Experiences Developing International Partnerships for Education and Research in Computing

Over the past few years, we have been working to develop international partnerships in computing between our institution in the United States and peer departments in Colombia, Peru, Ireland, and Norway. Over this period of time, based on our experiences we have developed a process for developing and deepening strategic partnerships in computing and information technology. The approach we have developed involves several stages that begins with an initial meeting at a conference or workshop (usually at an international venue) in which both sides determine that there are several areas of overlapping interest and problems affecting both groups in the unique context of their institution, government and culture. These problems often have a common root cause and solution that motivate further discussion and joint problem-solving activities. This initial contact can lead to identification of opportunities on either side that can be enhanced by leveraging a strategic partnership from one institution to another. The efforts put into developing joint activities that are mutually beneficial can establish a track record of prior and preliminary work that can be built upon in an incremental fashion to develop a joint education and research program that is mutually beneficial to the faculty, students, and institutions. In this paper, we describe our experiences in exploring and developing these partnerships, and describe a process we have learned through experience that have led to funded activities. We believe the experiences described in this paper will be useful and interesting to others seeking to develop and deepen international partnerships with peer departments and institutions.