NTID has developed sister institution relationships with colleges and universities internationally in an effort to improve the circumstances of deaf and hard of hearing people in technical and professional education. Selected sister institutions will serve as the core of an international postsecondary educational network. This project will enable that network and will be executed in two phases. Therefore, a two-stage program that builds and expands upon NTID relationships in various parts of the globe will be undertaken. The two stages will overlap since certain activities in each stage will occur simultaneously.

In stage one, current relationships will be developed into an international network. During stage one, NTID and Tsukuba College of Technology, under the leadership of NTID, and with guidance from a development team will establish the network at Tianjin Technical College for the Deaf and Moscow State Technical University. One other institution, to be selected as a result of site visits in years one and two of the project will be included in stage one of the project.

An industry/education cooperation committee will also be established. This committee will provide counsel to project management regarding emerging information technology. The committee also will be utilized to help solicit donations of state-of-the-art equipment from business and industry and assist in the development of employment opportunities for graduates of the participant institutions in the home country. In addition, and of equal importance, project staff will work through the committee to constructively influence policies, practices and procedures in the information technology industry as regards people who are deaf and hard of hearing. The committee will be used as a vehicle to promote the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing people regarding both employment and technology.

As a first step in stage two, project staff will conduct an assessment of the capabilities of selected countries that have a well-established secondary education system for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the Pacific Basin (other than NTID's sister institutions) to participate in the network. Stage two of the project will see the expansion of the network. In stage two, the network will be expanded to include other developing countries (to be determined) and developed countries as well (to be determined). Since there are limited opportunities for postsecondary education for deaf and hard-of-hearing people in many parts of the world, stage two may see the addition of one or more postsecondary programs that exist but are in need of assistance in solidifying their programming for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Through both stage one and stage two, NTID and TCT will provide technical assistance and facilitate instructional technology transfer through distance learning technologies. In addition, selected and highly competent faculty from the participant institutions will provide technical assistance in areas in which they possess special expertise.

Finally, during both stage one and stage two, international exchanges of students will be fostered. These exchanges will serve to expose the student participants to the culture of other countries. The exchanges will also serve to provide students with an introduction to the information technologies used in participant's countries. Because of the globalization of the world economy, an international exchange of students is considered one of the best ways for participant institutions to expose their students to the realities of the world they will face after graduation. Concomitantly, the exchanges will improve the quality of education at each participant institution by broadening and expanding the scope of experiences offered to students. The underlying philosophy of the exchanges will be as follows: to strengthen each participant's cultural and personal identity while simultaneously helping them develop an understanding of the diverse cultures that affect the global marketplace.

Efforts in stage one and stage two will have as their primary and secondary foci:

Primary Focus:

1. adapting instructional and information technologies to the teaching and learning process for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, and,
2. improving faculty skills in utilizing instructional and information technologies in the teaching and learning process

Secondary Focus:

1. expanding the career education curriculum available to deaf and hard-of-hearing students, and,
2. implementing technologies and strategies for assuring that deaf and hard of hearing students can learn in a mainstream classroom environment.

The project will use extant postsecondary institutional relationships as the foundation for an international network. This network will increase the educational opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing people internationally. NTID and TCT are well qualified and positioned to provide the leadership for this international network.