Monday,

January 15, 2018 at 3:56:41 PM Central Standard Time

Subject: Applica'on to SURI

Date: Sunday, January 14, 2018 at 18:15:15 Central Standard Time
From: Parkinson, David
To: Tavitas Medrano, Javier
CC: Hoessler, Carolyn, Mar'n, Ann, Vargo, Lisa, Loy, Kara, Groot, Brianna, Payel ChaOopadhyay
Mukherjee, Sheikh, Sheheryar

14 January 2018

Javier Tavitas Medrano

Research Facilitator — Science
College of Arts and Science

Re: SURI applica'on

Dear Dr. Tavitas Medrano:

Please accept this leOer as an indica'on of interest in bringing a student from IITGN to the UofS for a research
residency, May–July 2018. The research team for which I am the ins'tu'onal co-lead is specifically interested in
hiring a Masters or doctoral student in Humani'es and Social Sciences at IITGN to assist with literature review and
textual analysis in a study of the effec'veness of study pairs in the development of intercultural awareness. This
study is part of a new project in interna'onal collabora've teaching (PICT) connec'ng the UofS to Ahmedabad
University (AU).

In the course of the present academic term, students in ENG114.3(06) and UWH201 are studying the same
curriculum, with focus on a common set of readings from literary works by Indian and Canadian authors. The
contribu'ng instructors (Dr. Payel ChaOopadhyay Mukherjee, Centre for Learning Futures, AU; and me) take turns
providing lectures to both sites, in person and by Skype. Early in these parallel courses and again when they come to
an end, Brianna Groot (Experimental Manager, Social Sciences Research Laboratories, UofS) is administering
ques'onnaires to measure students’ intercultural awareness. During the course, the students will be working in pairs
to carry out course ac'vi'es. The students will also be doing various sorts of wri'ng that will be reviewed for
qualita've evidence. This study is funded by the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning, with in-kind
support from the SSRL; funding is also sought from the Global Community Service Fund, Interna'onal Office, UofS.
The study has received approval (BEH#17-416) from the Behavioural Research Ethics Board.

The student from IITGN would thus join a research team that is making rapid progress to test a new method of
interna'onal teaching. We believe this method may have wider value and applicability, and hence have proposed a
paper to an interna'onal conference on studies in higher educa'on, in Kassel in August 2018. Based on our findings
and their interpreta'on, including work by the IITGN student, we an'cipate producing further papers and
publica'ons in this area. The student would receive full acknowledgement for her/his contribu'ons; if the results of
the residency warrant it, we may also be looking for opportuni'es for the student to be iden'fied as a co-author.

I am commiOed to supervise the student through the course of the project and will be working closely with this
student throughout the residency. The student would be situated in the English Department (Arts 320) and the SSRL.

Depending on the availability of funds from other grants, this residency may be funded at a somewhat higher rate
than the usual formula. It may be possible, if the research team is successful in its other applica'ons, modestly to
increase the applicant’s propor'on. This would be open for discussion, should this proposal be successful. In any
case, the applicant commits a minimum of $2,000 to this residency.

By all means let me know if you have any further ques'ons or advice about this applica'ons.

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With good wishes,

David

David Parkinson
Professor, Department of English
Interim Director, MFA in Writing
University of Saskatchewan

Our Department’s vision is to be a place where many peoples come together to engage in mutually
respectful relations and dialogues. We acknowledge that the land on which we gather is Treaty Six territory
and traditional Métis homeland, and we acknowledge the diverse Indigenous peoples whose footsteps
have marked this territory for centuries.

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