GTI Annual Report 2023-24

The Global Training Initiative at NC State is part of the Office of Global Engagement, which is the division that provides leadership in global initiatives, programs, and services for the University community, which is focused on expanding and supporting the university’s global activities, involvement, and impact.

The GTI develops custom short-term education and training opportunities for students and professionals from across the globe by leveraging the resources available at the university.

Our unit’s mission, goals and strategic plan support our division as well as the greater campus community and align with NC State’s current strategic plan, Wolfpack 2030: Powering the Extraordinary.

• The Developing Cultural Competence Student Certificate program is GTI’s flagship program for NC State students to engage with their peers from our partner institutions.
  • 335 students participated in the virtual Developing Cultural Competence sessions held from July 2023 through May 2024.
  • Most NC State students were sponsored by the College of Engineering, Poole College of Management, College of Education, University Honors Program and Agricultural and Extension Education program.
  • Participants represented 26 countries of passport, with strategic participation from SKEMA Business School, KGSP Foundation Year and Nagoya Global Campus.
• The GTI partnered with NC State Dining in hosting the first ever Culinary World Cup in the fall of 2023. There were 49 competitors on 11 teams representing 16 nationalities placed in cross-cultural teams, and the winning dish was featured at Fountain Dining Hall.

• Strong interest and participation in the online GEARS academic research program continued:
  • 277 students enrolled in the online program
• The on-campus GEARS program restarted in January 2024 with 31 students from Korea and China participating in research in labs across NC State
• Faculty participation also continues to grow for both the online and in-person programs:
  • Summer 2023: 54 faculty hosted 63 projects
  • Winter 2024: 44 faculty hosted 50 projects
• The winners of the virtual GEARS poster competition represented a variety of universities.

• SKEMA Business School has been an integral part of NC State’s Centennial Campus since January 2011.
  • SKEMA Raleigh’s enrollment remained high for the 2023-24 academic year with 327 SKEMA students enrolled in Fall 2023 and 418 students in Spring 2024.
  • More than 150 SKEMA students engaged with NC State students through classroom visits in collaboration with the NC State French faculty.
  • SKEMA students also served alongside the French Ambassadors and members of Le Cercle Francais (NC State’s French Club) to visit local high schools and share their experiences and encourage interest in French language and culture.
• GTI worked with our division partner, the Intensive English Program, to provide college preparatory workshops and activities for students from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Gifted Students Program.
  • The students all successfully gained admission to top-tier universities across the United States, including places like MIT, UC Berkeley, NYU, UCLA, UICU, and others.
  • Students engaged with the wider NC State faculty and Raleigh business community through their May capstone projects, in which they participated in ongoing NC State research or independent projects with professional mentors.
• Colombia
  • Semilleros: A third cohort of 15 Colombia students came for a 3-week high-impact culture and study visit with NC State in June 2024. The students were provided with multiple examples of post-baccalaureate options and a program certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Site visits included trips to Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, and RTP.
  • The GTI also facilitated online training programs for more than 130 educators from across the country throughout the summer and fall of 2023.
• The GTI administered and taught seven virtual programs to more than 300 students from overseas partner universities, covering a wide range of topics including entrepreneurship, data science, journalism, and project management.
• The fourth iteration of the English Language Training Certificate Program culminated in a two-day conference in Baku for more than 500 Azerbaijani secondary school English teachers.
  • About 100 teachers completed the 14-week online graduate-level program
  • Almost 300 total certificate recipients since 2020.

The GTI’s global skills cross-cultural competency training portfolio continues to grow as more staff members have received additional certification and more entities are reaching out for cross-cultural training and expertise.

• On-Campus: GTI provided workshops and training for more than 120 NC State employees and about 440 NC State undergraduate and graduate students.
• Off-Campus: The GTI training team reached more than 100 professionals across the global in customized training for companies and federal agencies.

The GTI works closely with NUTech and Nagoya University on several new and recurring programs throughout the year. Close to 100 students from Nagoya and their partner universities participated in virtual, hybrid, or in-person programs hosted here at NC State. Topics included English language and culture, technical communication, data science, and entrepreneurship.

One of the new programs included an intensive week-long training led by NC State’s Data Science and AI Academy that focused on building a range of practical skills needed in the deployment of these algorithms, including data preparation and exploration, selecting appropriate algorithms and fine tuning models, and evaluating performance in practical settings.

The GTI is also hosting Dr. Noriko Morisue from Nagoya University as a research scholar and academic specialist. Dr. Morisue is helping with the launch of the Nagoya Global Campus on Centennial.