Drawing upon the array of resources available, the Global Knowledge Initiative provides services and assistance to catalyze a variety of knowledge partnerships. Whether you seek to engage in joint research, are looking for an expert on entrepreneurship, or need institutional partners to facilitate organizational change, the Global Knowledge Initiative can help you connect the people and resources required to construct a knowledge partnership.
The Global Knowledge Initiative understands that knowledge partnerships can take several forms. As our programs develop, we seek to excel in facilitating five kinds of partnerships:
Model 1:
Collaborative Research Partnerships
bring together individual researchers or institutions to explore research questions of mutual interest and benefit
Model 2:
Educational and Professional Exchange Partnerships
foster the exchange of individuals, such as entrepreneurs and university faculty, to help build professional capacity and transfer knowledge
Model 3:
Open Education Partnerships
leverage innovations in information and communication technologies to promote increased access to quality education around the world
Model 4:
Partnerships for Institutional Development
promote organizational capacity building, leadership training, and the sharing of best-practice in institutional management
Model 5:
Partnerships to Accelerate Innovation and Entrepreneurship
spur innovation and entrepreneurship in developing countries by providing access to a suite of resources and services from business development training to finance
Coming Soon: Services to Enhance Unique Partnership Models
Model 1:
Collaborative Research Partnerships
bring together individual researchers or institutions to explore research questions of mutual interest and benefit
International Network
for Cancer Research
and Treatment
The International Network for Cancer Research and Treatment is dedicated to building capacity for cancer treatment and research in countries in which such capacity is presently limited. INCTR supports long term collaborative research projects coupled with training and education, promoting international collaboration between technologically advanced countries and countries with limited resources
The Pakistan-US
Science and Tech Cooperation Program
The International Network for Cancer Research and Treatment is dedicated to building capacity for cancer treatment and research in countries in which such capacity is presently limited. INCTR supports long term collaborative research projects coupled with training and education, promoting international collaboration between technologically advanced countries and countries with limited resources
Model 2:
Educational and Professional Exchange Partnerships
foster the exchange of individuals, such as entrepreneurs and university faculty, to help build professional capacity and transfer knowledge
Center for International Exchange of Scholars
Center for International Exchange of Scholars is the scholar division of the Institute for International Education (IIE) and has helped administer the Fulbright Program for over 60 years. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government that was designed to “increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.” With this goal as a starting point, the Fulbright Program has provided to date almost 300,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential—with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
India Research
Initiatives and GEM4, National University of Singapore
This model program for educational and professional exchange emerged to facilitate greater collaborations between the National University of Singapore and leading Indian universities and institutes through short-term visits of academic staff, long-term research collaborations through the visit of graduate students, and summer intern programs for Indian undergraduate and graduate students interested in working at the National University of Singapore.
Model 3:
Open Education Partnerships
leverage innovations in information and communication technologies to promote increased access to quality education around the world
Open Educational Resources (OER) are revolutionizing the delivery of education, from the development of course content, to the democratization of access. Armed with a mobile phone or a laptop computer and Internet connectivity, teachers, learners, and experts anywhere can access knowledge to catapult learning possibilities. While the potential to utilize open educational resources is great, hurdles remain. For instance, how do you know you are tapping into the highest quality materials available? Are there ways to utilize these resources even if you do not have access to the Internet?
The Global Knowledge Initiative works with its users - teachers, universities, learners, researchers, entrepreneurs - to find and deliver the highest quality materials available, and to facilitate their inclusion into the Open Education Movement. We are exploring a number of novel open education models and their affiliated organizations and institutions. These include: MIT Open Courseware (MIT OCW); Creative Commons–Learn (CCLearn); Curriki, the Open University; AcrossWorld; and, many others, among them:
Open Courseware Consortium
The consortium represents more than 200 higher education institutions and associated organizations from around the world whose goal is to advance education and empower people worldwide to learn and train with open courseware. The affiliated institutions work in concert to encourage the adoption and adaptation of open educational materials around the world, to foster the development of new open courseware projects, and to ensure the long-term sustainability of the open courseware movement by identifying ways to improve effectiveness and reduce costs.
Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning
and Online Teaching (MERLOT)
This model program for educational and professional exchange emerged to facilitate greater collaborations between the National University of Singapore and leading Indian universities and institutes through short-term visits of academic staff, long-term research collaborations through the visit of graduate students, and summer intern programs for Indian undergraduate and graduate students interested in working at the National University of Singapore.
Model 4:
Partnerships for Institutional Development
promote organizational capacity building, leadership training, and the sharing of best-practice in institutional management
The Global Knowledge Initiative brokers partnerships that facilitate capacity building for institutions. The goal is to support whole institutions—universities, public policy institutes, and research organizations—with such challenges as curriculum modernization, policy development, and science / technology / innovation needs assessments. Early adopters of this model from whom the Global Knowledge Initiative is learning include: the International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the United States Agency for International Development; the United States Civilian Research and Development Foundation; and many others, including:
Mobilizing Regional Capacity Initiative of the Association of African Universities
This partnership for institutional development is a program of the Association of African Universities, funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom. It strengthens cooperation between African universities and the main regional and national bodies focused on higher education in Africa. Efforts to transform the African higher education institutions are support by a Challenge Fund.
The Purdue University Afghanistan Program
Since 2002 Purdue University has been working with Kabul University to redevelop its programs in agriculture, education, and engineering through staff capacity building exercises, curriculum modernization, improvements in the university’s information technology infrastructure, and many other efforts.
Model 5:
Partnerships to Accelerate Innovation and Entrepreneur-
ship
spur innovation and entrepreneurship in developing countries by providing access to a suite of resources and services from business development training to finance
Innovation and entrepreneurship are central drivers of job creation and economic growth. The Global Knowledge Initiative will work with its users to develop partnerships to enable the creation of an innovation landscape through the development of entrepreneurial skills and innovation-friendly policies. Resources for this model are many and include: the Chilean National Innovation Board for Competitiveness; the Egyptian Technology Development Fund; and, the Organization of the Islamic Conference’s Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), among others, including:
Ashoka International and
Changemakers
Ashoka constitutes the global association of social entrepreneurs. Since 1981, Ashoka has supported over 2,000 social entrepreneurs with living stipends, professional support, and access to a global network of peers in more than 60 countries. With the global community, Ashoka develops models for collaboration and designs the infrastructure needed to advance the field of social entrepreneurship.
Kauffman Foundation
The Kauffman Foundation promotes entrepreneurship and the advancement of innovation through a variety of mechanisms, such as through support of entrepreneurial education and training efforts, advocacy of innovation-friendly policies, and the facilitation of commercialization.
