Day: November 19, 2008

MIIS Team Develops Programs for Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy

Patricia Szasz of the Institute’s Intensive English Programs, Karen Hamilton, a current MA TESOL student, and Lisa Donohoe of the Center for Non-Proliferation Studies (left to right in photo) visited Baku, Azerbaijan this past week. The purpose of their trip was to perform a curriculum needs assessment for the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy. ADA currently runs the Advanced Foreign Service Program (AFSP) to train in-service diplomats in the areas of international law, politics and organizations, economic affairs, and public diplomacy. Kenley Butler from CNS was a guest lecturer for AFSP in May 2008. The curriculum team met with ADA administrators as well as current students to determine their English language training requirements. With diplomatic posts expected to triple in the coming years, the Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to ramp up their human resource capacity quickly.

ADA will also be launching a master’s degree in Diplomacy and International Affairs in the Fall of 2009. ADA hopes to attract international students from neighboring Georgia, Russia, and Turkey as well as students from Azerbaijan, and the medium of instruction will be English.  MIIS will be designing both a pre-academic summer intensive English program as well as specialized language courses in support of the master’s program.

The collaboration between the Monterey Institute seems like a natural fit, as the MA program will include specializations in International Security & Conflict Resolution, Energy & the Environment, International Business & Finance, and Caspian Basin Studies. Both institutions look forward to continued cooperation between Monterey and Baku.Patricia, Karen, Lisa

Beryl Levinger Visits Banda Aceh

IPS Distinguished Professor Beryl Levinger went to Banda Aceh for two weeks in October 2008 to work w/ Pete LaRaus, MPA ’04, deputy director of Save the Children in Banda Aceh.  The assignment was to help Save the Children develop a three-year strategic plan.  The primary challenge Save the Children faces is how to redirect the organization away from post-tsunami relief toward longer-term development programs that serve conflict-affected populations.  There was a long war for independence that has claimed many lives in the Banda Aceh region.

Beryl has been a consultant for Save the Children since 1977.  Notable among her numerous assignments is the annual State of the World’s Mothers Report.  The Report is a standard resource used by the US government and international organizations in setting policy and aid budgets for programs serving families in developing nations.  Beryl includes students and former students in her work on this major initiative.

Beryl says the biggest thrill of this latest project was the opportunity to work with Pete, her former student.  Prior to his current assignment, Pete was country director for Save the Children in Nicaragua.  Beryl  was also excited about two new collaborative technologies that she uses in her teaching, ZohoWiki and ZohoProject.  The assignment gave her the opportunity to bring to Indonesia tools and approaches she is teaching on campus and to bring back to campus real stories about how these technologies make a difference in the world of professional development practice.