An appropriate location since New York received the top ranking in the “Global Power City Index” followed by London, Paris, Tokyo and Singapore at number five.

While the Columbia community may be tempted to brag about our city’s top ranking, the researchers stressed that the purpose of the study was not to simply state which cities are best. Rather, by studying which cities are most powerful researchers can isolate the factors that set successful cities apart. As Professor Sassen explained cities and the connections between them are becoming increasingly important. Experts are calling the 21st Century the century of the city. This study will serve as a tool for urban planners who can utilize the findings in developing and designing sustainable, productive and flourishing communities.

Saskia Sassen, Takayuki Kubo, and Hiroo Ichikawa answer the audience's questions about the Global Power City Index

Researchers graded cities on six functions; Economy, Research, Cultural Interaction, Livability, Ecology, and Accessibility. Sixty-nine separate indicators from taxi fare rates and quantity of green space, to the number of top 300 global companies were used for grading. What sets their study apart is its unique focus on individual users’ perception of a city. To understand different perspectives researchers selected five actors; a manager, researcher, artist, and visitor, and a resident and re-ranked the cities according to their unique viewpoints.

More information and a copy of the study can be found at the Mori Memorial Foundation. This event was sponsored by the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University, Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, and the Mori Memorial Foundation.

CEO: Summer Internships Abroad

2009-11-02T11:27:00.000-08:00

The Columbia Experience Overseas program has existed since 2007, when the Center for Career Education unveiled a slew of internships in London and Hong Kong. Now going into its fourth year, CEO connects employers--ranging from the London Science Museum to BNP Paribas--with about 15 Columbia College and SEAS undergraduates in each location.

With the expansion of the Columbia Global Centers, CEO hopes to expand in kind. Currently, representatives of the Career Center are meeting with Beijing contacts including Kai-Fu Lee, who just stepped down as CEO of Google China, and Yan Lang, a Chinese talk show host.

CEO and the Global Centers already have much in common in terms of the points of entry they can offer Columbia students and affiliates. As demand for international experience increases, and students continue to seek travel and work experience abroad, Columbia's career center continues to expand its global scope.

Barnard Expands VISP in China

2009-11-02T09:50:00.000-08:00

Barnard College , one of the nation’s most distinguished liberal arts institutions and CU affiliate, pioneered the Visiting International Students Program (VISP) to bring students from around the world for one semester to experience an American liberal arts education. Shortly after the launching of the Global Center in Beijing, Barnard College, with the assistance of the Beijing Center, agreed to add Beijing Foreign Studies , Beijing Normal University , and China Foreign Affairs University to its array of international partnerships.

In an effort to internationalize the student body at Barnard, 17 students have been chosen by the aforementioned Chinese universities and approved by Barnard to partake in a semester-long program through which they take a full academic course load and live on-campus, starting in Spring 2010. These Chinese students, like other VISP students from Italy, South Korea and Denmark, are expected to be fully immersed in the residential and academic community of not only Barnard but Columbia University in general. Students will have complete access to all campus services and will be guided by faculty members as they explore the convergences and divergences of university life as compared to their home institutions. Students from these prestigious Chinese universities are vetted for excellence and selectively chosen in order to maximize integration into the Barnard community.

Bound by a shared global perspective and a consensus that diversity and internationalization are vital to the intellectual environment of any campus, the Global Center in Beijing and Barnard College have forged a union which, like their respective ambitions, is not limited by conventional borders.

Columbia Spectator: Barnard Seeks More International Students

Does America have American-style education?

2009-10-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

In these dreary economic times where unemployment and underemployment make daily headlines along with seemingly unsolvable quagmires in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, more and more literature is predicting the eventual and perhaps already apace economic and political descent of the American global juggernaut. The American dream that impelled countless immigrants to depart their homelands in the pursuit of a freer, richer, and more just lifestyle is becoming harder and more cumbersome to attain. Education, specifically higher education, is now widely acknowledged as a prerequisite to enter the gates of the middle class. American universities, despite billions in losses from the ongoing recession, remain extraordinarily prominent in international rankings and in the minds of students and parents from Cairo, Egypt to Canton, China.

An American-style education is a highly sought-after commodity – as demonstrated by the recent explosion of overseas campuses in the Middle East and Singapore that publicly tout their American-style curriculum, faculty, facilities, classroom environment, and modes of operation. However, scant discussion is paid toward exploring the exact and perhaps inexact definition of an American-style university.

