Fulbright Program Brings Egyptian Educators to QCC’s Campus

A delegation of Egyptian educators visited the QCC campus to learn more about the community college model, as part of an overall visit to Massachusetts.

Through the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, in collaboration with the International Center of Worcester, several Egyptian higher education administrators and faculty toured QCC’s campus on Aug. 29. QCC was the only community college slated for the group’s month-long visit to Massachusetts. The group stayed in Boston, but traveled to Worcester to visit Worcester Polytechnic Institute and QCC.

“The group was very impressed with the physical appearance and infrastructure available to students on our campus tour,” said Florence Lucci, Professor of Business Administration-Administrative Professional/Coordinator of the Business Office Support Specialist Program. “A discussion held between QCC staff and administrators proved to justify the value of these intercultural exchange programs. Some topics of particular interest included community connections, campus funding, challenges of developmental educational goals, assessing the integrity of student work, learning outcomes, professional and faculty development, potential articulation agreements (specifically Arabic language training) and the tremendous growth and challenges of distance education.”

Goals of the state department’s program include examining the U.S. system of higher education, the structure, administrative strategies and support services. They seek to highlight the diversity of U.S. higher education institutions. They also encourage potential international partnerships and memorandums of understanding.

Each year nearly 5,000 international visitors come to the U.S. on the International Visitor Leadership Program. More than 200,000 international visitors have engaged with Americans through the program, including more than 335 current or former chiefs of state or government leaders.

The International Center of Worcester is a non-profit organization promoting citizen diplomacy in Central Massachusetts. The center designs professional and cultural programs for international visitors sponsored by local and foreign governmental agencies, private companies, universities and individuals.

Visitors included:

• Dr. Nasser Khamis Barakat, Vice Dean of Graduate and Research Affairs, Faculty of Agriculture, Benha University.
• Dr. Rasha Kamal Mohamed Abdelkader, Managing Director, International Relations and COOP Office at Ain Shams University.
• Dr. Ahmed Ali Ahmed Farghali, Associate Professor, Material Science and Nanotechnology, Beni-Seuf University.
• Dr. Talaat Muhammad Maaty Farrag, Lecturer, Comparative Arabic-English Language and Literature, Al-Azhar University.
• Dr. Abuelhassan Elshazly Ahmed Younis Mohammed, Manager, Grants and International Cooperation Office, Aswan University.

Special thanks to Professor Dadbeh Bigonahy for his enthusiastic tour of the QuEST Center as well as President Gail Carberry and other staff and administrators willing to share their expertise. QCC will be hosting another group in early December. Contact Professor Lucci if you have an interest in attending this meeting.