A delegation from the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering will travel to India next month to explore the possibility of establishing collaborative relationships between the college and universities in that country.
According to Larry Witte, the college’s associate dean of graduate studies and the delegation’s leader, such collaborations would likely entail joint faculty research projects and student-exchange programs.
Establishing such relationships internationally, said Witte, reflects the college’s efforts to conduct the most fruitful research and attract the best students in a globalized economy and educational environment.
“Given the way the world economy has evolved, you really can’t live in a shell. You’ve got to expand and collaborate with universities in other countries,” he said.
Witte, along with Haluk Ogmen, chair of the electrical and computer engineering; Hamid Parsaei, chair of industrial engineering; and Haider Malki, associate dean of engineering technology, will visit IIT-Delhi, Delhi College of Engineering, Maharajah Agrasen University, Benares Hindu University, and Rajiv Gandhi Technical University during their trip, which is set for Nov. 6 through Nov. 10.
In addition to meeting with administrators and faculty members at these institutions, Witte said, the visits will also allow the delegation to meet with students interested in attending graduate school at UH. These face-to-face meetings are particularly useful when dealing with students who are contemplating leaving their home country to study overseas, he said.
“You can answer students’ questions that they can’t normally get answered, like cost-of-living issues and how easy it is to acclimate to the Houston area. There’s nothing like being in front of a group of students,” he said.