SUNY Launches Global Workforce Project to Internationalize Curricula

New York City – State University of New York Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher today announced the launch of SUNY Global Workforce Project, a website operated by the SUNY Levin Institute to help college faculty internationalize their courses and teach global workforce skills to students, including cross-cultural communications, holistic thinking, and technology acumen.  

“Whether it is our faculty conducting research overseas, our students studying abroad, or our administrators partnering with their counterparts in foreign countries to offer a dual degree, SUNY is committed to offering students and faculty alike with access best tools and resources from around the world,” said Chancellor Zimpher.

“This innovative curriculum project will serve our faculty and, in turn, our students with a fantastic universal platform and I commend the SUNY Levin Institute, SUNY Cortland, and College at Brockport for making it possible.”

SUNY Levin Institute Executive Director Daniel J. Julius said, “We hope to spread this project to all of SUNY’s 64 campuses and are so pleased to be able to offer the curriculum online and free of charge to anyone worldwide who wants to internationalize their teaching and learning.”

Under U.S. Department of Education funding beginning in August 2009, the SUNY Levin Institute, SUNY Cortland, and the College at Brockport implemented a Global Workforce Project to prepare undergraduate students for the global economy. The Project created and tested new global curricula developed to enhance international knowledge and to develop the skills needed in the global workforce of the 21st century.

In all, the Global Workforce Project was piloted by 25 specially-trained SUNY faculty in nearly 50 general education courses, reaching more than 1,800 college students. The new curriculum modules created as a result of their work are now available at the new website.

Beyond preparing students, the Global Workforce Project provides training to SUNY faculty to help them infuse their classrooms with global content.

SUNY Cortland President Erik Bitterbaum said, “Last fall, ten SUNY campuses visited Cortland to learn about the project. I watched my faculty share their experiences piloting the curriculum and it was clear that all of them been transformed through their participation in this project.”

College at Brockport Provost Anne Huot said, “Internationalizing the curriculum is not easy and the Global Workforce Curriculum is an excellent first step faculty can take to bring more global perspectives into their courses.”

The SUNY Levin Institute’s Globalization101.org website hosts the new Global Workforce Curriculum. An online training program for the Global Workforce Curriculum is in development and will be available in spring 2013. Also in spring 2013, the SUNY Levin Institute, SUNY Cortland, and the College and Brockport will be hosting a daylong conference on the themes of the Project.

About the SUNY Levin Institute

The mission of the SUNY Levin Institute is to support New York’s economic and social vitality through innovative and competitive responses to the challenges of today’s global economy. Visit http://www.levin.suny.edu/.

About the State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating approximately 468,000 students in more than 7,500 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses with nearly 3 million alumni around the globe. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.