In alignment with its goals of global engagement, The University of Texas at Arlington has entered into a cooperative agreement with Danubius University Galati (DU), an international research university located in Romania.
At a signing event on Nov. 17, the institutions announced their intention to establish a program of exchange and collaboration to promote interest in teaching and research and deepen the understanding of economic, cultural and social issues.
Pranesh Aswath, UTA interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, expressed excitement for the opportunities that will arise from UTA's new international collaboration.
"UTA seeks to provide bold solutions that have a global impact, and international collaborations are vital to this goal," Aswath said. "We are honored to have the opportunity to expand to a new corner of the world and to explore mutually beneficial projects with the talented faculty and students at Danubius."
Gabriela Wilson, professor of kinesiology and co-director of the Multi-Interprofessional Center for Health Informatics (MICHI) will coordinate UTA's program activities as part of the agreement. She said the partnership will create meaningful interactions that develop global competencies and enhance cross-cultural understanding.
"Exchanging ideas with the professors and students at Danubius will open new doors to unexplored research areas where our curiosities and expertise overlap," Wilson said. "The combination of cultural perspectives will inevitably create broader results that can meet a greater number of needs."
Wilson's research interests include health informatics and health literacy, a passion that led her to join UTA in 2020 as the co-founder and co-director of MICHI. The center uses health informatics approaches to support data-driven initiatives that impact public health. Health informatics is a continuously evolving discipline at the intersection of data science, health information technology, health information management and data analytics.
DU's coordinator for the agreement is William B. Harvey, the university's rector and a renowned leader in diversity, equity and inclusion. Harvey said he is dedicated to advancing DU's role as an international institution of higher learning and forging new cross-cultural connections.
Harvey's visit to UTA spanned three days and included meetings with executive administrators, center directors, the Office of International Education and deans, department chairs and faculty representatives from the College of Engineering, College of Liberal Arts, College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs and College of Nursing and Health Innovation.
"The UTA community has welcomed this partnership with open arms, and I am hopeful to see many new connections form between the two universities," Harvey said. "For each, this collaboration offers new frontiers in academics and research for our students and faculty to explore. The power of our combined resources will inevitably yield groundbreaking results."
