How exhilarating to view the list of student teams from all over the world who will meet in the locale of Handshake 2.0's headquarters in Blackburg, Virginia, USA for the VT KnowledgeWorks Global Partnership Week!

The vision for the Global Partnership Week - now in its third year - continues to inspire: 

The VT KnowledgeWorks Global Partnership Week will bring university students, faculty, and staff from all over the world together to congregate, collaborate, form partnerships, and build their global networks. The Global Partnership is a multi-layered, ongoing cooperative association of regions building permanent social, academic, and business relationships.

The Teams

Teams from these universities will compete in the VT KnowledgeWorks Global Student Business Concept Challenge. The universities are listed in alphabetical order:

Ghent University - Ghent, Belgium

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile - Santiago, Chile

Tech University of Malaysia - Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Tecnológico de Monterrey - Monterrey, Mexico

Télécom SudParis - Paris, France

Tongji University - Shanghai, People's Republic of China

Universidad del Norte - Barranquilla, Colombia

University of British Columbia - Vancouver, Canada

University of Kent - Canterbury, Kent, England

University of Technology Sydney - Sydney, Australia

University of Trento - Trento, Italy

Vienna University of Technology - Vienna, Austria

Virginia Tech - Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

Who will be the lucky host families to meet these global students?!  Being a global host family was a highlight of my personal and professional life.  Fellow global host families Jeri Childers Jack McMahon and Sue and John Muffo have similar stories to tell.  If you would like to join the global host family team, please contact Lindsey Eversole at leversole@vtknowledgeworks.com.

We're delighted to contribute to local, global and mobile connections - the VT KnowledgeWorks Global Directory mobile application, offering members of the VT KnowledgeWorks Global Partnership community a way to find and connect with each other, was developed by Handshake Media.

We'll be attending the VT KnowledgeWorks Global Partnership Week's opening event, Tastes and Sounds of the Valleys, 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM, Wednesday, August 22, 2012, at the Hotel Roanoke in Roanoke, Virginia.  We hope you'll join us!  We look forward to shaking hands - locally and globally - with you!

Pictured in the photo: Martin Houdbine, Anne Clelland, and Charles-Eric Gorron, VT KnowledgeWorks Global Partnership Week, 2010

VT KnowledgeWorks is a client of Handshake Media, Incorporated, the parent company of Handshake 2.0.