Growing Globally: Eric Money to Scout Collaboration Potential in Prague

Dr. Eric Money, the Center for Geospatial Analytics’ associate director of professional education, is about to embark on a very special Spring Break: one week at NC State’s Prague Institute in the Czech Republic, for the first Faculty Global Symposium. Sponsored by the NC State Office of International Affairs, the symposium will bring a dozen university faculty and staff to the heart of Prague, all to make collaborative connections with partners at the institute and surrounding universities. Through a competitive process, International Affairs selected Eric for participation in the program in October and will cover up to $2,500 of his travel costs.

As coordinator of the center’s educational programs, Eric says he’s hoping to learn more about opportunities for working with international partners on new courses, study abroad experiences, and student exchanges. For example, Eric envisions developing an International Perspectives course for the center’s popular Professional Master’s degree in Geospatial Information Science and Technology (MGIST); this course could be co-taught with international faculty and delivered either online or on-site in Prague. The center’s innovative Ph.D. program in Geospatial Analytics, to launch in Fall 2018, could also benefit from research opportunities with partners abroad. Eric hopes meeting with researchers at Czech Technical University, Czech University of Life Sciences, and Charles University will lead to developing collaborative projects and potential exchange opportunities for Ph.D. students.

The symposium provides “an opportunity to represent the Center for Geospatial Analytics and our educational and research endeavors on an international stage,” Eric says, “increasing the exposure of NC State’s greatest assets, its students, faculty, cutting-edge research, and education programs. This will hopefully lead to the exchange of ideas via both new student experiences and new research collaborations in the future.”

Established in 2005, the Prague Institute is the University of North Carolina system’s first permanent international facility. The institute offers courses year-round and hosts approximately 60 students per semester. The Faculty Global Symposium aims to expand opportunities for learning and research at the Institute through new and existing partnerships.