Stevens Institute of Technology International trains future leaders in the Dominican Republic
SITI students prepare to lead DR’s economic development
HOBOKEN, N.J. ― Stevens Institute of Technology International (SITI), located in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (DR), was established in 2006 for the advancement of technology professionals in the DR. SITI, a private Dominican university, was founded by Stevens Institute of Technology and received approval from the National Council of Higher Education, Science and Technology (CONESCyT) and the Secretary of State for Higher Education in Science and Technology (SEESCyT) in the DR.
Collaboration between Stevens and the DR began when Athula B. Attygalle, Chemistry Research Professor at Stevens, who had been conducting research in Punta Cana Biodiversity Center moved to Stevens from Cornell University. For several years, the Stevens research laboratory at the Punta Cana Biodiversity Center was supported by Theodore W. Kheel, internationally acclaimed labor attorney and co-founder of Grupo Punta Cana. Stevens’ presence in Punta Cana eventually led to the introduction of Stevens’ President Harold J. Raveche to Leonel Fernandez, President of the DR. Dr. Raveche and Dr. Fernandez developed a lasting relationship as they shared similar goals for edu cation and advancement and discussed collaboration efforts between Stevens and the DR. Currently, Dr. Raveche serves as Presidential Advisor for Science, Technology and Innovation to Dr. Fernandez.
SITI welcomed its first class of forty-three graduate students in September 2007. “Our expectations are that SITI create a core of Stevens-educated professionals in the DR who will know how to create value with technology and then move the country forward by improving the economy of the DR,” said Lex McCusker, SITI Vice Rector and Dean of Stevens’ Howe School for Technology Management.
Currently, SITI offers a Master of Science in Information Systems and a Master of Engineering in Manufacturing Technologies and Project Management. Through these programs, students prepare to become leaders in their current jobs as well as in the growing technology sector of the DR. “These students have already made big improvements in products or operations in their companies. It’s enjoyable to see them making a difference and it reaffirms that we’re on the right track,” said McCusker.
The master’s degree offers rigorous and American-style coursework taught in English by renowned Stevens faculty members. Stevens’ long-term goals for SITI are to expand program offerings, produce new intellectual properties, and become a strong regional-university for Latin America. For more information on SITI, please visit http://www.siti.edu.do/.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.
Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,040 undergraduate and 3,085 graduate students, and a worldwide online enrollment of 2,250, with a full-time tenured/tenure-track faculty of 140 and more than 200 full-time special faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.
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