University of Washington Bothell Director of Global Initiatives Natalia Dyba has been selected for the Fulbright-Nehru India International Education Administrators Seminar from March 18 to April 2 in India.
(photo by Marc Studer)
The seminar will begin in Delhi, India’s largest city with a population of 25 million, followed by visits to educational institutions in Bhubaneswar in the east and Ahmedabad in the west. The Unites States-India Educational Foundation arranges all the travel, stay, meals and local transportation.
The purpose of the seminar is to provide U.S. higher education administrators first-hand knowledge of India’s higher education system and contacts with counterparts that will lead to an exchange of ideas and future initiatives.
“They may not know we exist until someone comes,” says Dyba.
As director of global initiatives, Dyba, who has been at UW Bothell since 2011, advises Fulbright applicants, organizes study abroad opportunities and helps find partners for collaborative online international learning (COIL).
UW Bothell has previously had a COIL class with a partner college in India. The University also has faculty and student connections with India in the School of Business and the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences. Thirteen students took a study abroad trip to India over last spring break and another group is going this spring, Dyba said.
All those programs – Fulbright, COIL, study abroad, faculty exchanges and bringing international student to UW Bothell – will benefit from her seminar, Dyba says.
“Building those relationships is why it’s important to go there in person,” she says. “We can approach future Indian partners in an appropriate way.”
