UVa-VASS India as a Global Partner Program
The recent developments of India and China as world economic powers and their effects on the United States both economically and geopolitically have raised questions among U.S. businesses and educators about how well our students are being prepared for successful competition in the global economy. The University of Virginia (UVA), the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS), and thirty-five Virginia companies have collaborated to develop a program that will provide Virginia’s educational leaders with an in-depth study of India’s economic relationship with Virginia and the U.S., an understanding of the skills that Virginia students will need to work for and compete with India’s companies in the United States and abroad, and a general knowledge of India’s culture and history and how it is addressed in Virginia’s public schools.
The leaders in the UVA -VASS India as a Global Partner Program include fourteen school division superintendents and the Commonwealth Secretary of Education, who will participate in 15 hours of seminar presentations and discussions about India’s history, economy, educational system, and culture prior to eight days of travel in India. The presentations will be given by UVA faculty from the Schools of Arts and Sciences, Education and Business.
During the in-country phase of the program, the leaders will have opportunities to participate in presentations, forums, tours and site visitations that provide them with additional information about the country’s economy, educational system, history, and culture. The leaders will travel as a group to Mumbai, Delhi, Agra and Jaipur where local contacts will assist them with the acquisition of knowledge and skills that will enable them to:
- raise their global economic and cultural awareness of India as a major trading partner with Virginia and the United States;
- consider the potential for economic development in their communities through an understanding of the infrastructure requirements of Indian companies;
- understand the skills that students in Virginia will need to fulfill the infrastructure requirements of Indian companies and to compete successfully in the international market;
- evaluate Virginia’s curriculum and their school division’s course syllabi to determine how they address India in the preparation of their students for the new world economy; and develop international partnerships between Virginia schools and schools in India.