Penn State Global 2020 Annual Report - Strategic Initiatives

The Office of Global Programs

2020 ANNUAL REPORT

LOCAL TO GLOBAL: FULFILLING THE MISSION OF A LAND- GRANT UNIVERSITY

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES & GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS

The Office of Global Programs is committed to longitudinal, interdisciplinary, global initiatives that are beneficial to all partners. This important work is housed in the Office of the Associate Vice Provost.

Dr. Robert Crane Associate Vice Provost for Global Programs

With over 275 four-year baccalaureate degree programs spread over 20 campuses, 75,000 undergraduate and 15,000 graduate students, and research expenditures of over a billion dollars, Penn State is one of the foremost institutions of learning and research in the United States. Our strong academic profile and dedication to global research means that our faculty connections around the world reflect our size and complexity.

Between 2017-2019, the most recent compilation of data, Penn State researchers published almost 13,000 research papers with international collaborators at over 3,600 institutions worldwide, showcasing our broad faculty connection to researchers in almost every country in the world.

At the University level, our institutional partnerships are strategic and highly focused. We have a long-term and multi-faceted partnership with the University of Freiburg in Germany, where we recently launched a major new joint research venture in “living materials.”

A similar broad partnership with Monash University in Australia focuses on projects and programs at the intersection of health and environment,

In April 2021, Penn State and the University of Auckland (another of our strategic partners) will jointly host the Times Higher Education Impact Summit on the theme of "Cultivating Resilience, Changing the World."

Along with these comprehensive institutional partnerships, we have a number of international collaborations structured around major research themes, and in late 2020, Penn State organized a virtual International Workshop on Biosensing. The workshop was part of an effort that has seen the formation of an international biosensing institute with 110 members from 16 countries and over 50 universities.

In addition, we have continued to lead the development of an African Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus network, and the WEF nexus has become the focus of a rapidly developing partnership with La Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano (Utadeo) in Colombia.

While the absence of international travel for much of 2020 has slowed some of the work, our connections and collaborations around the world continue to produce exciting opportunities for our faculty and students that advance the theme of the University’s strategic plan — Our Commitment to Impact.

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STRATEGIC INITIATIVES PARTNER UPDATES: FREIBURG

Penn State is so excited to share such a closely aligned partnership with a world leader in materials research. The partnership is one of a consortium of four, strategically- aligned universities within the Global Engagement Network. Through such partnerships, Global Programs continues to support interdisciplinary networks of research around the world.

OVERVIEW>

A NEW PARTNERSHIP IN LIVING MATERIALS

In July 2019, Penn State President Eric J. Barron together with Rector Hans- Jochen Schiewer announced a historic large-scale initiative in the area of Living Materials - the Convergence Center for Living Multifunctional Materials Systems, or LiMC². The core mission of the joint program is to significantly advance the state of knowledge in critical thematic areas, embracing biological principles to develop infrastructure for a more sustainable society.

This partnership integrates key pieces of Penn State’s strategic plan, including stewardship of the planet’s resources and the environment, advancing the arts and humanities, enhancing health, transforming education, and promoting equity and diversity.

GLOBAL NETWORKS>

BUILDING MULTILATERAL PARTNERSHIPS

In August 2020, the International Office in Freiburg participated in an initial Consortium kick-off meeting to discuss long-term, multi-lateral partnership collaboration amongst several of Penn State’s key partner universities. The hope is to leverage strengths to achieve goals that no bilateral partnership could achieve on its own.

Martin’s Gate, or Martinstor, Freiburg, Germany

KEY ACTIVITIES>

A VIRTUAL CLASSROOM

In 2020, Penn State and the University of Freiburg launched a pilot project to create collaborative, integrated virtual classroom courses, providing development and implementation resources to faculty teams. Two proposals were selected, covering the themes of “Solar Energy Integration and Economics” and “Global Perspectives in Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management.“

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STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

PARTNER UPDATES: MONASH & AUCKLAND

Penn State is eager to expand the newest partnerships - Monash University & the University of Auckland - building stronger connections through thematic initiatives.

MONASH>

CREATING A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

2019 Penn State - Monash forum attendees visit the Lion Shrine

Faculty and administrators from Monash University in Australia visited Penn State’s University Park campus in October 2019 to participate in a summit forum. The forum set the stage for the next level of engagement between the two universities.

The workshop centered around the second round of seed funding (11 new projects funded), creating an area of focus that aligns with the strengths and priorities of the two universities - the Intersection of Health and the Environment.

AUCKLAND>

A NEW RELATIONSHIP

Global Programs and the International Office at the University of Auckland took their first significant action toward a strategic partnership during a workshop at the University of Auckland in November 2019, which resulted in a seed-funded Collaboration Development program. Eight joint programs started in June 2020.

*We look forward to co-hosting the Times Higher Education (THE) Innovation & Impact Summit with the University of Auckland, April 19-22

MONASH>

FINDING THE PATH

2020 provided the opportunity for virtual discussions on strategic direction setting between Penn State and Monash leadership, including institute directors and key faculty who will be leading future efforts.

The two universities drilled down into eight thematic priorities to pursue via virtual collaborations in 2021, encompassing health, the environment, social sciences, artificial intelligence and more.

2019-2020 Joint Collaboration Development Protect Teams Presentations -Heather Gall, Penn State (left) & Anna Lintern, Monash

Monash University and the University of Auckland also participated in the initial Consortium kick-off meeting, joining Penn State and the University of Freiburg in discussing the idea of a longterm multi-lateral partnership between the four institutions.

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STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

WATER, ENERGY, FOOD NEXUS

Another key interdisciplinary initiative in 2020 was the WEF Nexus. We are proud of the work that began in Africa and now features South America and the Caribbean.

CONCEPTUALIZING THE WEF NEXUS

HISTORY>

A NEW APPROACH

In June of 2018, a group of Penn State researchers and administrators led by then-Vice Provost for Global Programs Michael Adewumi traveled to Ibadan, Nigeria for the first Water-Energy-Food workshop.

Over sixty attendees from the U.S. and ten African countries, representing twenty-three organizations (government, academic, and otherwise), discussed the importance of a new approach to issues of water, energy, and food.

This workshop led to the creation of the WEF Nexus network, a multilateral organization dedicated to studying the intersection of those three key areas.

For more information, visit wefnexus.org & follow them on Twitter @WEFnexusafrica

WEF NEXUS EXPANDS TO COLOMBIA

In 2020, three projects were initiated with more than 50 participants from Penn State, the University of Bogota Jorge Tadeo Lozano (UTADEO), and other Colombian partners. The program is supported with start-up funding from Penn State Global Programs, the Office of Public Affairs, the U.S. Embassy of Bogota, and the Colombian Institute of Educational Credit and Technical Studies Abroad (ICETEX).

The partnership with UTADEO is led by Dr. Siela Maximova who serves as Global Faculty Fellow for the College of Agricultural Sciences and a chair of Land Grand Universities (LGU)- Colombia Consortium. She was also awarded a Colombia LGU U.S. Scholarship and the J. William Fulbright Foreign (Fulbright Specialist) Scholarship.

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