Dr. Madelyn Flammia is a Professor of English at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. Her research interests include international technical communication, global citizenship, and virtual teams. Madelyn is the co-author of Virtual Teams in Higher Education: A Handbook for Students and Teachers and the co-editor of Teaching and Training for Global Engineering: Perspectives on Culture and Professional Communication Practices.

Dr. Houman A. Sadri is a Professor of International Relations at the University of Central Florida in Orlando and the Coordinator of the UCF Model U.N. Program.  He is a prolific author and serves as a consultant for U.S. government agencies, including the State Department and the Department of Defense. He is frequently interviewed by both national and international media.

The presenters will discuss strategies for forming interdisciplinary collaborations among faculty members for the purpose of internationalizing the curriculum in institutions of higher education. While most administrators and faculty agree that globalization is an important goal for colleges and universities, many still find it challenging to develop the means to internationalize the curriculum and to enhance students’ global competency.

The presenters will begin by describing their own experiences collaborating across disciplines. Then they will offer concrete suggestions for establishing interdisciplinary and international collaborations among faculty members. They will cover the challenges associated with such collaborations, including:

• Identifying colleagues with whom to collaborate
• Developing collaborative projects that fit into existing courses
• Establishing methods for meeting course objectives in diverse disciplines
• Developing new interdisciplinary courses
• Helping students think beyond disciplinary boundaries
• Identifying international partners
• Coordinating schedules and working across time zones
• Fostering students’ ability to think globally and act locally