By Jeff Murphy,
September 15, 2017
WARRENSBURG, MO – A travel mission designed to promote opportunities for international
students and to develop new partnerships benefiting students at the University of
Central Missouri, President Charles Ambrose and a small group of UCM faculty and staff
were welcomed today to the largest university in Nepal.
Under Ambrose’s leadership, the university group met with the rector, registrar, deans,
institute heads and the vice chancellor’s senior staff at Tribhuvan University of
Nepal. Their visit is part of ongoing efforts to build strong relationships with overseas
education partners, travels that are taking place this month. The group began its
trek overseas Sept. 8 in India, where it met with alumni and friends of the university
and attended recruitment events in Hyderabad, including a college fair. The group
completes its travels Sept. 19, following a visit to Saudi Arabia.
“Today was an opportunity for a very productive discussion, including a short ‘lecture’
about American higher education and the value of a student success model for higher
education that I was able to provide along with our UCM faculty team,” Ambrose said.
Founded in 1959, Tribhuvan is located in Kirtipur, Kathmandu, and has the primary
public mission of an affordable education delivered across all of Nepal, with a special
emphasis in rural regions, according to Ambrose. Serving 360,254 students out of 432,305
students nationally, Tribhuvan has five institutes and 60 constituent campuses across
the country. It employs approximately 16,000 people – 7,920 faculty members and 8,094
staff.
UCM currently has 20 students from Nepal, a number the university hopes to grow through
efforts that have included face-to-face conversations and other opportunities at Tribhuvan.
A UCM college fair also was on today’s agenda in Nepal.
This weekend, the UCM group travels to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to participate in more
recruitment activities, meet with its UCM alumni and friends from that region, and
to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with one of that nation’s industries to establish
a partnership for providing career training, other various educational opportunities,
and collaborative research. Additional details about the MOU and other aspects of
the visits to India, Nepal and Saudi Arabia will be released following the UCM mission
overseas. Efforts are consistent with the university’s Learning to a Greater Degree
strategic position, which promises students an education that offers a worldly perspective,
future-focused academics, engaged learning and a culture of service.
