Hungary & The Czech Republic: Challenges of “New Europe” within the EU: The Central European Perspective
Renée M. Kilmer, Ph.D.
Vice President, Instruction
Cabrillo College
As the Vice President of Instruction at Cabrillo College, I attended the IFDS program to Hungary and the Czech Republic in summer 2006. My intent was to broaden the international presence of Cabrillo College by building the enrollments of international students at Cabrillo and by sending more Cabrillo students abroad for short term study. In addition, Cabrillo is expanding its faculty development to include an international perspective, both in regard to their curriculum and in the arenas of teaching, research, and leadership. Since most of my experience has been in Asia and Mexico/South America, I have not formed the relationships with European colleges and universities for this purpose. My interest in participating in the IFDS program to Hungary and the Czech Republic was largely to develop those relationships and build a foreign exchange program between my college and theirs either via short or long term study abroad for our respective students and/or faculty exchanges.
The program allowed me the opportunity to meet with many faculty, administrators and guest lecturers in Budapest and Prague. I found the program insightful and enlightening both on a personal and a professional level. The theme of the Accession of Hungary and the Czech Republic into the European Union was academically satisfying and gave me many good ideas about how to strengthen the curriculum at Cabrillo College. Upon returning to my college, I reported to the Faculty Senate and to the Instruction Council on the program in general and the specific content of a number of sessions, in particular, the economic and political landscapes of these two countries since their withdrawal from the Eastern Bloc. It has initiated a dialog about expanding our curriculum and it also was the impetus for our discussing future faculty and administrator exchanges or study trips abroad. I have shared information about CIEE and other teacher/administrator exchange organizations with the faculty and managers, and we are interested in developing a long-term plan for funding such study trips.
We have also made great progress with regard to study abroad opportunities for students. In late summer 2006, I met with the Director of Humanities at Karoli Gaspar University in Budapest. We covered 3 primary topics: our sending Cabrillo College students to Karoli Gaspar; Karoli Gaspar sending students to Cabrillo College; and faculty exchanges. At Cabrillo I have meetings with the two deans most closely aligned with our international efforts and have put the topic on the agenda for our college-wide study abroad committee. That committee will determine the feasibility of a Hungarian study abroad program. We are certain to reach agreement on the concept resulting in a Memorandum of Understanding between our two colleges by the end of this academic year.