Associate director of global program innovation joins College of Engineering

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Kati Csoman has been named associate director of global program innovation in the Office of Global Engineering Engagement in the Penn State College of Engineering — a newly established position that will drive the expansion and enhancement of international engineering opportunities for students. 

“Kati comes to us with an impressive track record of accomplishments and an extensive career in international education,” said Patrick Tunno, director of global engineering engagement. “She is the perfect person to lead innovation of our faculty-led initiatives in the college.  I believe that with the addition of Kati to our team, we are much better positioned to become leaders not only at Penn State but on a national or world stage. We hope to expand our global engagement and continue to prepare our students to be global citizens and contributors to the workforce and the future of a better world.”

As the associate director of global program innovation, Csoman will work closely with engineering faculty to advance global engagement, lead innovation in faculty-led abroad courses, and further advance the development of global competencies for engineering students. 

“I am eager to help the global engineering engagement team with whatever work is necessary to advance the mission and get more faculty and students involved with global engagement and intercultural learning initiatives,” Csoman said. 

Csoman comes to Penn State from Juniata College where she served as the dean of international education. She has extensive experience in the realm of international education. In 2010, Csoman co-directed a study abroad program in The Gambia, located in West Africa, for the Keystone Study Away Consortium. In addition to facilitating student experiences abroad, she has led site visits and seminars abroad for faculty, including a Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad Program to Morocco. She currently serves on the board of the Association of International Education Administrators. Csoman also was a recipient of the Fulbright International Education Administrators Grant to Taiwan in 2017. 

Csoman earned her master’s degree from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh.  

From 1998 to 2001, Csoman worked for the Penn State Office of Global Programs as an education abroad adviser. In this position she handled the promotion of the study abroad programs at all Penn State campuses and helped coordinate more than 40 reciprocal undergraduate exchange programs that supported 100 international exchange students each academic year. She hopes to continue to build upon her previous experience at Penn State and expand the reach of the college’s global programs. 

“Penn State is a globally engaged institution with resources to support associated activities and more importantly to foster creativity and innovation,” Csoman said.  “There is so much for me to research and learn about the teaching and learning environment in the complex network of Penn State, the College of Engineering and Global Programs. I want to support global engagement for the College of Engineering through greater and broader participation of faculty and students and through establishing networks for engagement.”

Csoman also hopes to integrate virtual components into global programs in response to the current limitations on travel during the pandemic. 

“In a global pandemic world, I am interested in exploring and implementing plans for virtual global engagement and connecting with initiatives that may already be happening at the college and at Penn State, such as the Experiential Digital Global Engagement, as developed at Penn State Beaver,” Csoman said. 

Csoman said she hopes to collaborate with college partners in the Center for Engineering Outreach and Inclusion and in undergraduate advising to promote equity in and access to study abroad and intercultural learning opportunities.

“I want to continue to explore a framework for cultural humility to develop learning outcomes and assessments aligned with a global engineering education,” Csoman said. “Our goal is to provide students with the foundation ‘to engineer solutions to humanity’s greatest challenges,’ a mission that was articulated by Justin Schwartz, Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of Engineering.”