Greg and Elaine Guthrie in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Dr. Guthrie giving an interview for the Mongolian National Television
Ms. Guthrie giving a talk in Mongolia
Dr. Guthrie speaking at a public event in Hanoi, Vietnam
Greg Guthrie, dean emeritus of the School of Computer Science, and Elaine Guthrie, Computer Science Program director, completed a successful recruiting tour in May and June, visiting Vietnam, Mongolia, China, The Philippines, and Singapore. This trip followed several shorter past tours to India, China, and Nepal.
The goal of the trip was to boost enrollment from countries that already have a history of applicants and to grow enrollment from countries where students are just beginning to discover MUM’s unique Computer Professionals Program. The program combines the advanced academics of a graduate level master’s degree in Computer Science with practical applications at top technical companies in the US, and includes instruction in the Transcendental Meditation® technique.
The Guthries connected with over 1,400 people via personal meetings and online streaming of some of their events. They held public talks for prospective students, met with representatives of universities and recruiters, and gave interviews to the media. They also visited embassies, where they educated employees about MUM’s ComPro Program in order to facilitate the processing of student interviews and visa applications.
Prior to the trip, Ms. Guthrie and her team spent months arranging meetings with local representatives, promoting the events through their network of students and alumni as well as on social media. During the events, they were able to answer specific questions from individuals with already active applications and collect information from hundreds of potential students.
The trip was made possible by two donors, who felt their investment will bring long-term return for the ComPro Program and MUM. “We have been tracking results and there is already an increase in applications from this trip,” said Professor Guthrie. “The University will be seeing the benefits of this over the next year.”
The ComPro leadership hopes to continue visiting other countries to increase applications and add new countries to the 80 nations their alumni call home.