Initiatives

The Rutgers Myanmar Initiative, directed by Dr. Chie Ikeya (History) and Dr. Christian Lammerts (Religion), seeks to foster Myanmar-related scholarship and teaching at Rutgers and to strengthen collaborative research and intellectual exchange among Rutgers faculty and academics in Myanmar. Established with the support of the Centers for Global Advancement and International Affairs, the Initiative has taken part in a historic U.S. higher education delegation to Myanmar—the largest delegation of U.S. universities to travel to the country. Organized by the Institute of International Education with the goal of exploring potential partnership opportunities between higher education institutions in the U.S. and those in Myanmar, the delegation visited nine universities and met with several key government ministries. The Initiative is currently co-organizing with the Department of History, Yangon University, an international conference on Myanmar historical studies, to be held in Yangon on July 24-25, 2014. It will also co-sponsor an upcoming intensive training program for Myanmar librarians at Rutgers and other US universities.