GPE VII – May 2014 The Seventh Annual Conference of the Global Partners in Education (GPE), GPE VII, will take place at Universidad Regiomontana, in Monterrey, Mexico, from May 12-18, 2014. This year's topics feature new initiatives, best practices, and training needs for professors and technical support teams. In addition, the discussion about Collaborative projects, ongoing alternative projects and the use of the GU Wiki site will continue. This gathering will help improve the Global Understanding program and allow GPE members to improve participation at their home campuses, form new alliances, and take GPE to the next level of global cooperation. The conference setting, in the heart of the city of Monterrey, allows visitors to learn about Mexican history and completely immerse into the local culture. Within the vibrant industrial center of Mexico, participants will not only get an idea about today’s Mexico, but taste the rich culinary diversity and learn about ancient and colonial history. Visit Universidad Regiomontana to enjoy the famous Mexican hospitality. ¡Los Esperamos! For more information visit our website http://thegpe.org ~ GPE VI – 2013 ~ GPE VI, the sixth annual meeting of the Global Partners in Education was hosted by and held on the campus of Krosno State College in Poland on May 13-17, 2013. GPE members from around the world convened to discuss opportunities and issues to enhance and expand their collaborative activities. Discussions ranged from the creation of two new pilot courses, Global English and Global Leadership, to several issues associated with providing the essential pedagogical and technical training for all partners. Participants were selected to present on scholarly topics and open discussion session enriched the activities. After-hour discussions and informal late night sessions allowed partners to renew friendships and to explore new ideas. Krosno, at the intersection of eastern and western Europe and steeped in history was an ideal site for the conference. KSC proved to be most hospitable and accommodating throughout the conference. A cultural field experience provided enriching information that will be useful to the partners in understanding the various cultural influences to the region. ~ New Courses ~ This year GPE piloted two new Global courses, Global English and Global Leadership. Global Leadership was taught in collaboration with partners from East Carolina University, U.S.A., Shandong University, China, and Ural State Pedagogical University, Russia. In the Global Leadership course, students actively engaged with their partners to understand and apply the diverse methods of leadership around the world. Global English was taught in collaboration with partners from Covenant University, Nigeria, East Carolina University, U.S.A., Krosno State College, Poland and Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia. This course examined the development of English as a global language and its implications for effective intercultural communication. The course helped students develop a critical awareness of other varieties of English around the world. Additionally students learned how social, political, economic and geographical factors influence the process of language change and how speakers adapt to living and working in today’s global and culturally diverse world. We plan to develop more of these types of discipline specific collaborative courses in the future. We welcome ideas for new initiatives and look forward to more partners becoming involved. ~ GPE Awards ~ Congratulations to the 2013 Annual GPE Award winners. After careful consideration, the 2013 GPE Awards Committee selected the following winners: The Excellence in Technical Support Award Łukasz Sanokowski, Krosno State College, Poland The Excellence in Teaching Award Nadezhda Sergeevna Rudenko, Ural State Pedagogical University, Russia The Institution of Excellence Award Universidad Regiomontana, Mexico – accepted by Kathrin Ullrich 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: • Devin Barger, Zachary Cooper, East Carolina University, U.S.A. • Rodrigo Soto Estrop, Universidad de Monterrey, Mexico • Vadim Gaponenko, Dmitrii Ogorognikov, Maritime State University, Russia • Wajeeh Joodi Kadhim, Kufa University, Iraq • Eslam Khatab, Pharos University of Alexandria, Egypt • Łukasz Sanakowski, Krosno State College, Poland • Guangwei Zhang, Shaanxi Normal University, China Excellence in Teaching Nominees: • Chris Brighton, Krosno State University, Poland • Nataliya Boyjo, Lyudmila Pokrovskaya, Maritime State University, Russia • Kalpana Chavan, St. Xaviers Institute of Education, India • Marion Eppler, Luci Fernandes, Sylvie Henning, Jami Leibowitz, Heidi Luchsinger, Jo Phipps, Rita Rodabaugh, Sachiyo Shearman, Irina Swain, John Williams, East Carolina University, U.S.A. • Charles Iruonagbe, Covenant University, Nigeria • Khouloud Khatib, Lebanon International University, Lebanon • Rebecca Keedi, Modern University of Business and Science, Lebanon • Nadya Rudenko, Ural State Pedagogical University, Russia • Ana Cristina Salinas, Universidad de Monterrey, Mexico • Ludmila Sizykh, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia • Maria Olivia Villarreal Solano, Universidad de Monterrey, Mexico • Paulina Teran, Universidad del Pacifico, Ecuador • Ivana Trajanoska, University American College Skopje, Macedonia • Kathy Ullrich, Universidad Regiomontana, Mexico • Jessica Yali Chen, Shandong University, China • Vadim Zyubanov, Tomsk State University, Russia 2013 Award Committee Members: Jonathan Mori Bustos, ESAN, Peru Marion Eppler, East Carolina University, U.S.A. Jami Leibowitz, East Carolina University, U.S.A. Alla Nazarenko, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia Please submit news about your institution or programs to gpeinfo@ecu.edu New Partners Currently GPE has 59 member institutions in 30 countries in 5 continents. This year alone, over 3500 students around the world have participated in GPE programming. We give a warm welcome to the new GPE partners who have joined us this year: • Azad Jammu and Kashmir University, Pakistan • Beijing Union University, China • Centre Especific d’Educacio a Distancia de la Comunitat Valenciana, Spain • China University of Politics and Law, China • Hochschule Helibronn – Schwabisch Hall, Germany • Jagiellonian University, Poland • Kyrgyzstan-Turkey Manas University, Kyrgyzstan • Universidad Continental, Peru • Universidad Mayor, Chile • Universidad Rosario, Colombia Announcement GPE VIII will be hosted by Shaanxi Normal University (SNNU) in Xi’an, China in May 2015. We hope to see you there.