EDGE Concept

Experiential Digital Global Exchange (EDGE) was developed at Penn State Beaver campus by Dr. Jenifer Cushman, Chancellor.  Learn more about EDGE and what it takes to become an EDGE campus.

EDGE Locations

There are currently 16 Penn State campuses and counting that are or will be implementing EDGE with more campuses interested. Check out which campuses are “EDGEing”.

EDGE Faculty

Dan Smith, Assistant Teaching Professor of Business,  just one of 42 other faculty from Penn State  that are or will be collaborating with international partners.

EDGE Experiences

Learn more about Penn State faculty like Dr. Talha Harcar, Marketing professor at PSU Beaver, as he shares his experiences with EDGE in his Marketing 445 course.

EDGE Beginnings

Experiential Digital Global Engagement (EDGE) began as a strategic priority for Penn State Beaver introduced by Chancellor Cushman in 2017, based on discussions and collaboration with Jon Rubin, who had created a similar program at SUNY. The program was established through a series of grants, the first of which established an EDGE partnership with the University of Split, Croatia and resulted in a successful collaboration in the form of a pilot EDGE course in Organic Chemistry taught in the spring of 2018. The success of the partnership, combined with additional grant funding to expand the program, has grown EDGE into a team of faculty and staff from campuses including Beaver, Abington, Altoona, Brandywine, Berks, DuBois, Fayette, Greater Allegheny, Harrisburg, Lehigh Valley, Schuylkill, Scranton, Shenango, and Wilkes-Barre with additional support from University Park members. In addition, the team has established additional EDGE partnerships with S. Seifullin Agrotechnical University in Kazakhstan and Al Akhawayn in Morocco, with The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS), the Catholic University of Lille and the University of Paris Nanterre being cultivated as potential partners.

Jen Cushman is one of the first higher education leaders who brings to her post multiple experiences developing COIL virtual exchange. From her efforts at Juniata College, to her participation on various panels at SUNY COIL Conferences, to her Deanship at Ohio University’s Zanesville campus, and now as Chancellor at Penn State Beaver, Jen Cushman has developed the knowledge and experience that someday, other university leaders will hopefully acquire.   

Jon Rubin, Director, COIL Consulting

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