June 11, 2025 – The Maryland-Bosnia and Herzegovina Exchange Council (MBHEC) hosted another groundbreaking virtual meeting on June 11, 2025, reinforcing its goals to deepen higher education partnerships between the State of Maryland and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The session followed a previous June 4th higher education conference and focused on fostering sustainable academic dialogue, collaboration, and exchange. The event brought together a wide range of participants, including Maryland state officials, leaders from Bosnian and Marylandian higher education institutions, and representatives from the Maryland International Education Consortium (MIEC).
A Landmark Address from Maryland Secretary of State Susan Lee
The event opened with a historic address from Maryland Secretary of State Susan Lee, who underscored the importance of subnational cooperation and transformative academic exchange to Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s administration. “With higher education and collaboration comes innovation and quality of life, comes research, breakthroughs, everything that will make this world a little smaller but a better world for all.” Secretary Lee commended MBHEC’s work in facilitating productive international cooperation and expressed her strong support for goals and vision of the higher education cooperation initiative. Her landmark address was a significant step forward, underscoring Maryland’s deep commitment to a collaborative, productive, and resilient relationship with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Secretary Lee closed with an expression of future involvement in the initiative, asking to “keep our staff updated on successes and next steps, and let us know how we can be of assistance in fulfilling your goals… We have to nurture and give opportunities to these outstanding young people who will be our next generation of world leaders from the US and Bosnia and Herzegovina. ” Following her remarks, Ms. Rachel Scholten of the MIEC outlined ongoing objectives to further promote the internationalization of Maryland’s higher education landscape.
Maryland Universities Present on Current and Future Programs of International Cooperation
A key portion of the meeting featured presentations from four major Maryland universities, each showcasing existing and potential avenues for international cooperation with Bosnian counterparts:
- Loyola University Maryland, represented by Kimberly Sorlin, Assistant Director of International Programs, spotlighted a strong and varied field of study abroad opportunities for its undergraduate students, especially the faculty-led 2024 Summer in the Balkans credited program.
- University of Maryland Baltimore County, represented by Adam Holden, Director of Global Partnerships, discussed its participation in international programs through student exchanges and ERASMUS+ and expressed future partnership interests in Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) programs, research collaborations, and faculty-led exchange programs.
- Towson University, represented by Christopher Powers, Assistant Vice-President for International Initiatives, highlighted its diversity, research strengths, and robust study abroad infrastructure and discussed its openness towards potential research collaborations.
- Goucher College, represented by Jennifer Pham, Assistant Director of International Admissions, emphasized its compulsory study abroad requirement as a core aspect of its undergraduate program and underlined its enthusiasm for building meaningful relationships with Bosnian institutions.
Following the presentations, participants engaged in a productive open forum. Topics included potential faculty collaborations, student exchanges, and mutual delegation visits, such as a Maryland presence at the University of Sarajevo’s Study Expo Scholarship Fair.
Next Steps…
To conclude the meeting, MBHEC liaison Mia Bakal recognized the meeting’s positive energy and success in deepening conversations between institutions in Maryland and Bosnia and underscored the importance of continued forward momentum. “What we are building together is not simply a program or a partnership, but it’s a long-term commitment to education, research, and mutual understanding. We look forward to seeing these relationships grow into meaningful, lasting collaboration.”
Future meetings will continue to deepen the cooperation between higher education institutions in Maryland and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a continued goal of broadening institutional involvement to a greater number of faculty, students and administrators.
Continued Momentum
Overall, the meeting marked another strong step towards long-term, meaningful cooperation between higher education institutions in Maryland and Bosnia and Herzegovina. With continued dialogue and robust state-level support, as expressed by Secretary Lee’s remarks, academic partnerships are poised for a promising future.
