Past International Development Initiatives

Addis Ababa Commercial College, Ethiopia
Middlesex faculty members traveled to this two-year college in Ethiopia's capital in 1998 as part of a U.S. Agency for International Development-funded program to provide advice and expertise to higher-education institutions in developing countries.

Azov Regional Management Institute (ARMI)
MCC implemented a three-year (2002-2004) U.S. State Departmrussian buildingsent-funded project in collaboration with Azov Regional Management Institute (located in Berdyansk, Ukraine) focusing on designing and implementing a variety of workforce development programs to stimulate economic development in the region, particularly within the tourism industry. The project also stressed Distance Learning.

Banking Training for the Kyrgyz Republic
Senior bankers from the Kyrgyz Republic attended a training program at MCC, funded by the Eurasia Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nongovernmental organization that supports institution-building programs in the former Soviet Union.

Community Partnerships Program, Berdyansk, Ukraine
MCC and the City of Lowell, with the help of the United States-Ukraine Foundation, created a Community Partnerships Program with Berdyansk, a city located in southeast Ukraine on the Azov Sea, that focuses on strategic planning, tourism development and the municipal water supply.

Conflict Mediation Training Program, Cambodia
MCC's Law Center organized and ran a conflict-resolution and mediation training project in Cambodia with the University of Phnom Penh's National Institute of Management from 1997-2002. Funded by a grant from the U.S. State Department, Fulbright Educational Partnerships Program, this was at one time the only U.S.-funded educational program in Cambodia.

Investigative Reporting in Bosnia-Herzegovina
This investigative-reporting training program for reporters from Bosnia, titled The First Casualty is Truth: Investigative Reporting in Bosnia-Herzegovina, was funded by World Learning, a Washington-based, nongovernmental organization that administers the Transit Program for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The Middlesex-Marishane Exchange
Middlesex and the Marishane Senior Secondary School (MSSS) in Limpopo Province, South Africa, worked in partnership to address the high level of violence against women in South Africa through a two-year exchange sequence (2004-2006). This U.S. State Department sponsored exchange project brought 12 Marishane educators to MCC to work with faculty, staff and community experts, and Middlesex staff and community experts visited South Africa. The overall completed goal was to create a Community Support Center at MSSS, train teachers and counselors, and create age-appropriate curriculum to reduce violence against women.

New Brunswick (Canada) Community College
Seeking to improve their business students' understanding of the U.S. market, New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) in Bathhurst, Canada, developed an International Trade and Commerce Program. This new program requires Canadian students to attend one full semester of courses in the United States to gain appreciation and knowledge about U.S. culture, history and business practices. Eight NBCC students attended Middlesex during fall semester 2004, as part of this Canadian program.  As of 2013 Middlesex and NBCC are partners in the Deshpande Sandbox inistives.

New Horizons
MCC partnered with this Cambridge-based operating foundation to develop and implement a career development and internship program for graduate students from Russia. Collaborating Russian institutions included Bryansk State Technical University and Tyumen State University of Law & Management. Eight fellows visited the U.S., two at Middlesex and six at Bentley College.

Small Business Development Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
MCC and Addis Ababa Commercial College, in cooperation with the Lowell Small Business Assistance Center, assisted in the development of a Small Business Development Center, located in Ethiopia's capital, to meet the needs of new and expanding businesses (2000-2002). Funded by the Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation in Development.

Strengthening the Free Voice of Armenia
This 2003-2004 partnership program with Yerevan State University (located in Armenia's capital), focused on journalism curriculum development, faculty development and the design and opening of a media center. Funded by the U.S. State Department, the program was developed in collaboration with Northeastern University, Boston University, The Boston Globe, The Lowell Sun, WBZ-AM Radio, Lowell Telecommunications Corporation, and the Cambridge-Yerevan Sister Cities Association.

Wider Horizons
For over 17 years MCC has hosted Wider Horizons in collaboration with the Lowell Public Schools (LPS) and UMass Lowell. This unique extension of the Irish peace initiative brings together young teachers in training from four institutions in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, half Protestant and half Catholic, to work in the LPS Summer Program and the UMass Lowell National Youth Sports Program.

OTHER INFORMATION SOURCES

Community Colleges for International Development (CCID)

A membership organization that facilitates technical assistance projects in developing or transitioning countries.

Last Modified: 8/4/23