TRU sets their sights overseas

Photo: Contributed - TRU

Pictured (left to right) signing the memorandum of understanding: Dr. Alan Shaver, TRU President and Vice-Chancellor; Dr. Christian Werner, President and CEO of the International University Network; and Baihua Chadwick, TRU World's Associate Vice-President International, and CEO Global Operations.

Facility leaders at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops continue to set their sights high, and have recently announced the next step in their internationalization strategy.

As a result of extensive collaborations over the past five years, TRU and the International University Network (IUN) have formed a partnership that will see their programs offered in Europe.

Canadian students and others from around the world will now be able to access IUN, which is comprised of three universities with multiple campuses in Germany and Austria.

A memorandum of understanding to formalize the partnership was signed in Kamloops on Tuesday by Dr. Christian Werner, President and CEO of the IUN, and Dr. Alan Shaver, TRU President and Vice-Chancellor.

“TRU’s academic programs are world-class; this partnership will allow us to eventually offer those programs around the world, starting with the Unna campus (outside of Dortmund, Germany),” said Dr. Shaver.

“Not only will this alliance provide more opportunity for international students to engage in a TRU education, most importantly for us, TRU students will have the option to pursue their education in a truly international context. This will advantage them as they move into careers that increasingly require global competencies.”

The partnership will begin with four new programs for the summer semester in tourism, social media, global competency and environmental sustainability. In addition to those courses, other opportunities will also be available:

• A Master of Arts in International Adventure Sport Management at UAM (University of Applied Management, Germany) includes study terms in Canada and Germany, and is ready for intake.
• TRU is investigating the possibility of offering a Master of Tourism in Experience Studies, which will also include study terms in Canada and Germany.
• Quantitative research is currently underway in a shared endeavor between the IUN and the TRU Departments of Psychology. The research involves a cross-cultural study on individual sustainability values, with data being compiled in Germany, Persia, Austria, China, and locally.

A research summit is also planned for Jan. 17 that will begin to organize an international conference on the four components of sustainability at IUN’s World Campus in Unna, Germany.