- HACU is the largest Hispanic higher education association in the USA.
- The HACU delegation’s visit to Spain has been organized by SEPIE, the government agency for the internationalization of education, and ICEX, the government agency for exports and investments. The two agencies fall respectively under the supervision of Spain’s Ministry for Universities and the Ministry for Industry, Business and Tourism.
The CEU Cardenal Herrera University has hosted in Valencia the international meeting between a delegation from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), from the USA, and Spanish universities.The HACU delegation’s visit to Spain has been organized by SEPIE, the government agency for the internationalization of education, and ICEX, the government agency for exports and investments. The two agencies fall respectively under the supervision of Spain’s Ministry for Universities and the Ministry for Industry, Business and Tourism.
This international meeting has taken place in a range of different locations, beginning in Madrid and then taking in the universities in Córdoba, Salamanca and now CEU UCH in Valencia, with different thematic sessions and networking opportunities for the staff from the Spanish and American universities.
The Corporate Director for Business Operations, Marketing and Internationalization at the Fundación CEU San Pablo, Alfonso Díaz, together with the Vice-Rectors for Internationalization at CEU UCH, Chirag Sheth, and at CEU USP, Ainhoa Uribe, welcomed the members of the HACU delegation, which was led by Antonio Flores, President and CEO of the American association, alongside the other hosts Alfonso Gentil Álvarez-Ossorio, Director of SEPIE, Enrique López García, technical advisor to ICEX in Miami and the Spanish Embassy to the USA, and Carles Padilla, Executive Secretary of CRUE, the Spanish universities’ rectors’ association.
Talking about internationalization at CEU UCH
At the meeting at CEU UCH, the representatives from HACU and other Spanish universities were able to learn more about the COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) approach (COIL) from a presentation given by the Vice-Rector for Internationalization, Chirag Sheth.
CEU UCH is one of the universities which is pioneering the implementation and development of the COIL approach in Spain. These collaborative online learning projects with a partner in another country provide lecturers and students with an innovative way of developing competencies, by learning from cultural differences rather than in spite of them.
At the beginning of this academic year, CEU UCH hosted the 4th edition of the International Virtual Exchange Conference – IVEC 2022. The conference brought together 400 attendees from 42 countries who presented different ways of using the COIL and ‘virtual exchange’ approach to provide students with innovative learning experiences.
The Vice-Rector for Internationalization, Chirag Sheth, highlighted the importance of the visit of the HACU delegation to the University: “it shows that the CEU Cardenal Herrera University is leading the way in the internationalization of higher education institutions in Spain”.
He also draw attention to the fact that these meetings are an opportunity for networking and establishing relationships with staff from key Hispanic universities and higher education institutions in North America.
“We hope that this visit can be the spark for many future projects and initiatives, such as COILs, dual degrees, specialization programmes in the Spanish languages, and student and staff exchanges.”
Making up the HACU delegation were representatives from: Alamo Colleges District; Chapman University, Houston Community College – Central; ILAIS at The Catholic University of America; Montclair State University; Northern Illinois University, St. Augustine College; Texas State University; The University of Arizona; The University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras; The University at Albany – State University of New York; The University of Houston; and Wichita State University. Delegations from a dozen Spanish universities were also present.
