NIU and the University of Costa Rica are working together on strategic planning and cooperative interaction among nations in an effort to develop higher education.

Edgar Smith, field coordinator for the Costa Rican study program, said an objective of the “International Career Development Program in Costa Rica” is to establish contacts, build on seminars and get reciprocal programs between the universities. He said a possible way to broaden the relationship between UCR and NIU is to exchange students and professors for seminars, internships and professional activities.

NIU President John LaTourette delivered a presentation to Central American university officials and civic leaders when he visited UCR in July. Smith said the presentation stressed education and cooperation between NIU and UCR. He said strategic planning seminars also were discussed.

LaTourette said NIU students will benefit from the continued cooperation between the two universities. “Our international professional development program is really unique and should be viewed as something that could be duplicated in other areas. I would like to see other programs, in Spanish or Latin American studies, for example, through which students could gain greater understanding of a region, a culture, a way of life,” he said.

There are several different projects between the two universities already in operation. Professor Don Scriven, of NIU’s business systems and analysis department, has been involved in strategic planning and the computerization of business practices and processes in the Costa Rican banking system.

“We’re working with Costa Rican banks, doing planning and computer development for automatic teller machines,” Scriven said. He said the project involves installing computers, making changes in management and accounting policies and training staff. A similar project is taking place with Recope, Costa Rica’s nationalized oil company.

Smith said Frank Van Buer, director of NIU’s office of international training and consultation, has developed a bankers’ seminar, which focuses on strategic planning in the banking industry, in cooperation with UCR for the national banking system of Costa Rica.

Luis Flores and Haakon Andreasen, members of NIU’s management department, have conducted seminars at NIU and in Costa Rica on strategic planning in financial institutions.