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Supporting International Research and Building Sustainable Partnerships

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Supporting international research and building international partnerships have several institutional and individual benefits. Consider these when working towards international partnerships and research goals:

Benefits of International Partnerships and Research
  1. Enhanced Academic Reputation
    • Collaborating globally increases visibility and credibility.
    • Joint publications in high-impact journals improve university rankings and recognition.
  2. Access to Diverse Expertise and Resources
    • International partnerships connect universities with specialized knowledge, advanced technologies, and unique data sets.
    • Shared infrastructure and funding reduce research costs and improve efficiency.
  3. Increased Research Funding Opportunities
    • Many international research programs are supported by global funding bodies, governments, and private foundations.
    • Collaboration opens access to grants and joint funding streams unavailable domestically.
  4. Innovation and Knowledge Exchange
    • Working across borders fosters creativity and new perspectives.
    • Exposure to different methodologies and academic cultures promotes innovation and interdisciplinary breakthroughs.
  5. Improved Student and Faculty Development
    • International research offers mobility opportunities for students and staff.
    • Enhances skills in global communication, leadership, and collaboration.
  6. Societal and Global Impact
    • Enables universities to address global challenges (e.g., health crises, sustainable development).
    • Strengthens universities’ roles as global problem-solvers and thought leaders.
  7. Long-Term Institutional Partnerships
    • Builds sustainable networks that can lead to joint degrees, exchange programs, and long-term academic collaborations.

Create a Strategy for International Partnerships Growth and Management

Map Existing Partnership Activity

Establish Productive Partnerships

Identify and cultivating signature partnerships for: 

  • student mobility
    • (as bases/hosts for short-term, faculty-directed Education Abroad programming
    • as semester-based reciprocal exchange partners 
  • Internationalization-at-home
    • Reciprocal online guest lectures
    • Online faculty/grad student colloquia
    • COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) 
  • Collaborative academic programs
    • Co-development of new courses/curricula
    • curriculum mapping for facilitated pathway programs
    • development of graduate pathway programs (like UK Scholars Programs)
    • development of dual degree programs 
  • Collaborative research activities
    • Visiting scholar opportunities
    • Virtual Research Conferences on topics of shared interest
    • Linked research groups/labs (joint publication, joint/parallel funding applications)
    • Complementary research facilities, test beds, clinical populations, data sets, etc. 

Sustain, Grow and Assess Partnerships

  • Establish and maintain regular communications with partners
  • Expand beyond initial discipline/scope of the partnership
  • Identify and gather data (quantitative and qualitative) related to partnership performance[SR1]  (NOTE: the faculty liaison for each inter-institutional agreement will be asked to provide this data annually to the office of International Partnerships & Research)
  • Complete regular, joint assessment of partnerships
    • Highlighting successes
    • Addressing any inequalities, issues, or obstacles
    • Revising partnership plans and goals 

Partnering Ethically and Responsibly

  • Retain key values in academic partnerships (academic freedom, respect of intellectual property, respect for diversity, etc.) 
  • Identify and articulate mutual benefit from partnerships (what does your college wish to gain from the partnership? What does the partner want to gain from the partnership?) 
  • Identify and articulate shared investment in partnerships (What does your college need from the partner? What can your college provide to the partner?) 
  • Ensure that your college does not enter into one-sided, exploitative partnerships 
  • Ensure that your college's partnerships adhere to university rules, policies and regulations. NOTE: As of January 1, 2025, the University of Kentucky will no longer enter into new inter-institutional partnerships, affiliations, or collaborations with organizations or entities based in nations that have been identified as "countries of concerns," as defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (28 CFR 202.601). Currently, the following countries are included: the People’s Republic of China, including the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong and the Special Administrative Region of Macau; Cuba; the Islamic Republic of Iran;  the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea); the Russian Federation; and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; and any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of any of the foregoing.

Create a Strategy for International Research Growth and Management

International Research

  • Map your college or department’s researchers' existing international research networks. Use the Global Footprint resource (https://international.uky.edu/global-footprint/global-research) to help your faculty connect with faculty in other UK colleges with allied research Interests, experience and expertise outside the U.S.
  • Promote UKinSPIRE opportunity among faculty
  • Use bibliometrics to encourage international co-authorship among your faculty. It is very well-established that articles with authors from two or more countries have significantly higher citation counts and field-weighted citation impact factors. Scival (https://scival.com/home) and Scholars@UK (https://scholars.uky.edu/en/) can be useful starting points, and all UK faculty and staff can uses these resources freely.  
  • ADRs and PDO collaborate to identify international research funding opportunities (monitoring joint funding initiatives, NSF OISE, NIH Fogarty, USDA International Science and Technology Engagements, Gates Foundation, Mastercard Foundation, etc.)
  • Understand research security and keep up-to-date with changes to compliance, disclosure, export control, and data protection requirements (https://research.uky.edu/secure) 

Supporting Fulbright Applicant/Awardees

  • Disseminate Fulbright opportunities for faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students
  • Recognize and celebrate Fulbright Awardees in your college
  • Develop award “top-up” policies
  • Recognize Fulbright (and other prestigious international awards/activities in P&T policies)
  • Support sabbatical leave versus other paid leave models 

Telling the Story of International Research and Awards

  • Collaborate with your college's communications and marketing team to publicize international research and Fulbright Scholar and Student awardees both (incoming and outgoing), in UK Now stories, etc.
  • Consider telling stories of international research that connects back to the United States and Kentucky to drive further interest
  • Offer easy ways for faculty to submit story ideas or other forms of outreach related to their research

 

 

Additional Resources

International Research

  1. STINT (The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education): Responsible Internationalisation (https://www.stint.se/en/responsible-internationalisation/)
  2. University of Florida: Introduction to International Research (https://internationalcenter.ufl.edu/research/introduction-international-research)
  3. National Science Foundation: Research Integrity and International Contexts (https://www.nsf.gov/policies/responsible-research-conduct/international-contexts)

International Partnerships

 

  1. American Council on Education (ACE), International Partnerships Series:
    1. https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/IIA-Intl-Partnerships-P1-Final.pdf
    2. https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/IIA-Intl-Partnerships-Part-3.pdf
    3. https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/IIA-partnerships-Chad-final.pdf
  2. European Association for International Education (EAIE): Practical Considerations for International Partnerships (https://www.eaie.org/resource/practical-considerations-for-international-partnerships.html)
  3. Times Higher Education (THE) Seven Tips for Finding and Establishing International Partnerships (https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/seven-tips-finding-and-establishing-international-partnerships)
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