Rob Elliott

Senior Lecturer of Computer and Information Technology

Department of Computer Information and Graphics Technology,
Purdue School of Engineering and Technology

Courses: Global IT Management (India) and Global IT Citizenship (China)

Curriculum Internationalization Effort:

From Rob Elliott:
"The field of Information Technology is inextricably linked with globalization. With the world more interconnected than ever before, our students must understand how to integrate international and cultural issues that they’ve never considered. Therefore, I’ve worked to include internationalization throughout our curriculum so that we can build graduates who are better positioned to navigate the world.

My courses have always centered on collaboration and active learning.  IT is an inherently collaborative field, so it’s important that students learn to cooperate with one another.  But almost more importantly (to me) is the opportunity for students to exchange and debate ideas with one another.  It’s critical for them to get out of their own heads while solving these problems, so that they can better incorporate the perspectives of others into the solutions they build.

This is a big, messy world with a lot of blurry boundaries. I want my students to embrace the messiness and be prepared for it--not be surprised or scared by it"

Benefit to the Students

“This experience has given me more respect for the issues facing those less fortunate than I. I learned that people everywhere are the same, the openness and kindness of the Indian people revealed to me that being a good person is not found in one’s job title, their money, or what they have, but rather how they interact with others and what they can offer to society as a human being.”

Kete Ennis, Student in Global IT Management, 2017

Employers and our industry partners are laser-focused on the concept of “soft skills.” The competency of our graduates –their potential employees – is no longer measured simply by what they “can do,” but rather how applicants are doing the things they can do.  Having a broader outlook of the world provides graduates a significant advantage when marketing themselves.

This is in line with IUPUI’s Dimensions of Global Learning.

Benefit to the Faculty Member

Curriculum Internationalization at IUPUI

    “We live in a world where physical barriers – oceans, mountains, walls – are less important every day.  Our interconnectedness should be a strength instead of a weakness.  Students must incorporate that into their mindset in order to succeed.”     

- Rob Elliott

"I’m a native Hoosier who was born 8 miles from IUPUI.  I never traveled outside of the US until after college and as soon as I did I realized how much I had missed.  I want to work very hard to ensure my students are provided more experiences than I had, because I know now that I needed these experiences much earlier."