The Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB) joined the Virtual Institute today. The 19th member from Colombia, UPB's membership extends the Vi's affiliate network to 54 institutions in 19 countries.
Founded in 1936, the university aims to provide comprehensive training for social and human transformation.
UPB offers a four-year programme in International Business Administration, and courses on international trade relations, trade logistics, enterprise competitiveness and foreign direct investment. It also offers double degrees with universities in Milan and Paris, and has a language centrer in Accra, Ghana, to train Colombian diplomats and African government officials.
Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU), the Virtual Institute's first affiliate institutional member in Rwanda, joined the Vi network today.
Established in 2014, MGU has a history of research and training with its foundation institution in India and facilitation centers worldwide. The institutional mission of the university is to transform the Rwandan citizen into skilled humans, able to advance the socio-economic development of the country by ensuring equitable access to quality education focusing on combatting illiteracy, promoting information technology, and stimulating critical thinking.
Eligible candidates must be Master's students, students in their last undergraduate year, or recent graduates who can commit to work five days per week (35 hours) for four to six months beginning in January. Priority will be given to applicants with skills in filming, video-editing and distance learning development, as well as English-language drafting.
Thirty-six students from Vi core member, the University of Sarajevo, joined UNCTAD for a videoconference presentation to discuss findings of the latest World Investment Report (WIR) December 9.
WIR co-author Kalman Kalotay, of UNCTAD’s Division on Investment and Enterprise, began with an overview of global foreign direct investment (FDI) trends.
In 2015, global FDI witnessed a 38 percent jump, Kalotay reported. FDI flows totaled USD 1.76 trillion, the highest value since 2007. According to the report, the principal factor behind the global rebound was a surge in cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
The 57 graduates of the first edition of the Vi online course on Economic Analysis of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) raved about their learning experience. Funded by the Government of Finland, the One UN Fund for Tanzania and the Russian Federation for the Transparency in Trade Initiative, the course was held October 10 to December 4.
“As always, the UNCTAD Vi has done it again wonderfully,” said Nicodemas Lema, of Vi core Tanzanian member, University of Dar es Salaam. “The knowledge and the materials presented were world-class.”