ITEC facilitators Ranya Khan (second from right) and Lara McInnis (far right), along with their NKUHT colleagues,
grab a celebrity photo op with Han Kuo-yu, Mayor of Kaohsiung (third from right)

Humber and NKUHT strengthen partnership with ITEC training

May 9, 2019

Strong partnerships and global learning opportunities are at the core of Humber’s Internationalization Strategy 2.0. This past winter Humber launched a new initiative with one of our longstanding partners, Taiwan’s National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism (NKUHT).

For the first time, Humber’s International Teaching Effectiveness Certificate (ITEC) was delivered overseas at the NKUHT campus. The offering marks an exciting step in our internationalization efforts, not only in offering offshore credentials and growing Humber’s global presence, but also by creating a rich exchange of culture, ideas and expertise with one of our partners.

Global opportunities for professional development training

Adapting ITEC from Humber’s Global Summer School to an international offering was a joint effort between the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Centre for Teaching and Learning. Vera Beletzan, Senior Dean, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, explains the motivation, “As part of our internationalization strategy, the idea was to really open the ITEC program up to the global context and to engage with our international partners in a mutually beneficial way.”

This first international ITEC program was led by Humber’s Lara McInnis and Ranya Khan and attended by 12 professors from NKUHT. As reported by all involved, the experience was overwhelmingly positive. Not just in terms of the curriculum but also in terms of the interactivity, reflective practice and the sharing of insight and experiences.

Internationalization is really about sharing

The NKUHT community was exceptionally welcoming and supportive and there was a powerful opportunity to really learn about (and from) our partners and their culture. There was also a real professional drive to expand each other’s understanding of teaching and learning, and appreciate how these take place in an international context. While sharing Humber’s expertise and perspectives, we also gained much by learning about the experiences and practices of our colleagues at NKUHT.

“This is part of what we’re trying to achieve with our internationalization strategy,” says Beletzan. “It’s about experiences that we can bring back and share with the Humber community and share within an international context.”

Stronger, deeper relationships

The success of the NKUHT-ITEC delivery highlights the importance of these types of partnerships and this type of mutual exchange. The two-way presentation of reciprocal benefits is critical for building deeper, stronger, more strategic relationships. “When we look at these relationships,” says Beletzan, “it’s really about quality and what we can do together; what can we do to bring students together and bring faculty together.”           

With the success of this first offering, sights are now being set on more initiatives with NKUHT, as well as expanding the ITEC program with other international partners such as Taiwan’s HongKuang University in Taichung and Hanoi’s National Economics University.

NKUHT faculty participants celebrate their final day of the ITEC program:
Left to right - David Tu, Oji Hirofumi, Kimberly Chiang, Lara McInnis, Ranya Khan, Carol Shih-Ying Yu,
Emily Kuan-Ling Lai, Paul Bor-Hon Lee, Hou Hsaio-I, and Mark Ming-Kuo Chen
Absent: Anthony Hsing-Huang Liang and Kimi I-Chun Chen