Research Article
Enhancing Postgraduate Learning and Teaching:
Postgraduate Summer School in Dairy Science
Pietro Celi,
1,2
Gianfranco Gabai,
3
Massimo Morgante,
4
and Luigi Gallo
5
1
Dairy Science Group, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, PMB 4003, Narellan, NSW 2567, Australia
2
Melbourne School of Land and Environment, Te University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
3
Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova, Viale dell’Universit` a 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
4
Department of Agronomy Food Natural resources Animal & Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell’Universit` a 16,
35020 Legnaro, Italy
5
Department of Animal Medicine Production and Health, University of Padova, Viale dell’Universit` a 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Correspondence should be addressed to Pietro Celi; pietro.celi@sydney.edu.au
Received 5 August 2013; Revised 23 October 2013; Accepted 28 October 2013; Published 16 January 2014
Academic Editor: Daniel Smeak
Copyright © 2014 Pietro Celi et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Dairy science is a multidisciplinary area of scientifc investigation and Ph.D. students aiming to do research in the feld of animal
and/or veterinary sciences must be aware of this. Ph.D. students ofen have vast spectra of research interests, and it is quite
challenging to satisfy the expectation of all of them. Te aim of this study was to establish an international Ph.D. training program
based on research collaboration between the University of Sydney and the University of Padova. Te core component of this program
was a two-week Postgraduate Summer School in Dairy Science, which was held at the University of Padova, for Ph.D. students of
both universities. Terefore, we designed a program that encompassed seminars, workshops, laboratory practical sessions, and farm
visits. Participants were surveyed using a written questionnaire. Overall, participants have uniformly praised the Summer School
calling it a rewarding and valuable learning experience. Te Ph.D. Summer School in Dairy Science provided its participants a
positive learning experience, provided them the opportunity to establish an international network, and facilitated the development
of transferable skills.
1. Introduction
Internationalization of higher education refers to institu-
tional arrangements set up by governments, universities,
and education agents that involve the delivery of higher
education services in two or more countries. For teaching and
research, efective and appropriate national and international
networks are essential. In some cases, the academic enterprise
will depend on an international network of collaboration,
while, in other cases, it is difcult to imagine how anything
much could be achieved without such a network. Academics
ofen establish their own networks, and the best role of
the institution may ofen be facilitation, following afer
good leads, and reducing bureaucratic drag and friction.
Individual research collaborations between academics from
diferent countries are important; however, formal collab-
orations between universities that involve curriculum and
program development are growing and likely to expand in
the years ahead. Such arrangements could include short-
term placements in overseas laboratories, arrangements for
registration for specialized Masters level courses, teaching
fellowships to widen experience, and joint supervision and
coqualifcation arrangements, such as the increasingly pop-
ular cotutelle programmes. If appropriately organized, such
bilateral arrangements can foster research collaboration, as
research communities build interests and respect through the
shared supervision and training of one another’s postgraduate
students.
Accompanying the increased international mobility of
students and academic staf, universities have taken steps
in recent decades to enhance the international content of
their programs and they have also established dedicated
portfolios like the International Program Development Fund
(IPDF) which provides funding to support initiatives in
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Veterinary Medicine International
Volume 2014, Article ID 409549, 7 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/409549