Wright State to host East Asia delegation of high-ranking university officials

A State Department-led group of seven high-ranking university and educational administrators from East Asia will be visiting Wright State University to study the U.S. educational system and how it produces a skilled workforce.

The educators hail from institutions in Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Samoa, Brunei, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. They, and two State Department interpreters, will be at Wright State and make stops in the Dayton region from Feb. 9 to 12.

National Council for International Visitors

“This will be a golden opportunity for Wright State to share its knowledge and experience with the international educational community and possibly help fortify educational systems and economies in East Asia,” said Michelle Streeter-Ferrari, director of Wright State’s University Center for International Education and program administrator for the Dayton Council on World Affairs.

The group’s agenda includes meetings with top administrators at Wright State’s Dayton and Lake campuses and officials at the Aerospace Professional Development Center, the Dayton Regional STEM School, Sinclair Community College and ThinkTV.

Goals of the visit include gaining a better understanding of the U.S. educational system and exploring its partnerships with communities and businesses to prepare a better trained workforce. Objectives also include examining STEM education initiatives for workforce development, technology in the classroom and the community college model.

Making up the group will be Norjemee Jenek, deputy principal of the Jefri Bolkiah College of Engineering in Brunei; Keara Phann, founding director of the Siem Reap Campus at Pannasastra University of Cambodia; Didiek Hari Nugroho, vice director for academic and student affairs at Aceh Polytechnic in Indonesia; Galbadrakh Baramsai, head of the curriculum and methodology department at the Agency of Technology and Vocational Education and Training in Mongolia; Goru Hane-Nou, coordinator for the distance programme at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Papua New Guinea; Mandria Angelic Natalie, executive officer to the vice chancellor and president at the National University of Samoa; and Donald Papaku Malasa, director of the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education.