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As the Middle East and North Africa continue to grow in cultural and strategic importance, ���㽶��Ƶ sees an opportunity to expand the institution’s academic engagement in the MENA region.

To that end, has announced the creation of the, or DIMEX—a three-year pilot program that seeks to build relationships with universities and other organizations in the region. DIMEX will provide educational exchange, collaborative research, and tailored academic experiences for faculty and students.

“���㽶��Ƶ’s commitment to building robust academic partnerships and networks throughout the world is central to our mission to foster global citizenship, open dialogue, innovation, and impact,” Schnell says.

The initiative will report to Vice Provost for Academic and International Affairs . 

“This is an opportunity to leverage ���㽶��Ƶ’s existing strengths to bring together all parts of the institution around a common international focus,” Will says. “Our aim is to deepen existing relationships and build new ones around areas of mutual interest in this critical region.”

Housed in the Office of the Provost, the pilot will serve as a ���㽶��Ƶ-wide hub, helping to integrate initiatives in the Arts and Sciences, , , and that engage with the Middle East, Will says.

DIMEX will be led by Professor of Middle Eastern Studies , who will serve as faculty director, and an advisory board representing faculty and staff from across ���㽶��Ƶ.

Smolin, an expert in Middle Eastern politics and popular culture who helped establish ���㽶��Ƶ’s current language study abroad program in Rabat, Morocco, describes DIMEX as a facilitator and connector, not a replacement for existing efforts. For instance, DIMEX aims to collaborate with ���㽶��Ƶ institutes and centers, such as the and the , to help them extend their reach into the MENA region.

“We want to leverage our expertise in Middle Eastern studies and Jewish studies in order to cultivate new relationships with institutions in the broader Middle East and North Africa—universities, industry partners, museums, government and nongovernmental organizations,” Smolin says. “Right now, if Tuck has a program in the Middle East, they don’t necessarily know what’s going on at Geisel or in Arts and Sciences or at the Dickey Center, and so on. So we’re looking to create one place where we can share these connections and serve as a hub for this activity.”

DIMEX will work to develop official partnerships and memoranda of understanding tailored to specific organizations in the region. For example, Smolin envisions a future in which Geisel partners with a Middle Eastern medical school to support student exchanges, visiting faculty, research collaborations, and undergraduate internship opportunities. 

He points to ���㽶��Ƶ’s longstanding relationship with the as a model for what DIMEX might help facilitate. Since 2003, the AUK partnership has brought together faculty and staff from both institutions to collaborate on academic and administrative projects, while also supporting a student exchange and faculty fellowship program. 

“These kinds of multilayered intersections are very difficult for any one party to achieve on their own without a faculty director who is paying attention to all the different layers and thinking about connecting them,” Smolin says. “This is anchored in ���㽶��Ƶ’s approach to dialogue and in our commitment to learning and education in the Middle East and North Africa.”

DIMEX will:

• Provide targeted grants to support collaborative research with scholars from the MENA region
• Coordinate student internship opportunities with ���㽶��Ƶ campus partners and regional institutions
• Sponsor programming during ���㽶��Ƶ’s winter break
• Host joint events and cohort experiences for students and faculty, both on campus and abroad

“As with our other targeted ���㽶��Ƶ engagements abroad, DIMEX will support our academic interests and raise our profile abroad,” says Will. “At the end of three years, we expect ���㽶��Ƶ to be known as one of the most important U.S. institutions in the region in terms of research excellence and student engagement experience—as well as one of the key voices advocating for understanding and dialogue among the region’s many cultures.”

One possible venue for DIMEX programming abroad is the —a facility based in the historic heart of Rome that currently serves the foreign study programs of the departments of art history, classics, and French and Italian.

Because of its location in a cultural and geographic crossroads of the Mediterranean region, the Rome Center offers a convenient gathering point for DIMEX programming. Last September, the and used the center to jointly host a  

“To be able to bring people together to truly cultivate these relationships, and to show how the Middle East can enhance ���㽶��Ƶ’s excellence as a global institution—it’s a very exciting opportunity,” Smolin says.