In other words, what is an American-style university and why is it so popular around the world?
Modern scholars often describe an American-style education as liberal, pluralistic, conducive to differences of opinion, and student-centered – all of which allows pupils to develop not only complex critical thinking skills but a spirit of innovation, entrepreneurship, and bottomless confidence and aptitude in writing, reading, and speaking the language of instruction. An American-style education regularly operates in English but may be adopted in non-English speaking societies if administrators recognize the merits of implementation (Ghabra and Arnold, 2007).

The esteemed reputation of the American-style university cannot be disentangled from the international brand of universities such as Harvard, Princeton, and Yale – otherwise known as the “Big Three.” Consistently perching atop international university rankings, America’s elite institutions of higher education have produced several generations of world leaders in a multitude of professions. These rankings have a near-obsessive following in developing nations and contribute to the glamour and prestige of an American-style university. From Beijing to Beirut, American-style campuses are dotting the educational landscape and attempting to recreate culturally-differentiated conceptions of an American-style education.

If an American-style education may fluctuate according to cultural idiosyncrasies, perhaps the glorified notion of an American education is more idealistic than realistic. Take this country for example: American classrooms are far from universally student-centered and proficient in generating solid readers, writers, and speakers of English. Classrooms in many inner-city communities are less breeding grounds for tolerance than laboratories for discrimination, prejudice, and marginalization. With a newfound focus on standardization and quantitative measurements of student achievement, memorization and repetitive exercises take precedence over creative writing and exploratory brainstorming. Therefore, the essence of an American-style university is regrettably absent from many American classrooms and campuses today.

Historically, the oldest and most prestigious American universities served only the white, male, Protestant elite who came from families of dignity and notable lineage. Pluralistic was certainty not a word used to characterize universities in the 1800s or early 1900s. Moreover, students at Harvard, Princeton, and Yale in the 19th century and into the early years of the 20th century were far from academically ambitious and sufficiently challenged. Students at the time concentrated their energies not on hitting the books and libraries but on hitting the football field and maneuvering to enter the most coveted final clubs, eating clubs, and senior societies (Karabel, 2005). Since students spent minimal time studying and were preoccupied with extracurricular activities, the college experience at the most selective institutions remarkably contrasts with the rigorous, student-centered notion of an American education today.

Given the immense changes that have occurred within American higher education, no consistent conception of American-style education exists. From the two-year community college to the elite corridors of the Ivy League, American colleges and universities employ a multitude of teaching strategies and operate in such diverse environments that preclude simplistic generalizations. Indeed, the next time an American-style university opens around the world, one ought to question its methodological origins instead of blindly accepting claims of American-style authenticity, which frequently escapes easy description, even in America.

References:

1. Ghabra, Shafeeq., Arnold, Margreet (2007). Studying the American Way: An Assessment of American-Style Higher Education in Arab Countries. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Policy Focus #71.

2. Karabel, Jerome. (2005). The Chosen: the Hidden History of Admission and Exclusion at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

A Word from the Vice President

2009-10-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

The University-Wide Global Initiative

Why Now? Universities have a unique responsibility. We expect from them deep thinking and fresh understanding at critical junctures in world history. Globalization – where it is coming from, what its consequences are, who is benefiting and who not – needs to be explained, and shaped in ways that serve not just private interests but the public good, and not just for a few places but across the planet.

The Challenge. No observer of research universities can fail to be impressed by their determination to “internationalize” or “globalize.” But has this not already happened? Columbia, University is already deeply internationalized. There are hundreds of research collaborations, dual-degree programs, internships, and related programs spread across every professional school and discipline—there are regional institutes; the Mailman School of Public Health, present in 102 countries; the Earth Institute; and so on.

What is Missing? Columbia’s leadership believes that this growing faculty energy and student demand can reach new levels of scholarship and teaching through a network of integrated global centers. In the 19th century, there was an explosion of scholarly specialization—in response, Columbia helped invent the now familiar disciplinary departments. In the early 20th century, there was a need for institutions to house research and teaching spilling across departmental boundaries—in response, Columbia helped invent the now familiar interdisciplinary centers and functional Institutes. In the mid-20th century, there was need for strengthened language instruction and area expertise—in response, Columbia helped invent the now familiar regional institutes. The history of universities is spelled out in institutional re-invention when current structures inadequately service expanding scholarly ambitions and courses relevant to new careers. The faculty demand for global scholarship and student demand for global careers is not being adequately met today, especially in ways that do not require a lifetime commitment to regional expertise. What structure can provide these opportunities?

