Sheridan and Chengdu University of Information Technology celebrate inaugural faculty exchange, sign MOU for future collaboration

Last week, Sheridan held a commencement ceremony to mark the successful completion of a three-week academy by twenty-four professors from Chengdu University of Information Technology (CUIT), based in Sichuan, China.  The academy, held at Sheridan’s Oakville campus, saw the immersion of the CUIT faculty in the Sheridan way of teaching, with the aim of learning best practices to implement at their university.

The subjects covered during the delegates’ intensive schedule include program and curriculum design, experiential learning, teaching methods for integrated curriculum, lab construction and practical teaching, and strategies for improving higher education, among others.

Above: Delegates from CUIT and Sheridan faculty and staff

“Sheridan has been developing its relationship with CUIT over the past few years, with a view to creating a strategic partnership that will foster opportunities for cross-cultural exchanges between our students and faculty,” says Dr. William Holmes, Vice Provost of Sheridan College.  This was the first faculty exchange to take place between the two institutions.

Following the ceremony, Sheridan’s President, Dr. Jeff Zabudsky, and Jia He, Dean of Computer Studies at CUIT, signed a Memorandum of Understanding which will foster future collaboration and exchanges between the two institutions. 

“We look forward to working closely with CUIT as we pursue our common goals of internationalization and further refining and elevating the educational experience we offer our students,” said Dr. Zabudsky.  Sheridan will be a key participant in the international CDIO conference being hosted by CUIT next spring.   Both Sheridan and CUIT are members of the CDIO Initiative – a worldwide movement to restore the balance between teaching ‘practice’ skills and the fundamentals of math and science to engineering students.  Launched by MIT in 2001, CDIO now has over 100 member institutions worldwide.