ANC strengthens its partnership with Northwood University with the vision to broaden local students’ accessibility to world-class US education

Dr. Mamiko Reeves, Dean of International Programs, Northwood University

Dr. Mamiko Reeves is the Dean of International Programs at Northwood University (NU), a top class business university in the world known for quality education. Dr. Reeves heads the international program office, which amongst many, oversees activities of the five international program centers outside the USA including ANC Education, one of NU’s renown program centers in South Asia.

According to Dr. Reeves, NU and ANC have continued a very successful partnership for well over a decade since 2004 with the goal to educate students who want to become entrepreneurs, business leaders and industry leaders, who fit well in today’s world. NU, working with the mission to expand its global footprint in Asia found ANC to be the perfect education partner that is in a constant quest to partnering with high quality US universities to give Sri Lankan students access to quality US education.

“NU has five different degree completion program centers outside the USA – two in China and one each in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Switzerland. We have over 15, 000 students currently studying in those program centers,” she described the strength of the NU alumni outside the USA. According to her, NU actively engages with its alumni especially in the USA - and the university envisions to bring together its international alumni and connect them to the NU network ‘BlueLink’ which is a concept very similar to Linkedin. However, the difference is that BlueLink is a social media network available exclusively for the NU alumni and current students, enabling them to register online and interact with each other. “Some Alumni members have already volunteered to serve as mentors at BlueLink so that the current students can secure internship opportunities with the help of the network and use it as a platform to interact with and ask questions from NU alumni spread across various industries around the globe,” Dr. Reeves pointed out the advantage of being part of this network.

She observed, globally more students are worried about them being able to secure a job due to the competitive nature of the job market. In this context, she envisaged the university collaborations with its international partners to create a strong platform for students to find job opportunities. “My hope for our collaboration program is to really partner with the industry leaders in Sri Lanka and in other parts of Asia as well as in the US to create a strong career fair for our students to be able to be interviewed in a more systematic way. Thus, rather than students go out to find jobs, we can bring the hiring managers from around the globe to one platform to provide our students the opportunity to be interviewed and secure internships and jobs,” she explained.

While commending the current Co- op education program at ANC that enables students to find work placements and internships, she insisted further collaborations to enhance the effort. Dr. Reeves added, with the Co-op education program, ANC has broadened its offerings for students not only in the classroom but also outside the classroom, facilitating industry visits and active engagement with industry leaders. According to her, NU is also looking at another avenue to issue training VISA for students studying in international program centers like ANC – giving students the chance to come to the USA to get training in hotels and companies that operate in other parts of the world.

She stressed on the importance of experiential education which NU believes in to creating a well- rounded individual who is both knowledgeable and able to practically apply that knowledge to the industry that they go into. Further, discussing elements of the US education system vs other education systems in the world, she highlighted the liberal arts tradition and the general education component encompassed into the US degree which distinguish US education from other education systems in the world, giving students a competitive edge. “Even if the students major in one specific subject, they are required to take general education units which cover many areas beyond their subject where students get to learn arts, sociology, history, political science etc. We believe this helps creating a knowledgeable, complete and comprehensive individual who is able to converse well in diverse areas - which is an important aspect of education,” she explained indepth.

While encouraging students to transfer to the US campus to get better exposure to different cultures, different education systems and different work environments, she spoke highly of the USA degree completion program available at ANC. “It is a great opportunity for local students who may not have the chance to go to the US because of various circumstances – may it be family situations, funding or VISA regulations. We want to expand the accessibility for those students to receive American education in their own country,” she explained.

Admiring ANC’s efforts to maintain high quality education, she said ANC has fantastic faculty members here in Sri Lanka. “They do not only come with academic credentials but also with industry experience. They do a fabulous job teaching ANC students,” she noted. According to Dr. Reeves, NU constantly supervises and oversees the programs that are being delivered in Sri Lanka – and NU faculty members regularly visit to meet ANC faculty members, administrators and students, ensuring education quality and standards delivered locally. During her audit interviews, ANC students have expressed good views about the faculty and their overall experience at ANC. Dr. Reeves further praised ANC for providing various scholarships and financial support for students, facilitating their education. According to her, NU has also given financial relief to ANC students by offering the course fees at a local rate – which is a very good opportunity for local students to reap grand benefits of American education.

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