Associate Professor Jennifer Bulanda (Sociology and Gerontology) was recently selected for the 2023 Virtual Exchange Academy, a six-week-long, certificate training program in designing and facilitating virtual exchange. The Academy is offered by the Stevens Initiative, an international effort to build global competence and career readiness skills for young people in the United States and the Middle East and North Africa by growing and enhancing the field of virtual exchange. 

Bulanda is one of only 100 participants selected through a competitive international application process. She will attend two-hour weekly synchronous training sessions with small groups of other participants from around the world and also complete a series of readings, video training instruction, quizzes, online activities, and asynchronous discussions. After completing the program, participants have access to an alumni network and Stevens Initiative resources and support going forward.

Bulanda's interest in virtual exchange grew from teaching multiple sections of her department's introductory sociology course, Sociology in a Global Context, each year. "Although the course draws from a variety of readings and videos to better understand different social contexts, it can't replace interpersonal experiences and interactions with people in other cultures," she said.

Offering virtual exchange allows Bulanda to engage Miami students in dialogue, explore important social issues, and form relationships with students in other countries. "It provides an exciting alternative for building global relationships and cultural competency for students who do not have the time or resources to study abroad during their college experience," she said.

Currently in the process of partnering with colleagues at three other universities both here in the U.S. and abroad to begin a virtual exchange program next fall, Bulanda is looking forward to her training. "The Stevens Initiative's Virtual Exchange Academy will provide me with the necessary training on technological resources, community building, program assessment, and best practices for designing and implementing this new virtual exchange," she said.