Virginia Tech helps launch English language center at Iraqi university battered by Islamic State

The University of Mosul's central library, once one of the largest in the Middle East, was left in ruins following the occupation of Islamic State forces. 

The library at the University of Mosul was once among the finest in Western Asia, housing more than a million books, maps, and rare historical materials. But in 2014, when Islamic State forces captured the Iraqi city, the grand library and about 80 percent of the sprawling, tree-lined campus were destroyed. Many faculty members were slaughtered or forced to flee.

Today, more than three years after the militant group was finally ousted from Mosul, students are returning, the library and other buildings are being rebuilt, and faculty members are re-establishing links with the international community.

The Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute is contributing to that staggering task by helping launch an English language center at the University of Mosul. The institute is providing virtual training in English language instruction and assessment and relevant administrative procedures to faculty members in Iraq.

“The goal is for our Iraqi colleagues to learn what they need to be able to open and operate a center that will serve their university community,” Director Donald Back said. “We also hope to build lasting relationships with faculty members there, especially around academic publishing.”

Improving the English proficiency of faculty and students in Mosul will allow the university to better engage with the world and develop academically, scientifically, and culturally, said Rawaa Qasha, director of the Department of Scholarships and Cultural Relations and an assistant professor of computer science.

Read more about the partnership with the University of Mosul...

At NAFSA conference, Virginia Tech lays the groundwork for new international partnerships

Don Back, director of the Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute, talks with visitors at the university's booth at the NAFSA Annual Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C.

At the world’s largest gathering of professionals in international education — where almost two dozen faculty and staff members represented Virginia Tech — the university laid the groundwork for new international programs and partnerships.

“Being at an event such as NAFSA helps us tell Virginia Tech’s story,” Language and Culture Institute Director Don Back said.

For the first time, the university was an exhibitor at the annual conference for NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange.

“Virginia Tech is an internationally recognized land-grant university, and NAFSA attendees are a key audience invested in promoting international education,” Back said. “Through dozens of meetings at our booth and elsewhere at the convention, we strengthened relationships with existing partners while also laying valuable groundwork for new ones.”

Read more at VT News

Photos: LCI welcomes delegation from Vietnam People's Security Academy

The LCI was honored to welcome a delegation from the People's Security Academy of Vietnam to Virginia Tech today.

Lt. Gen. Nguyễn Văn Ngọc, Maj. Gen. Phí Đức Tuấn, Dr. Nguyễn Thị Phương Lan, and Dr. Nguyen Văn Ly met with Provost Cyril Clarke and Vice President for Outreach and International Affairs Guru Ghosh, as well as LCI Director Don Back and Associate Director for Partnerships and New Enterprises Patricia Parera.

Virginia Tech partners with Effat University in Saudi Arabia

Virginia Tech's Ian Leuschner, left, director of International Support Services, and Donald Back, director of the Language and Culture Institute, join Effat University President Haifa Jamal Al-Lail and Lisa Zuppé, director of international affairs, for the signing ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Virginia Tech has signed a four-year agreement with Effat University in Saudi Arabia to develop a world-class college preparation program.

The agreement, signed during the International Exhibition and Conference on Higher Education in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, calls for the Language and Culture Institute to assist in improving the Effat English Academy.

“Such partnerships help advance Virginia Tech as a global land-grant leader because they promote a global exchange of ideas in teaching, research, and engagement,” LCI Director Donald Back said. “We are building connections that will help expose Virginia Tech students to people of other nations and other cultures while helping our two institutions address common needs.”

Read more about this partnership at VT News.