Dr. Patricia A. Lynch is a Fulbright Specialist at Politeknik Kesehatan Kemenkes Gorontalo (Ministry of Health’s Gorontalo Polytechnics of Health) in Indonesia from December 31, 2022, to January 25, 2023.

Politeknik Kesehatan Kemenkes Gorontalo (Poltekkes Gorontalo) successfully carried out their first international collaboration project with Dr. Patricia A. Lynch, associate professor and director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics at Virginia State University, through the AMINEF Fulbright Specialist program. The project is titled Workshop of Nutrition Vocational Curriculum Development. The project was held from January 5-24, 2023. The project aims to increase the abilities and understanding of the faculty members for designing and implementing an innovative vocational nutrition curriculum.

As a reputable national higher education institution, Poltekkes Gorontalo is required to produce high-quality graduates that meet international quality standards. To address the challenge, they have to improve their curriculum as the basis for producing quality education. Therefore, they need input from a reputable international expert, especially from the US Fulbright Specialist program provides the opportunity for them to accommodate their need.

In-depth discussions about how to create cutting-edge curricula that will meet the needs of the national and international labor market were held through workshops facilitated by Dr. Lynch.

Dr. Lynch also went to the Poltekkes Gorontalo Center of Excellence. She examined some research inventions from the nursing, nutrition, midwifery, pharmacy, and environmental sanitation departments.

The collaboration had brought a number of important advantages for the faculty members at Poltekkes Gorontalo. Firstly, the faculty members get worldwide perspectives on curriculum design, accreditation of institutions, instructional strategies, graduate profiles, and academic climate. Then, they got important input on ways to create an innovative vocational nutrition curriculum. Third, they had the opportunity to build institutional and personal academic networks with Dr. Lynch. Poltekkes Gorontalo also plans to invite Dr. Lynch to give lectures at international seminars in the future. Additionally, Poltekkes Gorontalo plans to do a joint research project with Dr. Lynch.

Poltekkes Gorontalo and Dr. Lynch also talked about other future collaborations, such as student and speaker exchanges and joint benchmarking research with Virginia State University.

“I discussed the potential collaborations with the Gorontalo Health Polytechnic’s Director, faculty, and staff during my final presentation,” Dr. Lynch said.

“Upon returning to the US, I was also invited to a meeting with the Director of Global and Special Initiatives at Virginia State University to investigate the potential for student and/or faculty exchanges with my host institution abroad. I am also planning to create an online International Nutrition course that links these types of experiences to the Family & Consumer Science – Dietetics program at VSU,” she added.