IU partners to launch Pan-Asian Institute

In continuing to work toward internationalizing IU, the University announced it will partner with Australian National University to create a Pan-Asian institute.

On Sept. 4, IU President Michael McRobbie signed the partnership agreement with Ian W. Chubb, vice chancellor and president of ANU, a 16,700-student institution.

The institute will combine academics from both universities that cover a wide range of Asian countries.

IU students can access ANU through interactive video starting next semester.
Heidi Ross, professor and director of IU’s East Asian Studies Center is co-director of the program along with a co-director from ANU.

She said the program is coming from two strong universities.

“IU has long been known for its expertise in Central Asia and East Asia,” Ross said.
“Australian National University, on the other hand, has great strength in Southeast Asia studies.”

Ross said the two universities will be able to access each other’s programs.

“The joint institute, therefore, will enable our faculty and students to benefit from Australian National University’s resources and engage with each other,” Ross said.

The agreement is in coherence with IU’s international strategic plan. It is another step taken by McRobbie to strengthen the University’s position as a leader in international affairs.

The plan, which calls for global education and service-learning abroad, is an international partnership that supports study abroad, faculty and international research and outreach, as proposed by IU Vice President for International Affairs Patrick O’Meara.

“We have great interest in Indonesia, Vietnam and part of India,” O’Meara said. “With this joint institute, students will have the opportunity to do research in Asia and possibly to learn various languages offered by ANU through interactive video.”

O’Meara said he believes both universities will gain from one another.

“This is going to be a mutual, beneficial agreement,” O’Meara said.

It sets up a three-year implementation plan for a variety of academic programming, including establishment of joint language courses, some of which offer teleconferences, extended faculty visits and credit transfers for designated courses.
Interactive video courses such as Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese languages at ANU will be available to IU’s students. Students and faculty at ANU will also have access to IU’s courses, such as the languages of Pashto, Uzbek and Uyghur.

“Any students of IU who wish to participate can gain benefits from this program, given these volume of resources,” Ross said.