Adding to the university’s multiple international programs and connections, DePaul University’s School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems (CTI) recently established a research partnership and exchange program with University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNISUL) in Santa Catarina, Brazil.

The partnership will enable computer scientists from the two universities to share research and ideas, as well as allow DePaul students to attend classes at the UNISUL campus in Brazil for up to a full academic year. Two students from UNISUL began their master’s programs at DePaul last year, and two more will begin in January. A faculty exchange program is also part of the relationship. Additionally, DePaul representatives will advise UNISUL on the creation of a master’s degree program in computer science, which UNISUL does not currently offer.

"Our two universities have much in common, which is one reason why we are partnering with UNISUL," said Anne Morley, assistant dean of DePaul CTI. "Both institutions are private, of similar size, have multiple campuses and a university-wide emphasis on technology. We are excited about working with our colleagues in education in Brazil."

Jacek Brzezinski, an assistant professor of computer science, is teaching a three-week introductory e-commerce course at UNISUL this month. He said that the academic benefits of the partnership would be mutual.

"The undergraduate program in computer science at UNISUL is very ambitious," Brzezinski said. "We will be able to learn from them as they are able to learn from us."

As part of the collaborative effort, UNISUL will evaluate the technology for Course OnLine, CTI’s unique distance learning system. There is great interest is utilizing distance learning to expand educational offerings in Brazil, but there are obstacles to overcome in implementation.

"They have the backbone of the Internet in place, but it’s a ‘last mile’ problem that Brazil hopes to remedy over the next several years," Morley said.

In addition to working on shared research interests with faculty members at UNISUL, such as artificial intelligence and distance learning, Brzezinski noted that the chance to teach in a different cultural setting is an important aspect of the program as well.

"Just having the opportunity to teach, to engage in conversation or dialogue with a student in another country, to immerse yourself in another culture, is something that will help me to become a better educator," he said.

DePaul CTI is the one of the largest computer science programs in the country. The undergraduate program enrolls nearly 1,800 students and offers six different degrees. More than 2,400 students are enrolled in the graduate program, which offers nine master’s degrees. DePaul CTI also features a Ph.D. program in computer science. For more information on DePaul CTI, visit www.cs.depaul.edu.

DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the nation and eighth-largest private university in the United States. A richly diverse population of 23,227 students attends classes on two city and six suburban campuses.