Washington State University has recently signed two agreements for the establishment of a transatlantic collaboration on research programs and student exchanges with Denmark’s Aarhus University.
Rikke Nielsen, vice provost for International Programs at Aarhus, visited WSU in Pullman and Spokane last week to further develop the partnership.
“Aarhus and WSU have similar excellent educational and research programs and share the same strategic mission,” said Joseph Iannelli, professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and former associate dean for International Programs in the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture, who has led the international collaboration effort. “Together they can advance global research, education, and service more effectively than allowed by the resources of any single institution.”
Located on the Jutland peninsula northeast of Copenhagen, Aarhus is listed among the top 7% of world universities, according to the Times of Higher Education World Rankings. Among its well-known research centers are the Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, the Centre for Food and Agriculture, the Interdisciplinary Center for Nanoscience, and the Center for Integrated Materials Research.
The agreements have already allowed WSU to receive seed financial support for research and exchange programs through the ERASMUS+ program, based on Iannelli’s grant proposal to the European Union.
“This collaboration helps to provide WSU faculty with international research collaborations and students with new opportunities to gain invaluable international experience and engagement at little to no extra financial expense or loss of academic progression,” Iannelli said.
He and Shelley Pressley, associate dean for Voiland College Student Success, organized a four-day visit for Nielsen. She toured WSU Pullman’s facilities and met with administrative leadership, faculty, and staff in the colleges of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Carson College of Business, Education, Honors, International Programs, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, and the Voiland College to learn more about the university’s programs and how they align with Aarhus’ own academic and research portfolio. The visit also fostered international research collaboration and helped to identify the Aarhus University courses taught in English that can provide WSU students with study-abroad academic credit towards their graduation requirement.
“I love WSU’s college and small-town community spirit,” said Nielsen. “I think WSU will appeal to many Danes who are looking for new learning experiences.”
WSU has similar exchange programs with several other European universities, including Austria’s Technology University of Graz and Germany’s Technology University of Darmstadt, both established under Iannelli’s leadership.