What are Global Centers?

They are not satellite campuses, overseas profit centers, or operations under the umbrella of a partner institution. Each will be independently chartered. Two exist: Middle-East (Amman) and East Asia (Beijing ); next in line are Europe (Paris) and South Asia (Mumbai), with Russia/Central Asia, Africa, and Latin America to follow. Directed by resident faculty members, and guided by university-wide faculty steering committees, centers individually and the network collectively will favor teaching and research that coordinates across two or more world regions, that connects multiple departments and schools; and, that involves scientists and scholars from those regions. Activities that combine research and teaching with service opportunities – as is the case for many professional school and Earth Institute initiatives – will receive valued logistic support from the Centers.

Ken Prewitt is the Vice President for Global Centers and Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia .

Map created with Bing Maps (www.bing.com)

The Brian Lehrer Show: Wild Life on the 7 Line

2009-10-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

Columbia Spectator on Global Centers

2009-10-21T06:01:00.001-07:00

Check out the Spec to see a round-up of articles on current activities and new developments: "As the University develops its recently launched centers abroad and plans to build new ones in Europe and South Asia, Columbia must manage an increasingly complex set of interactions among the University’s international institutions."

Our Big Backyard: Safari 7 at Studio-X

2009-10-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

Chihuahuas and chicken coops are just two of the topics broached at the new Studio-X Safari 7 Reading Room exhibit, which explores the spectrum of flora and fauna that call New York home.

Studio-X, an interdisciplinary arts space located at 180 Varick Street, is an ongoing project of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation with ambitions to give Columbia's thriving uptown scene a second home in downtown Manhattan.

The Safari 7 Reading Room exhibit, on free display at Studio-X from now until December 31, offers an in-depth ecological analysis of the neighborhoods surrounding the 7 train that cuts across New York's boroughs. Purple-hued printed panels detail each slice of the biosphere, from Flushing Meadows to Bryant Park, while a scale wooden model of the line and its environs occupies the main space of the studio. Attendees of the show can listen to a guided audio-tour and peruse a selection of books on the subject of urban design and ecology in New York City.

Studio-X program director Gavin Browning says that Safari 7 Reading Room is made to travel. While the exact time frame is still in the works, the exhibit will stop by Studio-X in Beijing in the near future. From there, the portable show will likely appear in Mumbai and Amman, two more Columbia Global Centers sites, as well as possibly Moscow and Sao Paolo. Browning notes that one of the best features of the show is that its content is so universal--the urban ecology of Beijing would be just as compelling a study as that of New York.

But for now, exploring New York is sufficiently fascinating. Safari 7's engaging study of the intricate urban landscape makes squirrels, maples, and weedy empty lots seem far from mundane.

Photo Credit: Ho Kyung Lee

Chinese Higher Education

2009-10-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

August 8th, 2008 at 8:08pm marked not only the start of the Beijing Olympics, it heralded a new era of prosperity, openness, and entrepreneurial drive that had begun in 1978 under Premier Deng’s open-door policies. Since the decision to welcome foreign investment and shift China’s economy from a centrally planned apparatus to a more market-oriented one, the international community has closely observed the seemingly limitless potential that the world’s most populous nation has to offer. Although the G-8, WTO, and other influential organizations often concentrate on China’s manufacturing prowess and sizable market for just about all types of products and services, the under-reported strength of Beijing’s now three-decade long economic surge is predicated on concerted government efforts to overhaul and invigorate the system of higher education that once, in centuries past, was the envy of the world.

From its Confucian-rooted curriculum to its current emphasis on decentralization and internationalization, Chinese higher education has undergone considerable changes. From 1978 to 1992, educational authorities enacted and encouraged policies that sent students, faculty, and visiting scholars to Western nations, in particular the United States, for advanced studies and in-depth research. Scholars and faculty members from predominately Western nations were also invited to teach and conduct research in China. The objective of this period was to absorb as much as possible from more advanced, industrialized nations in the fields of science, technology, information systems, management, engineering, and other more quantitative-based disciplines (Huang, 2003).

From 1993 to the present, the State Education Commission, now referred to as the Ministry of Education, began adopting policies to compel overseas Chinese students, scholars, and professionals to return to the mainland. Officials touted the need to nurture domestic businesses, industries, and talent to compete with the industrialized world (Huang, 2003). Efforts were also made to internationalize the curricula by forming partnerships with foreign institutions and by promoting China as an attractive destination for undergraduate and graduate education. The internationalization of higher education in China is an integral part of Beijing’s desire to elevate the world rankings and reputation of its universities.

