FLAME University and Wellesley College will collaborate to enhance academic skills

FLAME University will collaborate with Wellesley College, Massachusetts, United States to enhance academic excellence at both institutions.

Discussions of a potential association began in early 2016. Members of the Board of FLAME University had met with the senior leadership team of Wellesley College consisting of the provost, academic department heads, centre heads and the head of the office of international study at their campus in Massachusetts during Spring 2016. Neelima Shukla-Bhatt, Programme Director of South Asia Studies, Wellesley College, remarked, “Wellesley and FLAME share ideals of excellence in liberal education and we hope to strengthen our academic relationship in the near future.”

The association commenced with a pilot study abroad programme wherein three students from FLAME were invited to attend the Spring 2017 semester at Wellesley.

To explore the possibilities of forming a deeper academic alliance, a delegation of five members from Wellesley visited the FLAME campus from January 16 to 18. The delegation comprised Jennifer Thomas-Starck, Director of International Study; Elizabeth Desombre, Professor of Environmental Studies; Margery Sabin, Professor of English; Catia Confortini, Associate Professor of Peace and Justice Studies; and Neelima Shukla-Bhatt, Associate Professor and Director, South Asian Studies. During the course of their visit, the members interacted with the FLAME administrators, faculty, and students discussing various aspects of the undergraduate programme, pedagogy, assessment, and student life on campus. The members also met with individual faculty to discuss specific programmes and courses to understand teaching philosophy and to explore areas of synergy. The visitors and FLAME faculty shared their research interests to explore possible collaborative research projects.

After in-depth discussions and exploration of various avenues for collaboration, the two colleges signed a partnership that will facilitate international academic exchange, and support collaborative research activities. Under the agreement, international collaborative activities between the two institutions shall include but will not be limited to: curriculum development, research collaborations, faculty exchanges, student exchanges, and conduction of experiential learning programmes.

FLAME University has existing agreements with institutions worldwide including Nuffield College – University of Oxford in the United Kingdom; Babson College and Yale University in the United States; and York University in Canada.