Keynote at International Education Week By Ebele Mogo, DrPH

1. A Global Education
Keynote presentation at the International
Education Week hosted by the Postdoctoral
Association, International Student’s Group
and Anschutz Medical Campus Student
Senate
Ebele Mogo –
Twitter @ebyral

2. A Global Education
• Premise: If we are living in a global village which
we are, we need a global perspective
• A Global Education – integrates local with global
in educating, practice, and in perspective
• International students are a key resource in
achieving this goal
Ebele Mogo
Twitter - @ebyral

3. My Background
• Born in Nigeria – From the East, raised in West
– Lagos (economic capital) and South- Akwa
Ibom (oil-producing region)
• Cosmopolitan identity – Mixing of languages,
British influence, different cultures
• Most Nigerians speak English, a local language
(Igbo), pidgin at the very least
Ebele Mogo
Twitter - @ebyral

4. Move to Canada at 14
• Culture Shock
• First time seeing snow
• Encountering stereotypes about Africans
• Studying with much older people
• Different food, accent, race, hobbies, housing
structures
• No familiar faces
• Culture of respect for authority
Ebele Mogo
Twitter -
@ebyral

5. Other moves
• Scotland
• Japan
• Canada
• Moved the United States
• Home in-between
Ebele Mogo
Twitter - @ebyral

6. Move to the United States
• Culture shock
• Subtle- not about climate, culture
• Identity – In Canada (culture), In the United
States (colour)
• In Canada – An Asian from the West indies, a
Indian person from Kenya, a Black person from
Britain
• “Student of colour” –binary, reminded me of
history (white versus coloured)
Ebele Mogo
Twitter - @ebyral

7. Move to the States
• Culture shock - the gap between rich and poor
• Taking the bus- in Canada everyone took the bus
• Walking on Colfax – sanitation, poverty, drug use
• Well meaning but uncomfortable association of
blackness with poverty in classes
• Positive: I loved that Americans were expressive

Ebele Mogo
Twitter -
@ebyral

8. What I have gained from the school as
an international student?
• Chose the school because of expertise and first impression
– Jenn Leiferman, Lori Crane
• Learnt a lot about race, politics, public health which helped
me to grow as a person
• Overcome my stereotypes of Americans – “my rights”, “our
interests”, “violence”
• Exposure – school always supported and shared my
extracurricular work, funding to get data
• My best education experience so far – smaller size, faculty
support and flexibility
Ebele Mogo
Twitter - @ebyral

9. What can the school gain from
international students like me?
• Stereotype and power relations around global health and
international students e.g. advertisements, websites
• Global health is not simply about helping poor countries –
long term solutions and mutual sharing of knowledge
• e.g Nigeria’s response to Ebola, chronic disease, economic
growth
• America is on the globe too – and part of global health
• Issues are not only global but planetary- epidemics, climate
change, urbanization, economic issues, financial and
environmental exclusion, migration, disasters
Ebele Mogo
Twitter - @ebyral

10. Opportunities
• Change in ideology where global health is not
simply top-down
• Change in ideology where a global perspective
is not a specialty, but a necessity for every
public health practitioner
Ebele Mogo
Twitter - @ebyral

11. International students as a resource
• International students – diverse experiences, different
worldviews, emotionally and culturally intelligent
• Complicate a polemic conversation – right or left, race,
politics, individualism, economic power versus moral self
righteousness
• Act as a bridge – open opportunities for recruitment,
international projects, practicum and volunteer
opportunities e.g Dara
• Therefore there is room for a bi-directional and mutual
relationship
Ebele Mogo
Twitter - @ebyral

12. Making this practical
• Change in perspective: Global education should not be
seen as a specialty but a norm in the 21st century
• Recruitment and financial support – pay three times
the fees, can’t work as much, can’t do research
assistantships
• Curriculum: Classes where examples and assignments
and projects intersect the local with global
• Classes are focused on Denver – good and bad
• Tap into international students’ experiences, projects
and networks through volunteer, practicums, etc

13. In conclusion
• Opportunity for a mutual and synergistic relationship
between international students and the school
• The stronger this is, the stronger the quality of
education
• The stronger this is, the stronger the output of the
university
• The stronger this is, the stronger the global footprint of
the university e.g. University of Waterloo
• Starts with seeing a global worldview as integral to
education and practice and seeing international
students as an opportunity to give ALL students a
global education

14. Thank you
• Naveed
• Lia Nelson-James
• Faculty and Students
• Questions?
Ebele Mogo
Twitter - @ebyral