Study Abroad with CNHP

USI's Osnabrück Connection

During the 2023 Fall Semester, the USI College of Nursing and Health Professions hosted 19 healthcare management students and two instructors from the University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule) Osnabrück in Germany. In addition to learning about U.S. culture and healthcare, they met with Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, visited Historic New Harmony and toured both local hospitals.

Dr. Kevin Valadares, Professor of Health Administration who has led USI student trips to Osnabrück three times, welcomed the students on September 11 with a brief overview of campus life and a short Q&A session with topics ranging from American football and Midwest hospitality to the Kiwibots (the food delivery robots on campus). He encouraged the students to “be curious, rather than judgmental” about any cultural differences they might discover when learning about U.S. healthcare on their visit. “What’s really important is to keep talking to each other about what you are learning and what you are seeing here,” he told them.

USI and UAS Osnabrück have had an exchange partnership since 1990. It grew out of the sister city relationship between Evansville and the city of Osnabrück and is one of the University's longest standing exchange programs with more than 200 American and German students participating since its inception.

Shortly after this visit, USI President Ronald S. Rochon and Heidi Gregori-Gahan, International Advancement Specialist, taught a course in Osnabrück titled “Effective Leadership and Cross-Cultural Communication in an Interconnected World.” Several USI students accompanied them for the seminar, held October 23-27.