International Programs
International Collaboration between Victoria University of Wellington and UM
Fred Allendorf, Professor, Division of Biological Sciences
Fred Allendorf, Division of Biological Sciences, spent a sabbatical year as a Fulbright Senior Fellow at the Victoria University of Wellington (VUW), New Zealand in 2000-2001. He and Professor Charles Daugherty, Head of the School of Biological Sciences at VUW, now direct a collaborative program in Conservation Biology between UM and VUW. This program takes advantage of the contrasting evolutionary and conservation histories of New Zealand and Montana to offer an internationally based research and education program in conservation biology.
New Zealand is a "classic" island from an evolutionary and conservation perspective. It is a world hotspot of biodiversity because of its many endemic species that occur nowhere else in the world (e.g., tuatara, takahe, and kakapo). Many species have become extinct in the last 1500 years (e.g., the many species of moa as well as most reptiles and amphibians from the two main islands). In striking contrast, Montana is a part of a continental system, and is unusual in that it still has all the historical species remaining. Even the large predators (grizzly bears, wolves, etc.), the species that are generally the first to be extirpated from a region, are still present throughout much of their original range in Montana. Nevertheless, both New Zealand and Montana confront similar conservation management issues, particularly habitat loss, fragmentation and isolation of populations, and the effects of invasive species.
Allendorf and Daugherty have received an Alumni Initiative Award from the Council for International Exchange of Scholars to establish this program. The cornerstone of the collaborative program is joint distance-learning courses conducted by videoconferencing. Course topics are chosen to take advantage of faculty expertise and the contrasting natural systems of Montana and New Zealand. This collaborative program also supports faculty and graduate student travel to travel to the partner university for field experience and coursework.
The following statements by UM students are from the course assessment of the first videoconference seminar between UM and VUW. These comments demonstrate the advantages and challenges that we face in developing international scientific collaboration:
International collaborations are perhaps easier than I imagined in terms of mutual academic interests and common ground, but more difficult than I imagined in terms of sustaining the interest and participation of both parties.
The biggest advantages of this technology are that we are able to hold a conversation with people thousands of miles away from us in real-time, and we are able to see people and attach faces to names and ideas. I feel that a personal connection has developed between the two groups that couldn't be present through other types of communication.
Conservation biology is an international science. UM and VUW are leading conservation education institutions, and conservation is a significant societal issue in both Montana and New Zealand, with innovative methods being employed in both places. This program brings the best of both worlds to students, providing valuable international perspective for students and faculty at both universities.