In 1993, a central government initiative entitled Project 211 aimed to provide vigorous financial and political support to the nation’s top 100 higher education institutions. Once that list was conceived, those universities were expected to spearhead the nation and eventually the world in groundbreaking research and advancement in an assortment of disciplines (Agelasto and Adamson, 1998). Today, premier Chinese universities such as Tsinghua University and East China Normal University are actively engaged not only in strengthening their capacity for research and effective pedagogy as it relates to teaching and learning, but in establishing partnerships with American universities such as Columbia.

Columbia University shares a long and distinguished history with China. As the home of countless former and current Chinese scholars and educators, Columbia University, and in particular, the renowned philosopher and educator John Dewey, had and continues to have an impact on the development of contemporary Chinese society.

The recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between East China Normal University and Columbia University’s Teachers College in 2009 illustrates the sustainability of the Chinese-Columbia connection. For instance, this past summer, 30 aspiring middle and high school teachers from East China Normal University were sent to Teachers College to participate in the first annual “Taste of Teaching” program that provided students with an opportunity to broaden their knowledge of what it means to teach and learn from a comparative perspective. The program included school visits, faculty lectures, and cultural excursions that were designed to widen the educational lens of the next generation of Chinese educators.

The recent collaboration between Teachers College and East China Normal University coincides with China’s push to internationalize its universities in more ways than one. From the increasing adoption of English-based textbooks to the active recruitment of foreign faculty and students, elite Chinese universities, with the unyielding support of a nation that places immeasurable value on higher education, have begun the climb to, once again, position themselves among the very best of higher education providers.

References:

1. Huang, Futao (2003). Policy and Practice of the Internationalization of Higher Education in China. Journal of Studies in International Education, 7(3), 225-240.

2. Agelasto, Michael., Adamson, Bob. (1998). Higher Education in Post-Mao China. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

Researcher Report: HIV Related Stigma among Health Care Providers in Jordan

2009-10-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

HIV-related stigma is a multidimensional concept that has pervasive effects on the lives of HIV-infected people as well as serious consequences for the management of HIV/AIDS. The stigma surrounding HIV in the Middle East is thought to hinder testing and risk reduction efforts (Obermeyer, 2006). In turn, this facilitates the spread of HIV because people do not know they are infected, and access to knowledge on how a person can be infected is limited. The growing prevalence of HIV in the Middle East (WHO, 2008) and the role of stigma in this population is a recently suggested research area by the National Institute of Health (NIH, 2008). My research area is HIV risk reduction in the Muslim World. CUMERC was my base to conduct research on HIV related stigma held by health care providers in Jordan during summer 2009.

Despite having both a low prevalence of HIV and Islamic social norms that tend to limit HIV risk behavior, Jordan has been a regional leader in addressing and implementing HIV risk reduction programs. In collaboration with Jordanian researchers, I refined a survey that will be administered to physicians, nurses, and lab technicians. Through assessing the stigma that health care providers hold toward people with HIV, I seek to measure whether an intervention is needed to address HIV related stigma.

Through first hand exposure to the ideas and challenges pertaining to HIV risk reduction in Jordan, I gained not only invaluable experience in my research area but also a more global understanding of the HIV epidemic. Moreover, mutual understanding and cultural exchange are leading goals in my project. As epidemics like HIV have no borders, the development of new research collaborations with Jordanian researchers is vital to the cross-fertilization of ideas. I expect my research to benefit the global knowledge bank of HIV prevention. Specifically, I intend for my research to expand the adaptation of existing HIV prevention strategies to international populations.

Alex Smolak is a doctoral student at the Columbia University School of Social Work and a pre-doctoral fellow at the Global Health Research Center of Central Asia. His research in Jordan was funded by a Middle East Institute of Columbia University Regional Travel Research Fellowship.

Obermeyer, C. M. (2006). HIV in the Middle East. BMJ, 333, 851-854.
NIH. (2008). PAR-08-153: Collaborative HIV/AIDS Studies in the Middle East and North Africa. Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Health.
WHO. (2008). Epidemiological Fact Sheets on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections. Geneva: WHO.

Models of Internationalization

2009-09-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

Every day more and more colleges and universities talk about becoming “global” or “international”? But why is this taking place? And what does this really mean? The impact of globalization on higher education is often overlooked, but globalization pervades university development at both a programmatic and structural level. It affects not only how and what they teach, but their alumni bases, research capacities, and donor targets.

