GPE VI - 2013 GPE VI, the sixth annual conference of the Global Partners in Education (GPE) will be convened at Krosno State College, Poland on May 6, 2013 and will be adjourned on May 11, 2013. Topics to be covered at this year’s conference include training needs and certification for GPE teachers and technical support personnel, collaborative projects, the GU Wiki site and its use in the classroom, discussion of alternative formats for the Global Understanding (GU) course, open discussions on other collaborative ideas and courses beyond GU, and presentations from partners on different ideas and challenges they have faced throughout the past year. These discussions will help continuing efforts to enhance and refine existing global initiatives and develop new ideas and opportunities for all GPE partners. The award for teacher, technology personnel, and institution of the year will be presented. The cultural event will acquaint participants with the unique culture of Poland that has survived thousands of years of middle Europe political and economic change. For more information visit http://thegpe.org ~ GPE V – 2012 ~ GPE V, the fifth annual conference of the Global Partners in Education was held at East Carolina University, USA, May 7-11, 2012. Delegates from 16 countries around the world attended the conference. Collaborative projects to improve students’ experience were discussed and initial successful samples were presented. Potential agendas of further collaborative research efforts were also discussed and planned. Poster sessions and presentations contributed by participants were visited by ECU faculty and the Greenville community giving the opportunity to explore future cooperation. In this conference, a new leadership track was provided for administrative participants to discuss the strategic direction of the GPE. Global relations as a stepping stone to economic development were also discussed as part of that track. Some of the sessions were broadcast to accommodate our partners who could not travel to ECU. The GPE V conference was a successful gathering for all participants who were present and participated online. ~ New Staff Announcement ~ Promoting Positive Educational Opportunities… Beginning in the fall of 2012 Dr. Leslie Pagliari joined the staff of Global Academic Initiatives at East Carolina University. Dr. Pagliari is working with Dr. Rosina Chia in a variety of new and existing initiatives. Leslie brings a rich background of experience at the faculty member, department chair, and dean levels. She had worked with Rosina on other projects so the synergy of collaboration ensured the continuance of existing and new activities. Rosina has begun the transition to a role as senior advisor for the Global programs and will continue her active contributions to GPE. ~ GPE Awards ~ Congratulations to the 2nd Annual GPE Award winners. After careful consideration, the 2012 GPE Awards Committee selected the following winners: The Excellence in Technical Support Award Jonathan Mori Bustos of ESAN University, Peru The Excellence in Teaching Award Marion Eppler of East Carolina University, USA The Institution of Excellence Award Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia - accepted by Alla Nazarenko While special congratulations go to our award winners, all those who were nominated deserve recognition for their outstanding work in the GPE organization. Excellence in Technical Support Nominees: • Jonathan Carraway, East Carolina University, USA • Ibrahim El Zein, Modern university of Business and Science, Lebanon • Eslam Khatab, Pharos University of Alexandria, Egypt • Matthew Poole, East Carolina University, USA • Łukasz Sanokowski, Krosno State College, Poland • Youcef Tounkob, Université Abou Bekr Belkaid, Algeria • Junhao Yan, Henan Polytechnic University, China Excellence in Teaching Nominees: • Kalpana Chavan, St. Xavier’s Institute of Education, India • Jessica Chen, Shandong University, China • Mariko Eguchi, University of Shimane, Japan • Viktoria Fandei, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia • Luci Fernandes, East Carolina University, USA • Daniela Gutierrez, Universidad de Monterrey, Mexico • Wang Jing, Henan Polytechnic University, China • Heidi Luchsinger, East Carolina University, USA • Humberto Marquez Garcia, Universidad de Monterrey, Mexico • Susan Pearce, East Carolina University, USA • Ludmila Sizikh, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia • Sean White, Ryukoku University, Japan Please submit news about your institution or programs to gpeinfo@ecu.edu New Partners Currently GPE has 52 member institutions in 28 countries and 5 continents in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, North, and South America. Over 2,300 students around the world participate in GPE programming each year. A warm welcome to our new partner institutions: • Association Brasil-America, Brazil • China Pharmaceutical University, China • Guangdong University of Business Studies, China • Lebanon International University, Lebanon • University of Gdansk, Poland Announcement GPE VII will be hosted by Istanbul University in Istanbul, Turkey in May 2014. We hope to see you there.