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An example of OIRED’s efforts in the area of Information Technology
is its partnership with PaL-Tech, a private sector firm, to set up
a high-tech university in Egypt. Nile University will offer undergrad,
master’s and Ph.D. programs in: IT, Communications, Biotech,
Emerging Technology, and Alternative Energy Solutions. Virginia Tech’s
International Institute of IT (VT IIIT) is fully involved in this
initiative.
Studies
show that development projects do not succeed without an awarenenss of
the importance of gender. OIRED has long known the importance of this,
as it supports an entire faculty position devoted solely to Women in International
Development. Every proposal that OIRED writes integrates gender into every
aspect of its operation. Recently, OIRED partnered with Datex, a minority-owned
private sector firm, on a worldwide Indefinite Quality Contract (IQC)
proposal to which the Women’s Center at Virginia Tech has contributed
substantially.
In
Biotechnology, OIRED has recently worked with Cornell University on two
Requests for Assistance dealing with Biotechnology and Biosafety. And,
OIRED continues its work on such projects as improving the production
of eggplant in India—a joint agreement it pursues with Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University.
OIRED’s
partnerships with NGOs, private sector firms, and other universities allow
for Virginia Tech to contribute to the wider world of research and development.
Internally, they provide international opportunities for Virginia Tech
faculty. When faculty are able to work on projects and conduct research
overseas, they can then bring this international perspective back to the
classroom. Students learn from a broader perspective and realize that
any given discipline is connected to other disciplines and that, whatever
country we live in, we are all connected. To paraphrase John Donne, no
man, or woman, is an island, entire of itself.
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Dr. S.K. De Datta