| Opportunities
for Exchange in the UK
Source: Sarah Kagan
Visiting Scotland and England this September was a journey
of new friends and colleagues and a revelation of difference.
As I went to the UK to develop new study abroad exchange partnership
opportunities, I had the opportunity to meet several new and
some familiar colleagues at the University of Edinburgh, the
University of Nottingham, and City University London. I returned
also to Oxford Brookes University and my faculty partner Kathleen
Greenway to review our exchange program of six years duration.
But along the way as I changed cities every four days, I found
the differences between US and UK language, health care, and
culture remarkable. But even more exciting was the opportunity
to learn about the sharp variations among the cities and universities
I visited. Each city left me wanting to return – but
for very different reasons. And each university impressed
me deeply with the caliber of its faculty and the depth and
breadth of intellectual activity and scholarship – but
beyond those commonalities, the differences in how structure,
approach, and community were interpreted could not have been
more different. I very much value difference where similarity
is the first thing seen.
The US and the UK are often seen as highly industrial and
economically developed countries with aging populations and
health care delivery problems. But in most ways, I found the
similarity ends there. In fact, it should force us to look
more closely. We have much to learn from each through exchange
and understanding our different cultures and approaches to
the problems our societies share.
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