The grant will enable the universities to exchange students and faculty, evaluate each other’s teaching techniques, establish an annual “summer school” that alternates between them, and organize a capstone conference to support both programs in color science research.
Rochester Institute of Technology’s Program of Color Science, in collaboration with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, has been awarded a 3 million Norwegian Krone ($300,000) UTFORSK grant to facilitate foreign exchange learning opportunities for graduate students and faculty.
The grant will enable the universities to exchange students and faculty, evaluate each other’s teaching techniques, establish an annual “summer school” that alternates between them, and organize a capstone conference to support both programs in color science research, expanding the research environment, and increasing international learning opportunities.
According to Assistant Professor Susan Farnand, RIT’s graduate program director for color science and principal investigator, the grant offers a unique opportunity to give students from both universities important exposure to other key researchers, providing them with valuable experience for pursuing careers in either industry or academia.
Faculty members from RIT, including the Head of the Integrated Sciences Academy Michael Murdoch, previously collaborated with researchers from NTNU. The latest addition to the Munsell Color Science Laboratory is Mekides Assefa Abebe, the Richard S. Hunter Assistant Professor, who was previously employed at NTNU before coming to RIT.
James Myers, associate provost for international education and global programs at RIT, lauded the UTFORSK program as well as NTNU’s research caliber, saying the partnership would create new opportunities for graduate students and faculty from Rochester and Norway to collaborate on research initiatives.
RIT and NTNU have started the three-year joint research grant and are meeting biweekly to exchange ideas. Professor Farnand of RIT expects master’s students from Norway to visit this semester, with her journey scheduled for June. The collaboration aims to advance knowledge in the fields of technology, engineering, and science.
