UNCW Works Closely With Industries, Engage Students, Faculties With Related Research: Chancellor

Shiksha spoke with Dr. Aswani K. Volety, Chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) to understand the opportunities it provides to Indian students.

Dr. Aswani K. Volety, Chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) conversed with Shiksha.com on scholarship, research and placement opportunities. Read here the insightful interview.

Q: What makes your university attractive to international students, especially to Indian students?

A: Students learn a lot of things in a classroom setting, like their concepts and principles, etc but what we are very proud of is how faculty and staff involve students in their work, whether it happens to be the sciences or sociology, philosophy or psychology, and making sure that we give the tools to the students to take those concepts and principles and apply it to solve real-world solutions. And a very important aspect of that is our connections with the industry.

We want to take a longer view of where the industry or the area, in this case, the state of North Carolina or the U.S. is going and what areas are growing, and are we creating the right programs, are we giving the students the right skill sets to seamlessly move into this industry, to the economic development of the area, in addition to being a well-informed citizen.

Q: What unique academic programs and research opportunities you are providing to international students?

A: The Wilmington, or UNC Wilmington, is the state's coastal university in North Carolina. We are located on the coast. Understandably, whether it happens to be the tourism and resort management area or the tourism sector in general, it is all the way to life sciences industries.

There are about 40 plus contract research organizations or pharmaceutical sector industries in that place, for example. Financial technology or FinTech is an emerging area. The film industry has always been very big in the Wilmington area. Supply chain management. Amazon is opening a very, very large facility in Wilmington. They're just breaking ground as we speak. There are lot of things before it was predominantly based on the tourism sector, but now it is a very comprehensive sector. So what we hope to think is that we are working very closely with the industry and making sure that the research that the students and faculty are engaging in is directly relatable or applicable to the industry.

Some of the unique programs have to do with the marine science sector, whether it happens to be weather prediction, hurricane tracking, for example, to fisheries, research management, tourism and basically green nourishment, for example, all the way to coastal engineering. How do you make sure that the things that we are developing are more resilient to climate Healthcare is a very, very large sector for us. Almost half of the RN to PSN, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, students in the state companies, for example, have very heavy emphasis on the healthcare sector. The U.S., like many countries, as a nation, is an ageing demographic. Unlike India, which is a very young demographic. Therefore, healthcare needs the population which is going to grow not shrink. And so trying to make sure we are responsive to the region's needs and the country's needs.

Q: What are the scholarship and funding opportunities for international students?

A: Of course, not every student can get a scholarship or funding, any university is not equipped to meet the needs of every scholarship every student has. But there are a lot of things that help students, whether it is the Chancellor's Scholarship of $5,000, $6,000 to financial aid through internships, research assistantships, or teaching assistantships, for example. All the way to donor-funded or industry-funded scholarships for students.

Q: What are the placement opportunities and how AI is changing the job opportunities? What kind of changes it is bringing in different areas?

A: About 90 to 95% of students are either in job or graduate schools. Clearly, some places are a little better, some are a little less. In industries like economy and business, most students go into the industry and when it comes to Science students, most of them go to graduate schools.

About AI. The honest answer is nobody knows because artificial intelligence or gen AI is evolving so rapidly. We think we know where we are and where we're going, but the honest answer is it is changing so quickly. The way we teach has to change. Things we expect from students have to change. It is no longer writing a ten-page paper on a topic. It is just to buy your rationale or how you apply.

It is the higher order of thinking. So that's what we are shifting towards in every classroom. Making sure that the students are ready for the network. Recognizing that we as faculty members and administrators are also learning these things. There is a lot of emphasis on using data to make informed decisions. But there is no sector in the country that AI would not touch.

Q: How do you ensure that international students feel valued and included in the campus and social aspects of their lives?

A: It's the holistic collegiate experience that includes the arts, that includes athletics, that includes social worker, social service community worker, community-engaged scholarship, and bringing all these things together. We have a lot of community concert programs like this mapped out to the podium

There are a lot of student organizations, clubs, recreational clubs, sports, and so on and so forth. They number in the hundreds. Not that we want every student to use or join hundreds of organizations, but regardless of their interest, we have plenty to choose from. We celebrate festivals like Diwali, Ramadan and Chinese New Year.

Q: Tell us about the exchange programs or dual degree programs. Do you have partnerships with other universities which can help international students and they can get the benefits?

A: We have various versions of the 2 plus 2 or 3 plus 1 or 3 plus 2 programs including the graduate programs with many schools across the globe. Over the past 3 to 4 years, we have really amplified our efforts in making sure that we understand each other's strengths and visiting those places and hosting folks like Pro VC, KNS, to our campus along with his colleagues to get a feel for the place.

In terms of the 2 plus 2 programs or 3 plus 1 or 3 plus 2 programs, we are very confident that there will be a lot of things in place over the next six months to a year with a lot of student mobility. We know that it will work because it works in other countries. We already have a system that works. We just have to make sure that the course equivalencies and transfer priorities and articulation agreements are in place.

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