Universities began to explore ways of becoming more international in the 1990s. In response to substantial state and federal budget cuts, many institutions began to examine alternative revenue sources for meeting escalating operating costs and rising enrollments (Coleman, 2003).

On the heels of American business, a sector that had already established a regular international presence in manufacturing and worldwide sales, several colleges and universities embarked on the diversification and internationalization of their campuses through increased student/faculty exchanges, international student recruitment, institutional partnerships and collaborations, along with the creation of offshore degree-granting programs.

From the widespread expansion of study abroad destinations on contemporary American campuses to the aggressive recruitment of international faculty and students, American educational institutions appear to be intent on framing themselves as major players in the international game.

In addition to inviting and sending visiting delegations and scholars around the globe, universities are adjusting their missions and curricula to adapt to the changing educational landscape (Coleman, 2003).

Branch Campuses?

Although most of America’s 4,000-plus institutions of higher learning don’t have intentions of opening up campuses abroad, a number of American, British, Canadian, and Australian universities have eagerly embraced the branch campus model of expansion (Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/14/2009).

From Dubai to Singapore and from Qatar to Tokyo, American universities have, in the last few decades, been active in signing agreements with universities, corporations, and organizations committed to placing the stamp of American educational prestige on their soil.

Although the practice of scholars and students crossing borders to obtain higher levels of training and education is certainly not new, the influx of American branch campuses in the Middle East, Singapore, China, and Japan is unprecedented in the history of higher education.

There are currently 78 degree-granting branch campuses in various regions of the world–the majority in China and Qatar (Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/14/2009). Branch campuses are normally funded in part or in full by host governments or organizations trying to strengthen and supply the domestic higher education market with brand-name American institutions.

For instance, in Education City in Qatar, the government has agreed to completely underwrite the costs of construction, faculty salaries, and other operational expenses to lure the likes of Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, and Cornell Medical School to establish degree programs in their country. In Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, NYU’s recent declaration to establish a degree-granting campus in 2010 is an unequivocal indicator of the future direction of like-minded universities (Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/28/2008).

Columbia as well as a few other universities (Harvard and Chicago have similar programs) has pursued a different sort of model from the one discussed above. It created global “centers” instead of degree granting programs. The Centers still extend the Columbia brand, but instead serve as intellectual platforms to facilitate the advancement and integration of student, faculty, and alumni research, collaboration, innovation, and intercultural awareness.

Now this is a newer model that Columbia is pioneering – but it seems to be sufficiently managing reputational risk while simultaneously strengthening its brand abroad. By fall of next year, Columbia will have four locations: Beijing, Amman, Mumbai and Paris. The plan is for each of them to interconnect and create a global network. Will this project work? I guess the answer is: hopefully, but its strength will lie in its ability to recalibrate its expectations for itself and its interactions with the international community.

It is an interesting concept -- the idea that that a university can transplant itself and recreate itself thousands of miles from its home base. Is it like McDonalds, where franchises can just pop up all over the world, or is there something more complex about extending one’s intellectual and reputational resources? These are all things to think about as universities begin to define what it is they mean when they say they are “internationalized”. But whether erecting a branch campus in the Middle East or making study abroad a compulsory element of the undergraduate experience, the internationalization of higher education, in all its diverse forms, will continue to be a critical component of the mission statements of America’s higher education institutions.

References:

1. Coleman, David (2003). Quality Assurance in Transnational
Education. Journal of Studies in International Education, 7(4), 354-378.

2. Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/28/2008.

3. Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/14/2009.

Global Columbia News This Week

2009-09-16T14:01:00.000-07:00

Vertical Farming in India

Right Response to Climate Change?

Economic Health in France

Kai-Fu Lee (CC '83) Leaves Google China

Global Centers Launched in March 2009

2009-09-10T12:48:00.001-07:00

The Columbia Global Centers initiative was officially launched in March 2009. This program engages the entire campus in a conversation that is at once global and interdisciplinary. The currently operating Centers in Beijing and Amman are just the beginning. Spring 2010 both the Mumbai and Paris locations will be opened; this will mark the transition from what is now largely a start-up operation, to a legitimately global network of research, internship, outreach and service opportunities.

As programs begin to find homes at both of the operating Global Centers, the mission of the initiative becomes more and more clear. Not only are regional alumni activities and internship opportunities developed as the Centers begin to grow, but global programs such as Studio-X (run by the School of Architecture Planning and Preservation) benefit from the physical and administrative infrastructure that the Centers provide.