Global U8 Consortium

Infobox Organization
name = Global U8 Consortium


formation = 2006
type = Association of worldwide universities
headquarters =
location = Global
membership = 10
key_people = Robert Carothers (President)
website = [http://www.uri.edu/gu8/index.html GU8]

The Global U8 Consortium or GU8 is an educational consortium of 10 (originally eight) universities from Australia, China, France, Israel, Japan, South Korea and the USA.

Members

Objectives

The Global U8 consortium's purpose is to meet a growing demand for: cross-cultural education through student exchange and the adoption of a common curricula; a response to new challenges posed by the need for Global Logistics, Business Administration, Marine Affairs, and Advanced Technologies (e.g., information technologies, bio-technology, nano-technology) as well as interdisciplinary activities by conducting joint-research and expanding outreach programs; and the need to strengthen global cooperation among university administrations.Thus the Global U8 Consortium will concentrate its cooperative and collaborative efforts on three main areas: (1) to develop a joint education system, which may feature common curricula, distance learning (e.g. cyber class using the Internet), credit transfer and joint degrees; (2) to conduct joint research; and (3) building administrative capacity (e.g., information sharing to upgrade administrative systems to a global standard).

Functions

Joint Education

The Global U8 Consortium's cooperation in joint-education can be considered in three ways, by exploring:
* Developing joint-curricula and credits transfer: An informal Education Committee shall explore the possibilities of establishing Selective Track Courses (STC) considering the cataloguing of course descriptions and degree requirements, and harmonizing curricula.
* Conferring Joint-degrees: The same informal Education Committee will explore the possibilities of conferring joint- degree program.
* Establishing U8 Language Training Center: A Language Training Center shall be established by one of the U7 member universities with Inha University taking a leading role with possible government support. A suggested two prong approach will involve: (1) the integration of English language acquisition (vertical integration) with specialized fields such as, Global Logistics, Business Administration, Marine Affairs, and Advance Technologies (horizontal integration); and (2) the training of students in a cross-cultural environment. While the integration of vertical and horizontal elements are expected to expand to new fields of interest (e.g., other languages, services, and disciplines), a cross-cultural focus will heighten the participants' awareness of each other.

Conducting Joint Research

The purpose of developing the joint-research program among the participating universities is to encourage researchers to work together in the areas of Global Logistics, Business Administrations, Marine Affairs, and Advanced Technologies. The joint research may be based on interdisciplinary investigations covering areas of mutual interest particularly, those receiving wide public and private sector support.

Building Administrative Capacity

Member universities may desire to upgrade the capacity of the administrative staff through a collaborative training program, which may include: sharing visions and strategies in formulating long-term development plans; assistance with administrative restructuring; and exchange of library information.

References

External links

* [http://www.uri.edu/gu8/ Official website]