Dr. Dawn Bikowski
Dr. Dawn Bikowski has been awarded another grant by the U.S. State Department to develop and teach an online course for the Online Professional English Network (OPEN) program. The grant, for $60,000 and running from March to December 2020, is for a six-week course titled “English for Tourism Professionals.”
Bikowski is director of the Academic & Global Communication Program (formerly the English Language Improvement Program) in the Linguistics Department at Ohio University.
The OPEN Program (formerly titled the American English E-Teacher Program) delivers virtual learning opportunities to over 1,800 foreign professionals worldwide. The project is supported by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Participants will be individuals who want to improve their professional communication in their tourism careers, coming from all across Mongolia. This grant is Phase I of the project. Phase II involves converting this country-specific course into a global course grant that will result in the U.S. State Department offering the course internationally and several times per year.
“I am so honored to be chosen for another project by the State Department,” states Bikowski. “It is a real honor for me, for my program and team in Linguistics, and for OHIO. We are among top-notch universities who receive these opportunities.”
This English for Tourism grant builds on Bikowski’s first State Department grant, which was to develop and teach a course on English as a Medium of Instruction. EMI is a growing trend in international education, as countries around the world seek to attract international businesses with an English-speaking workforce. Courses in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and business fields are particularly popular for EMI programs. This course has been converted into a global course and will be offered worldwide beginning September 2020.
This latest grant also led to Bikowski and OHIO being acknowledged in the State Department’s virtual award ceremony and given a certificate of appreciation for OHIO’s ongoing quality partnerships.
The Academic and Global Communication Program is recognized as a leader in using technology to create engaging, student-centered, and pedagogically-sound learning environments. AGC offers graduate and undergraduate courses in academic writing and speaking for on-campus and online students, and has a number of international partnerships as well.
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